Sanders Campaigning For Hillary: Good Idea Or Not?

[stopbush]

This is not meant as a bash Bernie thread. It's about campaign strategy going forward.

So I ask: does it benefit Hillary to have Bernie out there campaigning for her?

To my way of thinking, Sanders on the campaign trail at this point might be at best a net zero sum, at worse, a liability.

Today's polls show that 91% of Sanders voters will vote for Hill. That's about as good as one can hope for, so having him on the trail doesn't help in that regard. The vast majority of Sanders voters have jumped on the Hillary bandwagon, and good for them! Bernie won them over at the convention, so he doesn't need to win them over again and again. They're with her.

The big drawback that I see is that the message coming out of the convention - a message that seems to be working - is that competence and experience are what's needed right now, NOT revolution, be it Trump or Sanders' version. Sanders on the trail opens up the media narrative that both sides are advocating for the same thing, just at opposite ends of the political spectrum: ie: change born of an anti-establishment feel in the electorate. There is no way an anti-establishment meme helps Hillary. She is the candidate of continuing all the great things done under Obama. She is incremental change for the better, not rolling the dice on a radical strategy that may not pan out.

For Bernie to be effective as a surrogate, he would need to bring a message that's more in line with the message being voiced by all of Hillary's other surrogates. He is good on the "never Trump" aspect of that message, but what other positives would he bring to the campaign? Team Hillary is currently campaigning in swing states in hopes of turning them purple if not light blue. That means turning conservative voters, not über-progressive voters. I don't see how Sanders' voice helps there.

Outside of projecting party unity, what else would Sanders bring to being out on the hustings? Likeability? Trust?

I thought differently a few weeks ago, but now that the convention is over and Hillary is benefiting from the wildcard of the Khan v Trump battle - and Trump's continuing meltdown - I don't think Sanders jumping in is a big help.

On the other hand, his not jumping it gives the media a whole new anti-Hillary meme: why isn't Bernie supporting her?

Bernie is definitely an asset, but how to deploy him?

Your thoughts?

[DinahMoeHum]

1. Bernie can best serve by helping the down-ticket races. . .

. . .those Democratic candidates running for US Senate, US House, governorships.
He doesn't have to be seen side-by-side with Hillary to be effective.

[Nedd Ludd]

18. Dems must take the Senate and build a bigger base in the House

Not only at the national level, but in the state assemblies as well. The Koch brothers have given up on Trump and all those billions are now going to lower level state and local elections.

Bernie's involvement has always been targeted at this level. We need him to lock in some of these races.

[glennward]

25. I would rather have Buffet. nt

[Demsrule86]

28. Has Bernie been doing that?

I have not heard much since the convention...early days.

[onehandle]

2. I think he should be sent to super-blue districts in swing states.

To motivate young Democrats to register and vote.

If I were him I would talk about how it would help him achieve more with a Democratic Senate and President.

[auntpurl]

3. College campuses, young voters GOTV Dem

Perfect for him.

[DLCWIdem]

20. yes young people can get discouraged

I know one young person who says she's not going to vote. He needs to work on the young.?

[democrattotheend]

4. Not all polls have it at 91%

I think the CNN poll yesterday had only about 75% of Bernie supporters voting for Hillary. Plus, it's not just about whether they say they will vote for her - it's about how heavily they turn out. So I think he could be helpful.

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Bernie had the highest favorables of anyone running. He widely is considered honest

He came across almost as an anti-politician because of his life long consistency on issues and priorities. Among that segment of the population that still does not view Hillary positively, Bernie is good for her to have on her side. He can reassure those who feel strongly that something needs to change that Trump does not represent the change they want, and that Hillary can deliver for working class Americans who feel left out in the current status quo.

[The Second Stone]

6. Sanders movement requires he maintain visibility and keep people excited

that long term work and make change. It can. As I said when he got in the race, even though I wouldn't vote for him, it's a contribution because we need more people. I got very frustrated when his continued campaigning encouraged some of his supporters who were disruptors. He needs to be visible for as long as he can, and after the election take victory laps after each of his positions are advanced. The party is big enough for Sanders and his supporters and needs them. But the choice is theirs.

[stopbush]

7. Good points so far. Thanks.

[liberal N proud]

8. Hillary campaigned for Obama in 2008

I don't see how it can be a bad thing.

[emulatorloo]

9. Bernie's a huge asset, especially with voters still on the fence.

[think]

19. Exactly. /nt

[oberliner]

10. "Today's polls show that 91% of Sanders voters will vote for Hill" is not true

The CNN poll shows not quite 70 percent of Sanders supporters voting for Hillary.

Almost 25 percent are for Stein or Johnson.

3 percent are for Trump.

The 91 percent figure is when you offer Trump and Hillary as the only two options and don't include Stein or Johnson.

2-way: HRC 91%, Trump 6%
4-way: HRC 69%, Johnson 13%, Stein 10%, Trump 3%

[Agnosticsherbet]

11. Yes. We should all work to defeat Trump.

Glad to have Sanders on our side.

[oberliner]

16. Agreed

Glad so many former Sanders supporters have jumped on the Clinton train as well!

[kurt_cagle]

13. Johnson's not a problem

Johnson will draw far more support away from Trump (assuming he stays in the race, which is looking more and more dubious) than he will from Clinton. Additionally, 3rd party candidates tend to be go-to favorites in polls when people are on the fence, but they usually fade by the time of actual balloting.

Stein's more problematic, but not by much. She's not on the ballot in many states, and her anti-vaxxer comments and a few others she's made recently have given a lot of progressives pause.

Finally, it's worth noting that not all of Sanders supporters were Democrats. He had a fair number of libertarians in his ranks, older school socialists (the HARD left that saw Das Kapital as required reading) as well as more than a few Trump supporters who were sufficiently anti-Hillary that they saw benefit to use Sanders as a spoiler. I've said before that this probably made up about 30% of his base, and Clinton wouldn't end up with them regardless.

As to the OP - yes, Sanders should campaign for the Dems, but primarily down-ticket races.

[oberliner]

17. Good analysis

I think the key to our success will be turning out the base, especially African-American voters.

[Demsrule86]

29. I disagree

Not all the 'supporters' were Democrats...some were Green and some were Trump supporters, thus, they won't vote for Hillary Clinton, but things are looking good. And honestly, I like Hillary but if I didn't I would still vote for her because Trump is not acceptable

[Cal33]

30. Oh, boy! At 3% what chance has Trump got? Even Stein got 10%!! Is it really possible

for any Republican or Democratic presidential candidate to get that low? I think there's
a mistake somewhere.

[Bongo Prophet]

32. That's a breakdown of Bernie supporters, not all voters. nt

[Cal33]

35. Okay. This makes better sense.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Bernie is very popular. I don't see how it could be a bad thing.

[flor-de-jasmim]

14. I think it is a great idea.

1) It will show the "BoBs" that he is still relevant in this campaign and drive home the message that many of his campaign issues are now part of the Democratic platform. This may well help the healing process. This is a win for Hillary.

2) It will help make sure that the platform agreed to is not diluted in the general election (a win for all of us).

3) It will send the message that the Democratic Party remains a big-tent party.

As he has stated over and over that he is committed to keeping Trump out of the White House, he will be an asset on the campaign trail.

[BobbyDrake]

15. A majority of primary voters from both parties voted against "revolution."

That's just a fact. Another fact is that Trump only won the GOP nomination because of how many candidates they had splitting the primary vote and the winner-take-all delegate system that allowed Trump to amass delegates with a plurality of votes instead of a majority.

I'm not sure that Bernie can campaign well for Clinton or other Democrats given some of the baseless and negative things he and his campaign said about them during the primary. I have nothing against him if he wants to try, but my personal opinion is, "Thanks, but no thanks." I think that his endorsement and speech at the convention did as much to move his supporters behind Clinton as is possible right now, and anyone not still convinced is a die-hard that no amount of argument will persuade.

I also believe that it's not entirely fair to expect candidates who didn't win the primary to continue campaigning if they would rather not. Even those who lose still worked hard and may want to take time to rest, recharge, and refocus. Bernie Sanders is, after all, a sitting US Senator with obligations in that chamber. He could probably be making just as strong an impact on the GE by proposing and pushing legislation in the Senate that is in-line with his movement, giving Americans an example of what issues a Democratic Congress would highlight if given the majority.

[Avalux]

22. Bernie NEVER said anything baseless or negative about Hillary.

Some things were said, but not by him.

Bernie and Hillary have worked together on the free college plan that originated with him, that she agreed to adopt.

I don't see how campaigning for her would hurt, if that's what he wants to do.

[BobbyDrake]

23. I'm not getting drawn into refighting the primary, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Psssst. The primary race is over. Hillary Clinton won.

[Orsino]

24. We may never know the answer.

It seems obvious to me that the candidate who fired up young voters, and brought along tons of new ones, will be an asset on the trail. But how can we measure it, or measure what didn't happen? However the election turns out, people will credit/blame whoever or whatever they want.

[JI7]

26. you are WAYYYYYYY over thinking this

Spending too much time on internet political forums maybe

[Eleanors38]

27. Sanders can help significantly, but his profile should be more national, not down-ballot...

His campaign was national in scope, and involves an outlook and movement toward major national issues and long-term reform of the Democratic Party. It would be in the best interest of all progressives that he keep the fires burning on younger, more progressive voters by speaking to these long-term issues and Party reforms. The Democrats have shown themselves particularly deficient in mounting down-ballot races; perhaps some want to shunt Bernie off to these less fruitful races because no one else wants to do this? In the end he may very well take up "down-ballot" races in the spirit of that old T.V. ad...

"Give it to Mikey. He'll ty anything."

[LAS14]

31. Why would Sanders lose his ability...

... to excite people who want a better America? (I've been a Hillary supporter from the get-go, but my kids supported Sanders.)

[Adrahil]

33. I think the right context, VERY helpful.

I think Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, for example could be good places for a Bernie to stump for Hillary.

[FrenchieCat]

34. The Revolution lives on.......

and the only way that happens is to help Clinton into office, and then to support her in passing items on the platform that are important to Sanders' supporters. If free tuition for College kids whose parents make under $125,000 and Loan refinancing and debt forgiveness are to happen, the Sanders and his supporters need to be there now...and then, than......

Also good way for Bernie and his supporters to hold Hillary accountable!
So yes.....Bernie Sanders needs to be "all in", if he wants those policies he espoused to come to fruition!

[andym]

36. It's a great idea, because Sanders is considered to be a person of great integrity

Last edited Wed Aug 3, 2016, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

because he is a person of great integrity. Every time Hillary gets strong public support from such people it helps to reverse the effects of years of GOP attacks and investigations.