Critics say his bid boils down to self-promotion.
He has said he’s running to win, but also to push the party to the political left. Sanders’ explanations for his run and persistence have shifted. He has far exceeded expectations, but he has alienated many Democrats who take issue with his attacks on Clinton. At worst, it’s just an excuse for Sanders to keep fighting.īy July, Sanders will have been running for president for 14 months. The platform is, at best, a handy document to cite when pushing for legislation, as long as the actual political leverage comes from elsewhere. Her future adherence to the resulting positions depends solely on whether she feels continues to feel political pressure. If Sanders forced Clinton to the left, it was because she felt compelled to shift to win votes.
But Clinton can compromise on the platform because, remember, the platform doesn’t matter. Clyburn’s real leverage with Bill Clinton was his budget vote, not a piece of paper.Ĭlinton clearly wants to avoid the convention fight Sanders has threatened if he is shut out on the platform committee. The platform binds neither the presidential nominee nor any of the party’s candidates once they’re in office. “I don’t know of any president who before making a tough decision said, ‘I better consult with the platform committee,’” New York Democratic Rep. There is, however, scant evidence that White House occupants care what their platform included after they’re elected. The best case for caring about the party platform is that it can codify such positions and provide a means to later pressure the president. By proposing to allow Americans to buy into Medicare and in voicing partial support for a $15 minimum wage, Clinton took positions that can at least be construed as aimed at minimizing her differences with her opponent on progressive issues. Most people outside Clinton’s campaign considered her 2015 announcement of opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact a calculated election year move influenced by Sanders’ vociferous opposition to trade deals. Sanders has partially achieved that already. The best way for Sanders to affect policy is to influence the plans of the likely next president, Hillary Clinton. But his emphasis on the platform is curious. He ran for president to push his positions.
Sanders’ effort to push those ideas is logical. He said last month that he’d monitor whether Hillary Clinton adopts “many of the ideas that I think are extremely popular and I think very sensible.” He wants the party to adopt his calls to break up Wall Street banks, ban fracking, and raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The Vermont senator’s selection of Cornel West, an academic and vocal critic of President Obama, and pollster James Zogby, a Palestinian rights activist, for slots on the platform committee also drew attention.Įxplaining why he remains in a primary fight he has almost no chance of winning, Sanders has emphasized his interest in ensuring his proposals are enshrined as party planks.
Bernie Sanders is pushing hard to influence it. The Democratic Party’s platform is receiving extra attention this year because Sen.
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