It’s going to get really ugly going forward. The Clinton campaign will go full Rovian and fire with all their guns at Bernie. Doing so they will polarize the Democratic voters even more and possibly totally. I don’t consider myself a Bernie or bust type but I do understand their mindset. Some Berners will fire back and justifiably so. Bernie’s campaign is not as centrally organized top-down as Hillary’s. It is asymmetric warfare. DailyKos is a case in point. On one side you have the establishment headed by Kos himself and on the other side individual Kossacks that support each other.
The Clinton people do not seem to understand what they are up against. Bernie’s political revolution is a new type of politics. Driven by crowdfunding small donations and social media and attracting millions of new voters who, however progressive, were not inspired to participate in politics until Bernie declared.
But Bernie has a decision to make now. Will he get down to the level of an increasingly negative Hillary or will he transcend?
Hillary is a super wonk. She is probably wonkier than everybody in DC. I give her full credit for that, very impressive. But wonks are tacticians. Bernie has to go full strategist.
Bernie has a vision for a new America. Hillary keeps insisting that his vision is not doable. Hillary’s people seem to focus on probabilities while Bernie talks about possibilities. Those who make the possible, however improbable, a new reality are those who make history. Bernie is making history already.
At the level of tactics, I give Hillary credit for managing her war room and tight OODA loops. Hillary has changed her message so much so that even Saturday Night Live has made fun of her. Unfortunately for her, this tactics seems to backfire. With very few exceptions this is not working. If anything, by validating Bernie’s message and vision she motivates Bernie’s supporters and even attracts more undecideds to his side.
I hope that Bernie’s campaign transcends the possible direct warfare and operates at a higher level by continuing to highlight his vision AND by extends a hand to her followers. Perhaps the next debate will set the stage.
I operate in the front lines and I enjoy it. As I always say, if we all do what we can Bernie wins. But if Bernie manages to rise above the level of direct, however asymmetrical, confrontation and transcend, he will prove once more that he is a different politician and he will be a great President.