On Monday Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gave what at least one report has categorized as a speech that was given with little advance notice due to a Clinton campaign “meltdown” over the Democratic Iowa caucus results.
Shortly after Clinton’s speech, her lone rival Bernie Sanders took to the stage to give his speech, and I think it’s a speech worth sharing with those of you who may not have seen it in its entirety.
Watch for yourselves.
While many have dismissed Bernie Sanders as unelectable, it’s worth noting that many of those same claims were made against Barack Obama in 2007 & 2008 (albeit for different reasons), and it’s clear now those claims were unfounded. Sure, there are certainly obstacles Bernie Sanders would face in a general election, but Hillary Clinton isn’t exactly free from her own baggage.
Ultimately, I look at the electability argument being made by many supporters of Hillary Clinton and I can’t help but think their argument is based more on a desire to preserve the status quo in the Democratic Party than it is on true concerns about the real electability of Bernie Sanders. The fact is, Sanders scares the hell out of many establishment Democrats who’ve become comfortable with our political system as it exists now.
Zach, thanks for your post.
Primary elections were a progressive idea, meant as a means for empowering the voter, and taking power from the party bosses in choosing who could be the nominee candidate for office.
So why did our DPW enter into an agreement with the Clinton campaign in a “joint fundraising agreement” last August to make a “Hillary Victory Fund” (http://bloggingblue.com/2015/08/democratic-party-of-wisconsin-signs-fundraising-pact-with-hillary-clinton/)?
It appears that this arrangement takes the money the Fund makes and sends it off to the DNC, where it is used as they see fit to benefit the candidate of their choosing (see http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/9/1467700/-This-May-Be-The-Reason-Bernie-s-Not-Fundraising-for-the-State-Democratic-Parties). Seems like a means of controlling the primary process, a not very democratic move.