For a party that maintains a broad open presidency primarily with more than two-tens of thousands of candidates, ranging from left to center – and with the wounds of 2016’s inequality still rampant – achieving party unity at this Democratic National Convention is this top priority.
And Democrats aim to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
WHO SPEAKS AND WHEN AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
Four years ago, after a divisive primary battle, populist champions took sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont nominated the presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton. But there was a lot of bad blood at that summer’s Democratic convention. The confab, held in hot and humid Philadelphia, was rocked by progressive protests that were televised live on national cable news networks. The deep divisions were a contributing factor in Donald Trump’s overwhelming victory over Clinton.
Four forward four years and again the left fell short because progressive standard-bearers Sanders and sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in the primaries were defeated by modern former vice president Joe Biden.
But this time, with a common enemy in the White House, the worst pandemic facing this country in a century, and a primary process that ended much earlier than four years ago, could be a repeat of the widespread hostilities of 2016. be well prevented.
In this 2016 photo shoot, supporters of Bernie Sanders are seen protesting outside the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. (FNC)
That is not to say that sounds on the left are not angry, and the virtual convention represents a key test if Sanders’ followers can be kept in the fold. Many of them have vocalized their dissatisfaction with Biden as the nominee – and with the appointment of the former vice president last week of sen. Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.
There has been a panic by some on the left in recent days over the inclusion of moderate Democrat and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who was a 2020 primary participant, and former governor of Ohio and 2016 GOP presidential candidate John Kasich as speakers of convention – while some well-known progressive voices did not make the list. And some Sanders delegates promised to vote against a party platform that does not include “Medicare-for-all.”
PROGRESSIVE BLAST DEMOCRATIC OFFICIALS ON CONVENTION SPEAKERS LINEUP
“There are people who are really disappointed with how the primary came out and there will certainly be some restraining elements among Bernie Sanders’ delegates,” acknowledged Neil Sroka, communications director for the progressive group Democracy for America.
But Sanders has gotten a speaking lock for the opening night at the convention on Monday, which means he will help set the tone for the entire week. And both Sanders and Warren – as well as other major progressive leaders and organizations – strongly support Biden and Harris.
Even before claiming the nomination, Biden began to adopt some of Sanders and Warren’s leading progressive policy proposals. And Biden and Sanders have worked together to form task forces that have found common ground on key issues. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – a leader of the younger generation of progressives and champion of the Green New Deal – co-chaired the Panel on Climate Change.
“The Biden campaign – in part because Biden personally had a close relationship with Sen. Sanders – has done a better job of reaching out to the grassroots base,” said Sroka, a locally elected official in Michigan. and 2020 congressional delegate who supported Sanders in this year’s nomination race. “They did a better job, not throwing their victory in the faces of progressives – I think, because they saw how useless that was in 2016.”
Sroka notes that another “difference between 2016 and 2020 is that in 2016 it was not exactly clear that the progressive movement would be the emerging force in the Democratic Party going forward.”
He said that now “it is very clear that the future of the Democratic Party is moving in a progressive direction”, adding that Biden has emphasized this by calling himself a ‘transitional president’ – which gives progressives much more room to feel like they have an interest in this party. “
TRUMP TO CAMPAIGN IN SWINGING STATES IN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
Veteran Democratic adviser and communications strategist Lynda Tran said a core goal at the convention is to “project a level of unity across the party from the progressive side of things to the modern wing of the party to show that everyone in lockstep and everyone is united. ”
Adam Green, co-founder of the Commission on Progressive Change Campaign, which supported Warren in the primaries, stressed that “progressives have inherent energy to vote against Trump.”
He suggested that “if Biden wants to support progressives to donate and volunteer to vote for every last person, he will use the convention to shed light on progressive issues he has covered, such as student debt cancellation and benefits of “Social security is expanding during this pandemic, more business accountability, and the taxing of the rich to pay for things like jobs for clean energy.”
There was a lot of disagreement in the Democratic convention four years ago. – but fires were further fueled by a collection of compromising emails from the Democratic National Committee set up by hackers alleging Russian intelligence bureau operatives were released by Wikileaks on the eve of the confab.
Sroka notes that the challenges that Clinton was going through at the convention were caused by the releases of Wikileaks. That was an enormous confusing factor. ”
Another big difference – this year’s convention will be virtual, due to serious concerns of large gatherings of people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Without a packed arena full of delegates and grassroots activists, unrest will be harder to reach. “You need a wildfire to emerge and that can not really happen when people are as distant as they are,” Sroka said.
