The reality is that for many people things are already disastrous, which has opened up the space for Trump's candidacy. The #blacklivesmatter movement and guiding principles; the uprising against the #DAPL and in other places of systemically oppressed native Americans; the numerous Trump supporters, many who don't believe their children will have the same opportunities they do and worry about their health care; and the millions of college kids living at home should have provided pretty clear evidence of the struggles of a majority of Americans right now.
Additionally, it's unhelpful to stereotype anyone's supporters. The alienation of Sanders' supporters by the use of "Bernie Bros" should have proven as much. Truly all of us bring our own perspective and identity to the table. Even Malcolm Gladwell, half-black, wrote of a computer test that shows he is racist in his perceptions.
4. "People won't vote for her because she's a woman." This line -- a long-standing, major strategic thrust of the campaign and the media -- has been annoying many of us for months. There are some people who dislike her based on her gender. Yet it's really hard to argue the vast majority of voters who are not comfortable with Clinton are objecting primarily to her sex. I'm not going to list issues with her here. (And I agree there are an equal, if not longer, list of troublesome alliances and funding partners for Trump: that's why I supported Sanders). Yet pretending many people don't have legitimate concerns just annoys the people whose support you seek.
5. "The media is biased." Again, maybe, but that bias strongly benefited her during the primary. In the general, the mainstream media has focused on the "Russians are coming/here" narrative to discredit negative stories, and has downplayed her corporate connections.
6. "What's it going to take to get you to vote for her?" Um, a billion dollars in a Panamanian bank account? The answer is that our votes have never been for sale. Indeed, they have been a pretty harsh critique of a system where, increasingly, everything is up for sale.
7. "The Russians are going to hack the election (and then set it up to blame on Clinton) or are behind any and all unfavorable coverage." Unfortunately, this really doesn't resonate. The reality is that #DNCLeaks -- blamed on the Russians in no-time flat with no-proof -- just confirmed a lot of what we knew through the exposure of real DNC e-mails. RT provided a lot of great coverage on progressive priorities and election irregularities that were virtually ignored by the American mainstream media, who clearly sought to control election outcomes. (It's pretty tough to believe total ineptitude led them to neglect Sanders and his priorities, the latter which threatened their own and their advertisers.)
Also the United States has interfered through at least 50 covert and overt actions to overthrow governments since World War II and through foreign elections, and has planted malware in other nations' infrastructure. Our own government is allowed to utilize psychological operations on foreign populations, has done so illegally here, and now can utilize propaganda on American populations. To hear from the mainstream media, with its extensive foreign interests, as a recurring theme, that the foreign media is controlling our election unfortunately misses the noir note in the humor it must be striving for. It's also fundamentally unfair as a tactic to demonize non-corporate journalists who seek to coordinate globally through the exercise of their free speech rights.
So how do you reach out? Start with "What do you want in this country?" I agree with many organizations that person-to-person outreach is critical. But at the core of it must be communication, with an emphasis on listening to disenfranchised Sanders' supporters. Nationally, we can create and work towards a shared vision that a majority supports for further evolution: from less war, to affordable health care, to quality education and food, to democratically-created GMO labeling, to jobs paying living wages, to human rights and dignity for all. From Moral Revival, to #blacklivesmatter principles to Our Revolution to so many nonprofits and movements and groups, there is a vision for systemic change.
Sanders always emphasized it would take all of us, even with a candidacy notably more progressive than the two left, so how can it not now? In a late speech of his candidacy when the crowd cried, "Bernie, Bernie," he responded with, "Not me. Us." Many of us cried. In fact, many Democratic presidents, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt, have emphasized the importance of left-leaning social movements to their progressive achievements.
So Hillary supporters: ask about the advocacy Sanders' supporters engage in and pledge your support to those causes. Be prepared to think of much broader activism than you originally envisioned on the TPP, climate, war, surveillance, human rights, GMOs, investment, etc., starting now. Obviously alliances and activism will depend on respective levels of comfort but, for many of us, our exposure and involvement will grow organically. Through a growing respect for others' language, identity and political terrain, we will make progress.
Personally I will enthusiastically chant and dance to "I believe that we will win" both in terms of the election and the longer struggle -- the latter which occupies the bulk of my time -- even though I don't know if it will be the case. But I do believe that we can and will fight, together, for justice and that will be the most worthwhile pursuit of our lives.
We need the spaces for discussion, online, on front porches and elsewhere, about how our people will again thrive. Many Sanders' supporters may still not vote for Clinton but, I believe, many more may. In our joint spirit of solidarity, we will be free.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
6
5
4
