by Mike Smith SenatorBernie Sanders has a beef with the Democratic Party, and his complaint has merit.Sanders is miffed at party officials for rigging the nominating system to favor Hillary Clinton. As an example, he cites the number and timing of debates.There is no doubt party stalwarts are firmly behind Clinton. According to National Public Radio, Clinton is trouncing Sanders in so-called “super-delegates” — party leaders and elected officials — by an astounding 359 to 8. And in Vermont, top Democrats, including Sen. Patrick Leahy, Gov. Peter Shumlin and former Gov. Madeleine Kunin, have come out strongly in favor of Clinton. Even Rep. Peter Welch has been noticeably noncommittal regarding the Sanders candidacy.
To national party officials a challenger like Sanders ensures the nomination process doesn’t appear to be a coronation for Clinton. It is useful that Sanders is vying for the nomination, but they certainly don’t want him to win.
This lack of party support should come as no surprise to Sanders. Why would the Democratic Party enthusiastically support him? Until his decision to seek the presidency, he has never run as a Democrat. And although he caucuses with Democrats in the Senate he has never supported the national party structure.
On the other hand, Sanders has helped Democrats, when their causes and interests have aligned, including Leahy and Shumlin. When Shumlin was in a tight re-election race Sanders offered him a political hand. Arguably, had it not been for Sanders, the governor might have lost his re-election bid in 2014. It is no secret among the political class in Vermont that Shumlin and Sanders are not close personally. It was, however, a surprise when Shumlin abandoned him. So too is Welch’s noncommittal position.
If Sanders does ultimately lose the Democratic nomination — and all signs point to a tremendous headwind, after Iowa and New Hampshire — it will be curious to see what reaction his supporters have toward the Vermont politicians, and the political party, that gave him the cold shoulder.
There is no doubt that Sanders is right — he is at odds with the Democratic Party through this nomination process. So what can he do? He needs to attack the politics of the political elites in the Democratic Party much more aggressively and directly than he has done thus far.
His message remains that the economic disparity between the haves and have-nots in America is as wide as it was at the turn of the 20th century. He talks with much passion about the need for a political revolution, which itself implies that the political elites in both parties are part of the problem and will not be part of the solution.
He recognized the power of his economic message long before others — including many members of the Democratic Party. Yet he talks about the Democratic Party’s nomination process with much less bluntness. He seems to be very careful with his words in his criticism of the process — too careful if you ask many of his supporters.
Sanders needs to do what he does best. He needs to show more clearly just how rigged the system is, who is rigging it and why. Yes, he will further alienate party officials; but they are not pulling for him to succeed.
If there’s one silver lining in the ascension of Donald Trump in the Republican primary race, it’s that it shows party officials and political elites don’t totally control the outcome of their nomination contests. Sanders is in a position to show that candidates who confront the selfish influence of establishment politicians and moneyed interests can win elections. At this point Sanders has little to lose in attacking national party officials and the process that is so clearly biased.
Every American who is feeling “the Bern” is at risk of getting burned if Sanders doesn’t stand up for what he knows is right and fight a nomination process rigged by the same interests — and some of the same politicians — who have helped to build the economic inequality he speaks so passionately against.
Mike Smith was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Gov. Jim Douglas. He is the host of the radio program “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5 and 101.9 FM. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to the Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Vermont Business Magazine.