The Bernie Campaign: The Democratic Party's Biggest Insurrection in Decades
Published on
Monday, February 01, 2016
by
Common Dreams
The Bernie Campaign: The Democratic Party's Biggest Insurrection in Decades
by
Norman Solomon
(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Forty-eight years ago, a serious insurrection jeopardized the power
structure of the national Democratic Party for the first time in memory.
Propelled by the movement against the Vietnam War, that grassroots uprising
cast a big electoral shadow soon after Senator Eugene McCarthy dared to
challenge the incumbent for the Democratic presidential nomination.
When 1968 got underway, the news media were scoffing at McCarthy's antiwar
campaign as quixotic and doomed. But in the nation's leadoff New Hampshire
primary, McCarthy received 42 percent of the vote while President Lyndon B.
Johnson couldn't quite get to 50 percent-results that were shattering for
LBJ. Suddenly emboldened, Senator Robert Kennedy quickly entered the race.
Two weeks later, Johnson announced that he wouldn't seek re-election.
"Candidates often want to harness social movements for their campaigns. But
our best approach is to view electoral campaigns as-at best-subsets of
movements, not the other way around."
Although the nomination eventually went to Johnson's vice president Hubert
Humphrey-a supporter of the war who was the choice of Democratic power
brokers-the unmasking of the party's undemocratic process led to internal
reforms that aided the Democratic Party's second modern insurrection. It
came four years later, when Senator George McGovern won the presidential
nomination, thanks to grassroots movements involving young people and
activists of color. But any sense of triumph disappeared in the wake of
President Nixon's landslide re-election in November 1972.
The third major insurrection came in 1988, when Jesse Jackson led a dynamic,
multiracial "rainbow" campaign for president that had major impacts on the
national stage. (His previous campaign, in '84, had been relatively weak.)
The 1988 primaries and caucuses were hard-fought, state by state, with
rainbow activists working shoulder-to-shoulder, whether focused on issues of
class, race or gender. (Back then, Jackson was a gutsy voice for social
justice, for human rights and against war -- much more willing to confront
the Democratic Party establishment than he is now.) At the contentious
Democratic National Convention that summer in Atlanta, where Jackson
delegates were highly visible as 30 percent of the total, the old guard
closed ranks behind nominee Michael Dukakis.
Now, as February 2016 gets underway, we're in the midst of the first major
insurrection against the Democratic Party power structure in 28 years. The
millions of us who support the Bernie Sanders campaign-whatever our
important criticisms-should aim to fully grasp the huge opportunities and
obstacles that await us.
Of the three previous insurrections, only one gained the nomination, and
none won the presidency. Corporate capitalism-wielding its muscular
appendage, mass media-can be depended upon to take off the gloves and pummel
the insurrection's candidate to the extent that the campaign has gained
momentum. That happened to McCarthy, McGovern and Jackson. It's now
happening to Sanders.
The last days of January brought one big-daily newspaper editorial after
another after another attacking Bernie with vehemence and vitriol. The less
unlikely his winning of the nomination gets, the more that mega-media
assaults promoting absurdities will intensify.
Meanwhile-at least as long as her nomination is threatened from the
left-Hillary Clinton will benefit from corporate biases that wallpaper the
mass-media echo chambers. The Sunday New York Times editorial endorsing
Clinton could hardly be more fanciful and hagiographic if written by her
campaign.
Many of the same media outlets and overall corporate forces that denounced
Eugene McCarthy in 1968, George McGovern in 1972 and Jesse Jackson in 1988
are gunning for Bernie Sanders in 2016. We shouldn't be surprised. But we
should be ready, willing and able to do our own messaging-widely and
intensely-in communities across the country.
At the same time, we should not confuse electoral campaigns with long-term
political organizing. Campaigns for office are quite different matters than
the more transformative task of building progressive infrastructure-and
vibrant coalitions-that can endure and grow, year after year.
Genuinely progressive candidates can inspire and galvanize-and sometimes
they can even win. But election campaigns, especially national ones, are
almost always boom/bust. Sometimes they can help to fuel movement momentum,
but they aren't the engine.
Election campaigns are distinct from movements even if they converge for a
while, no matter what pundits and campaign spinners say. Candidates often
want to harness social movements for their campaigns. But our best approach
is to view electoral campaigns as-at best-subsets of movements, not the
other way around.
The Bernie campaign could be a watershed for progressive organizing through
the rest of this decade and beyond. That will largely depend on what
activists do-in the next weeks, months and years.
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The Bernie Campaign: The Democratic Party's Biggest Insurrection in Decades
Published on
Monday, February 01, 2016
by
Common Dreams
The Bernie Campaign: The Democratic Party's Biggest Insurrection in Decades
by
Norman Solomon
. 27 Comments
.
. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
. Forty-eight years ago, a serious insurrection jeopardized the power
structure of the national Democratic Party for the first time in memory.
Propelled by the movement against the Vietnam War, that grassroots uprising
cast a big electoral shadow soon after Senator Eugene McCarthy dared to
challenge the incumbent for the Democratic presidential nomination.
. When 1968 got underway, the news media were scoffing at McCarthy's
antiwar campaign as quixotic and doomed. But in the nation's leadoff New
Hampshire primary, McCarthy received 42 percent of the vote while President
Lyndon B. Johnson couldn't quite get to 50 percent-results that were
shattering for LBJ. Suddenly emboldened, Senator Robert Kennedy quickly
entered the race. Two weeks later, Johnson announced that he wouldn't seek
re-election.
. "Candidates often want to harness social movements for their
campaigns. But our best approach is to view electoral campaigns as-at
best-subsets of movements, not the other way around."
. Although the nomination eventually went to Johnson's vice president
Hubert Humphrey-a supporter of the war who was the choice of Democratic
power brokers-the unmasking of the party's undemocratic process led to
internal reforms that aided the Democratic Party's second modern
insurrection. It came four years later, when Senator George McGovern won the
presidential nomination, thanks to grassroots movements involving young
people and activists of color. But any sense of triumph disappeared in the
wake of President Nixon's landslide re-election in November 1972.
The third major insurrection came in 1988, when Jesse Jackson led a dynamic,
multiracial "rainbow" campaign for president that had major impacts on the
national stage. (His previous campaign, in '84, had been relatively weak.)
The 1988 primaries and caucuses were hard-fought, state by state, with
rainbow activists working shoulder-to-shoulder, whether focused on issues of
class, race or gender. (Back then, Jackson was a gutsy voice for social
justice, for human rights and against war -- much more willing to confront
the Democratic Party establishment than he is now.) At the contentious
Democratic National Convention that summer in Atlanta, where Jackson
delegates were highly visible as 30 percent of the total, the old guard
closed ranks behind nominee Michael Dukakis.
Now, as February 2016 gets underway, we're in the midst of the first major
insurrection against the Democratic Party power structure in 28 years. The
millions of us who support the Bernie Sanders campaign-whatever our
important criticisms-should aim to fully grasp the huge opportunities and
obstacles that await us.
Of the three previous insurrections, only one gained the nomination, and
none won the presidency. Corporate capitalism-wielding its muscular
appendage, mass media-can be depended upon to take off the gloves and pummel
the insurrection's candidate to the extent that the campaign has gained
momentum. That happened to McCarthy, McGovern and Jackson. It's now
happening to Sanders.
The last days of January brought one big-daily newspaper editorial after
another after another attacking Bernie with vehemence and vitriol. The less
unlikely his winning of the nomination gets, the more that mega-media
assaults promoting absurdities will intensify.
Meanwhile-at least as long as her nomination is threatened from the
left-Hillary Clinton will benefit from corporate biases that wallpaper the
mass-media echo chambers. The Sunday New York Times editorial endorsing
Clinton could hardly be more fanciful and hagiographic if written by her
campaign.
Many of the same media outlets and overall corporate forces that denounced
Eugene McCarthy in 1968, George McGovern in 1972 and Jesse Jackson in 1988
are gunning for Bernie Sanders in 2016. We shouldn't be surprised. But we
should be ready, willing and able to do our own messaging-widely and
intensely-in communities across the country.
At the same time, we should not confuse electoral campaigns with long-term
political organizing. Campaigns for office are quite different matters than
the more transformative task of building progressive infrastructure-and
vibrant coalitions-that can endure and grow, year after year.
Genuinely progressive candidates can inspire and galvanize-and sometimes
they can even win. But election campaigns, especially national ones, are
almost always boom/bust. Sometimes they can help to fuel movement momentum,
but they aren't the engine.
Election campaigns are distinct from movements even if they converge for a
while, no matter what pundits and campaign spinners say. Candidates often
want to harness social movements for their campaigns. But our best approach
is to view electoral campaigns as-at best-subsets of movements, not the
other way around.
The Bernie campaign could be a watershed for progressive organizing through
the rest of this decade and beyond. That will largely depend on what
activists do-in the next weeks, months and years.
