What a pleasant surprise to hear the New York Times unequivocally praise Bernie’s campaign today. Calling Bernie’s campaign “a gift” to the Democratic Party, the editorial page says three important things.
1. He’s brought to light the party’s myopia about the ongoing economic pain:
The Democratic Party and Mrs. Clinton are better off for Mr. Sanders’s presence in this race. His criticism, as Winston Churchill might say, was not agreeable. But it called necessary attention to unhealthy developments in the Democratic Party, including its at-times obliviousness to the lingering economic pain of the middle class and the young, and its drift toward political caution over aspiration.
2. He’s restored the urgency of workers’ needs and goals to the party:
To this day, Mr. Sanders’s rallies are lit up by people who say he is the candidate most focused on their struggle for jobs, better health care and debt relief, and most interested in taking action against those who profited while wages for the working class stagnated and their hopes diminished.
3. He’s made Clinton a better candidate by giving voice to widespread discontent with the status quo, forcing her at least to face her weaknesses on domestic policy:
While Mrs. Clinton outflanks him on both knowledge and practice of foreign policy, on domestic policy he has forced her to address the impact of trade deals and globalization, spell out her stances on clean energy and oil and gas exploration, and put more meat on her plans for college affordability. He’s exposed her failure to support $15 an hour as a federal minimum wage, and rightly called her out on the Wall Street speeches that earned her millions and her refusal to make the transcripts public.
The editorial is a good reminder of how refreshing this campaign has been. It is beyond welcome to see the party genuinely grapple with ideas it has played down in an effort to find the carefully calibrated advance response to imagined opposition. It is fantastic to see how passionate the voters — and particularly the young voters who are inheriting a complex world with many problems — have become.
Thanks Bernie for this great gift. Thanks for tirelessly giving voice to large swaths of voters (and non-voters) who have felt silenced for a long time. And thanks for staying in the race through the primary season despite all the calls to step down, so you can keep on inspiring your voters and bringing crucial issues to the table! As a proud member of the Democratic party, I am grateful for your service.
[Update: forgot to include the link to the NY Times editorial.]