Not to give away the ending, but by the close of today’s BradCast, Hillary Clinton became the Democrats’ nominee for President of the United States.
Before we got there, however, we were joined from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia by longtime progressive journalist and author John Nichols of The Nation and Madison, Wisconsin’s Capital Times to discuss yesterday’s early tumult with the resignation of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and what we should expect from her interim replacement Donna Brazile between now and Election Day.
The bulk of our conversation, however, centers on how some of the most die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters and convention delegates are feeling today, what it may take for Clinton to win their votes between now and November, and where Sanders’ progressive movement may go thereafter. “Bottom line is,” he cautions, “it’s not what you hear at the convention, necessarily. It’s about what comes after.”
On an optimistic note, Nichols describes how he has been seeing many progressive Sanders supporters step up to run for office in recent days “all over this country. You won’t know all their names, and neither will I, because a lot of them will be running for Drainage Commissioner. But that’s how the Christian Coalition got its power, because they figured out there was a Religious Right way to be a Drainage Commissioner. And I can tell you something: there is absolutely a democratic socialist way to be a Drainage Commissioner.”
As to the likelihood of a Trump Presidency, Nichols is very concerned. “He’s talking to people who have had the hell beaten out of them by globalization, de-industrialization, automation. So it is not shocking at all that there are people feeling so pressured that they might consider an option that, by any reasonable measure, seems madness. We must accept that. The reality of politics. If we don’t, we end up with a surprise like Reagan in ’80. We tell ourselves something couldn’t happen, and then it goes and happens.”
But does the Democratic Party understand that? And is Nichols’ own home state of Wisconsin really in play this year, as Republicans seem to suggest every year? His answers to all of those questions and many others on today’s BradCast!
Also on today’s program: Extended excerpts from the moving and inspiring Day 1 speeches of Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and others, and a brilliant new way that one group concerned about climate change is hoping to entice new young voters to register…
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[audio:http://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_JohnNicholsDNC_MichelleObamaSandersSpeech_072616.mp3]
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huge mistake, this absolutely guarantees that Trump wins
Brad, if you didn’t watch today’s Democracy Now episode, you should. Jill Stein debates Ben Jealous. Also, Robert Reich debates Chris Hedges. Very lively debates, and at times dark.
On an optimistic note, Nichols describes how he has been seeing many progressive Sanders supporters step up to run for office in recent days…
An organization that will help out was started back in late April, and now we’re working to suss out potential Berniecrats to run for the House, then later support their campaigns as they try to crowd out the Corporocrats in 2018. Local groups are sprouting up all over the country. The political revolution continues with a Brand New Congress.
And just days ago, Bernie Sanders announced the official post-primary continuation of the Bernie political revolution to “transform American politics to make our political and economic systems once again responsive to the needs of working families. Our work will continue in the form of a new group called Our Revolution.”
There’s also another closer-to-the-roots organization that “works to support progressive candidates and causes. Our beginnings were as organizers and volunteers for the Bernie Sanders campaign.” In Solidarity Action
I guess as “cats,” we can’t have just one organization to conduct this revolution, can we?
#Demexit
Democrats are going to lose several MILLION registered democrats between now and November.
Most will go Independent, many will go Green Party.
But Clinton just destroyed the democratic party.