What Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Heath Mello did was expose some of the reasons why people stayed home after 2008. Most of the Democrats who lost since 1994 (not all) lost because they were Blue Dogs, or people willing to vote with Republicans, who did not recognize the fact that the GOP does not act in good faith.
The Daily Kos user subir rants at the management for calling out Bernie Sanders for endorsing Heath Mello. But the fact of the matter is that there can be no unity without principle; otherwise, it is not sustainable. The fact of the matter is that being for forced pregnancy is a dealbreaker for many committed Democrats and progressives; if we were to get rid of Roe and return to the world of forced pregnancy, then we will exacerbate the very inequality that Bernie Sanders says he’s against.
From my 13 years of being involved in Democratic politics, here are the following principles that we hold as a party – these issues are non-negotiable:
--My body, my choice. We all have different views on abortion. Don’t like abortion? Don’t have one. But don’t go forcing your personal religious beliefs on others, like Heath Mello tried to do with his 20 week abortion ban.
--The clear and present danger of manmade climate change. Heath Mello, for instance, does not understand this; he supports Keystone XL.
--The use of military force only as a last resort.
--The clear and present danger of inequality.
--The fact that Black, Native American, Latino, and other lives matter.
--The preservation, protection, and expansion of the social safety net.
How do we come up with these principles? Science, history, the US Constitution, and facts are the final arbitrators of truth. Let’s use race as an example – science (since at least 1925; I saw a 1925 World Almanac report on this) has found that we are all one human race regardless of the color of one’s skin. This is based on scientific fact; therefore, it is non-negotiable. Are there things that we can disagree on? Yes; last year’s primary was a perfect example. Democrats can disagree on whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders was a better President. That’s something Democrats can disagree on and still be Democrats. But unity now is non-negotiable – to do otherwise ignores the lessons of history, such as the time when Hitler’s opponents decided they would rather fight among themselves than unite against Hitler.
The difference between the need for unity between Sanders and Clinton supporters and Mello is that both Sanders and Clinton ran campaigns that were grounded in reality. Mello’s support for forced pregnancy and Keystone XL is not. Big difference. I’d probably still vote for Mello if I lived there. But as long as he continues to support forced pregnancy or Keystone XL, I’m not going to donate, phone bank, tweet, or get out the vote for him as long as he doesn’t recant his previous support for those issues. That is not what we are as a party. Subir bashes Hillary Clinton for saying she would be willing to compromise on late term abortions. But Hillary said she would only do so if there were protections for the life of the mother. That is totally in line with Roe vs. Wade. In the third trimester, the fetus has a cerebral cortex and thus becomes viable.
These are not secondary issues. Our country was balanced on the backs of Blacks and Native Americans and perpetuated by the notion that white males had a position of privilege and power and that their needs come first. For Bernie Sanders to blow off the anger at the prospect of Roe being overturned shows that he is tone deaf regarding the lessons of history.
Subir notes that Ben Jay Lujan of the DCCC didn’t do one thing for James Thompson, which might have made a difference in a close election. I agree. Thompson, unlike Mello, was grounded in reality and supported all of the core issues that make us Democrats and Progressives. He showed that one can be a Progressive and still run a competitive campaign in a deep red district. I don’t care whether someone is being supported by the Sanders or Clinton wings of the party. What I care about is their adherence to our principles. For Ben Ray Lujan to turn his back on Thompson smacks of tribalism. If he won’t support candidates just because Our Revolution did, then he does not belong in power as the chair of the DCCC.
Next Subir attacks Markos’ attack on Sanders saying he’s not a Democrat and Markos’ remark about the party being “broken and irrelevant.” Sanders said:
"If the Democratic Party is going to succeed — and I want to see it succeed — it's gonna have to open its door to independents," he continued. "There are probably more independents in this country than Democrats or Republicans. It's got to open its doors to working people and to young people, create a grassroots party. That's what we need."
I personally don’t care whether Sanders considers himself a Democrat or an Independent. Most of the country identifies as the latter, as Sanders points out. But we cannot sacrifice our principles just to gain a few tactical victories here and there. Sanders said in the same interview that he wanted the party to focus on the decline of the middle class, the need to take on wealthy interests, and unite around Medicare for All. But Mello’s support for forced pregnancy and Keystone XL achieves none of those stated goals; in fact, it would set them back.
Subir then goes on to bash Hillary Clinton for politicking with Senator Joe Manchin, who has been on the fence and has called himself pro-life. Was Hillary out of line? It depends. If Senator Manchin believes in late term abortion bans with no protections for the life of the mother, then yes, she is out of line.
He rightly says that Progressives have to wrest control from the centrist/third way factions of the party. But the problem is that first of all, Bernie Sanders does not have a corner on progressivism within the party. Secondly of all, supporting candidates who believe in forced pregnancy or Keystone XL, like Sanders has done, entrenches the very sort of centrism/third way mentality that Subir says he’s against.
Subir rests by calling out the Twitter user Propane Jane, who hates Bernie with a passion. Among one of the nicer things she says about Bernie is, “Bernie can’t get it through his thick ass skull that the WWC [White Working Class] majority hasn’t voted Democrat in 50 years precisely b/c of identity politics.” But I would be pretty pissy too if my rights were trampled on for the last 500+ years, ever since Columbus “discovered” this land. The fact of the matter is that without justice, there will be no peace in this country, let alone unity within the Democratic Party.