JUNE 9, 2016
Photo: AP
When the books are written about the 2016 primary season, and believe me, there’ll be plenty of them, June 9 will likely be looked at as the most significant day in this election cycle to date. Here are the important players:
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS – It began with a morning meeting between Sen. Bernie Sanders and President Obama in the Oval Office. Sanders stopped en route to Peet’s to get a coffee and a scone (I love that detail!) and took a ceremonial walk with the President to the Oval, where they met for over an hour. Sanders emerged to make a statement reiterating his concerns about income inequality in the U.S., his determination to compete in this year’s final primary on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (throwing in a little pitch for D.C. statehood along the way) and thanked the President and Vice-President for keeping their promise to remain impartial during the primary season. After reiterating his opposition to Trump, Sanders offered a most revealing conclusion:
“I spoke briefly to Secretary Clinton on Tuesday night and I congratulated her on her very strong campaign. I look forward to meeting with her in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump.”
SEN. HARRY REID – Sanders then went to a scheduled meeting with his close Senate friend, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who, even though he is retiring from the Senate, is still instrumental in setting the Democratic agenda in Congress and would be the one who could make legislation on income inequality happen. In addition, if the Democrats take the Senate this year, Sanders would be in line to become the chairman of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, another major perk. Sanders then met with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who will likely take over as Senate Minority (or maybe Majority if the Dems win) Leader for the next Congress. Should Sanders be returning to Congress, it looks like they’re getting all their ducks in a row.
PRESIDENT OBAMA – While Sanders was meeting with Reid, the President released a pre-produced video that announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton that included lavish praise for Sanders’ extraordinary campaign and the enthusiasm generated by his millions of voters. When told of the endorsement, Sanders did not appear surprised, so evidently that was part of his earlier discussion with the President.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN – Besides Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is probably the most influential Democratic progressive out there, and there’s been Presidential speculation about her almost since she entered the Senate. She has been known to go her own way — she is the only female Democratic senator who declined to endorse Clinton — but she has been especially close to Sanders in fighting for the same policy concerns. So it is significant that Sen. Warren is expected to formally endorse Hillary Clinton on Thursday night on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Though she’s been rumored as a possible Vice-Presidential pick, she has not appeared to be especially close to Clinton, despite tonight’s endorsement, so I doubt it will happen. But she would be a great choice for many reasons, not the least of which is that she’s the only Democrat who really knows how to get under Trump’s skin, and for that reason alone, she’s invaluable.
Now the big unknown —
SANDERS SUPPORTERS – As Hillary Clinton supporters from 2008 know all too well, there is a period of shock and grief whenever a campaign comes to a conclusion, but for a campaign that is also a deeply-felt movement, that grief is likely much more powerful. The fact that the events of today happened so quickly may make it more difficult for Sanders supporters to support Clinton, but there were die-hard Clinton fans in ’08 who vowed never to vote for Obama, but most of them did. That the Sanders campaign appealed to such a wide group of young voters, many of whom were participating in their very first campaign, may make the feeling of disillusion that much harder to take. When Sanders and Clinton finally do have their meeting, it will be crucial for them jointly to address his supporters to remind them of the importance of coming together to beat Donald Trump. Time will tell if or when that can happen.
Speaking of the King of Fifth Avenue, it was announced this week that the Trump campaign is currently in serious financial trouble. The self-proclaimed “self-funder” is down to about $2 million in the bank for his campaign, compared with Clinton’s $30 million, so Trump met on Wednesday with Republican fatcats to ask for money. Trump even went hat-in-hand to the Koch Brothers, who reportedly rebuffed him. It seems that the Financiers of All Things Evil find Donald Trump too distasteful even for them.
It seems ironic that, just as the Republican Party seems to be coming apart, the Democratic Party has quickly begun to come together.
