Hillary Clinton’s framing speaks to the heart of many even as Bernie Sanders message is factually pure
CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield interviewed Bernie Sanders’ press secretary Simone Sanders on a very important issue. She asked if Bernie Sanders’ economy driven message will resonate. She then played Hillary Clinton at a rally.
“Not everything is about an economic theory. Right?” Hillary Clinton said as the crowd verbally agreed. “If we broke up the big banks tomorrow — and I will if they deserve it, if they pose a systemic risk I will — will that end racism? Will that end sexism? Will that end discrimination against the LGBT community? … I am the only candidate who will take on every barrier to progress. I am the only candidate who has a record of taking on these barriers.”
Whether you are a Hillary Clinton supporter or a Bernie Sanders supporter that statement has resonance if you are a woman, LGBT person, a racial minority, or any aggrieved person. I live in a fairly affluent community where every black person can relate to having lived the American dream economically but is still a victim of racism (see this & this). Women in my community still complain about the glass ceiling they cannot break. In our local Democratic group, women have complained to me about democratic men not respecting their intellect even as they have done more in the local movement than most men. I have seen in Houston the LGBT community not only attacked by the Right but by many Democrats. The person who is vying for that party leadership must specifically address those.
To be clear, it is my belief that Bernie Sanders understands all of the above. Moreover it is clear that his racial justice platform, his women’s rights platform, LGBT rights platform, and all his other issue platforms are all encompassing. He is not a single issue candidate. However because his message is heavily weighted to what is indeed our most egregious issue, a rigged economy, he is allowing Hillary Clinton to frame him as a one issue candidate.
When it comes to delivering a political message that resonates, I always beg that politicos read two books. Bernie Sanders and his team must read Thomas Frank’s, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America,” and Drew Westen’s, “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.” These books underscore the problems Democrats have in getting what is otherwise a message with policies that are more beneficial to middle-class and poor America than that of conservatives, codified in the minds of the masses. Yet most Americans either continue to vote against their interests or do not vote at all.
After viewing Hillary Clinton’s message, Simone Sanders still did not quite get it as she attempted to hammer the factual truth that the Sander’s message is all encompassing.
“With all due respect to secretary Clinton,” Simone Sanders said. “Senator Sanders’ message is a multifaceted message that we believe speaks to hard working American people across this country whether they are black, white, latino, native American, Asian American, or otherwise. And so when he is out on the campaign trail he is talking about yes, economic inequality, breaking up the big banks, raising the minimum wage. But we are also talking about criminal justice reform. And senator Sanders is the only candidate in this race that has introduced a comprehensive racial justice platform that addresses the five different types of violence people in this country experience every day. So you want to talk about Flint, that is environmental violence. That calls for environmental justice. Senator Sanders is talking about those issues. If you would like to talk about voting rights, that is political violence. Senator Sanders is talking about those issues. So I reject the notion that he is a one issue candidate.”
Everything that Ms. Sanders said is correct. However what Bernie Sanders is not doing in a most effective manner is connecting the dots in a manner that the average more aggrieved American will feel in the heart. For those of us in the movement to rid America of an oligarchy tittering on a fascist regime, our more intellectual terms like racial justice, political violence, economic justice, etc. do not necessarily connect to the hearts of people because that is simply not conversational language. Worse, when one talks about the Flint water poisoning reality being an environmental violence issue, it diminishes the fact that it has a strong racial component. The Flint issue would have been handled much differently if the city was predominantly white. Hillary Clinton got it and played it. Most understand that the Clintons are perfect at playing racial politics, however disingenuous when it is in their interest. They subliminally disparage minorities in some areas to get the majority vote and come out in their strong defense when their (the minority) vote is needed.
When Ashleigh Banfield pressured Simone Sanders by pointing out there were times when the economy was doing fairly well for Americans yet racism did not go away and as such how can one argue that economic equality is the solution. To be clear, Bernie Sanders never said that or implied that. However, his messaging has left the door open for Hillary Clinton to paint it in that manner. One should note that our rather shallow and lazy media general pick up on the fallacies by well orchestrated spinners. Simone Sanders’ answer started to get closer to the manner in which Bernie Sanders need to adjust his messaging and stump speech.
“Senator Sanders has said that racial inequality and economic inequality are parallel issues that must be addressed simultaneously in this country,” Sanders said. “So we have to attack these things from two ends. But to Secretary Clinton’s point, you could eradicate racism tomorrow and there still would be poor people of color in this country. You could eradicate racism tomorrow and young black kids, young people from the inner city, young white children still would not have the opportunity to get a quality and affordable education. So we have to attack this thing from all angles. And that is what Senator Sanders is doing and calling for. Look, under Senator Sanders’ plan to raise the minimum wage, 54% of African American would stand to get a wage raise. Those are the things that we are talking about out here on the campaign trail.”
Simone Sanders did much better with the above response. It is important that Bernie Sanders speak in the language that immediately affect people’s lives and then tie it to the more systemic ills in our rigged economy and not the other way around. It is nothing new, but it is how one cooks the food to make it more easily digestible.