How Sanders can rise above the cliches

The mainstream Democratic punditry, the national media and the Sanders presidential campaign share one thing in common: They are all dealing in cliches that are self-deceiving, which have, and will, adversely alter outcomes. The mainstream Democrats are convinced Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is too far left to win the election; the national media are repulsed by the word and image of this “socialist”; and the Sanders campaign is still using tired verbiage that is not reaching the broad audience required for a successful candidacy.

{mosads}Traditional Democrats have shunned the Sanders campaign. Not one member of Congress has endorsed him. To quote Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), the Democratic whip and a Clinton supporter: “I don’t think there’s an expectation that’s he’s going to be president of the United States.” The reasons vary from scary memories of the George McGovern and Eugene McCarthy presidential campaigns of the past, where “left-wing” candidates lost, to a conviction that there is an uncompromising character to the Sanders policy positions, to the “socialist” designation of the Sanders campaign and the notion that that appellation will not play well with the national electorate.

The media have had a similar response that focuses more on the label “socialist.” Likewise, there may be an element of age discrimination because Sanders is 74 and that seems terribly old in a country that values its youth; plus Sanders is at least nominally Jewish and he simply has the image of a crusty old man with a Brooklyn accent who has a tendency to stay on-message. There is none of the audience-grabbing pizzazz they get from the Republicans that keeps audiences coming back to the visuals.

Sanders has done an incredible job of appealing to the progressive base of the Democratic Party, but the characterization of “preaching to the choir” has elements of truth even though the Sanders campaign has been making efforts to broaden his base from the young and old predominately white voters.

What seems abundantly clear is these are cliches that characterize attitudes and alter attitudes within the electorate and may well short-circuit choices. The foreordained quality of Sanders’s inevitable demise — echoed by the media, reflected in the mainstream elements of the Democratic Party and reinforced by Sanders’s own rhetoric — may well rob the American voters from a clear ideological choice in 2016.

Equally disturbing is the fact that should the Sanders campaign fail and a less ideologically credible mainstream candidate like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Vice President Biden be the chosen nominee, it may well mean that 10 to 13 percent of the electorate will simply not show up at the polls.

If anything is to be altered in this trajectory, it is entirely up to Sanders to make it happen. The hints as to how that can come about were evidenced by Sanders’s appearance before a politely hostile audience at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., last week. Liberty University is the Bible-study creation of Jerry Falwell, the father of televangelism and the location Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) picked to announce his presidential candidacy.

In Sanders’s speech, he immediately acknowledged irreparable differences on issues like abortion, LBGT and women’s reproductive rights, but went on to challenge the students on the morality and injustice of income inequality. Sanders’s speech was critical, for it was the first time he spoke to a large audience (roughly 12,000) that did not agree with him and the key was making his economic message cross the chasm of ideological divide in ways that commanded attention and acknowledgment. He hit it spot-on. It is quite evident that he gained few, if any, converts, but there was a message, delivered in biblical vernacular, that Christian conservatives had to understand and ultimately reconcile.

Building on the use of phrases like “morality of greed” or the “injustice of inequality” is a start, but it has to be augmented by two things: capitalizing on the emerging awareness of the decline in real income and second, by a change in tone from strictly negative to positive and hopeful. It seems to have come as something of a surprise to many Americans that their preoccupation with universal healthcare, immigration, LBGT issues, deficit reductions or the distractions of terrorists and overseas military adventures masked their awareness that household real income has been declining for several decades (12.3 percent since 1995).

Unconsciously, however, the symptoms of economic distress have been manifest in the growing polarity of political beliefs. It has only been in the past year that income inequality has been popularized to the point where it rises to the level of national consciousness. It seems odd to have to say that Americans need to be told of one of the reasons why they feel anxious and financially insecure, but Sanders has been the poster child for the message and he needs to find ways to make the nation aware of his having led on this issue as his competition attempts to co-opt it.

In another vein, the plan for restoring the income of the middle class is not found in simply addressing higher taxes for the millionaires and billionaires. It must be characterized by selling the American Dream, the level playing field that Americans believe is or should be available, and the equal opportunity for success that can be their future. Polls have repeatedly told the story that Americans respond best to a positive message of hope or aspiration. The cliche of the grumpy old man with a Brooklyn accent could start with a few more smiles and language that reflects what his proposed changes will provide for the everyman.

If Sanders can do these things as he approaches the initial primaries, his expected victories will force the Democratic Party leadership to change its tune and the media their stereotyping. There are many ways to accomplish this and his maiden voyage into the mix at Liberty University was an excellent first step.

Russell is managing director of Cove Hill Advisory Services.