"There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear ..."Stephen Stills
"For What It's Worth"
Buffalo Springfield
January 1967
Bernie Sanders had quite a Memorial Day. First, he addressed a spirited rally of more than 20,000 people in downtown Oakland, then he and actor Danny Glover drove a short distance and attended the second half of the Golden State Warriors' dramatic Game 7 victory in the NBA Western Conference Finals. As Sanders and much of the local media pointed out, his arrival coincided with the defending world champion Warriors coming from behind and taking command of the game, completing their dramatic comeback from a 3 games to 1 deficit in the series.
Naturally, Sanders saw a parallel with the California team's comeback to win the conference title and his own trailing campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination
"The Warriors were down 3-1 in the series and they turned it around and I think that's what we're going to do, too," Sanders exulted. "A very good omen for our campaign."
Since getting ripped for seeming to rationalize his supporters' unacceptable behavior in shouting down the very liberal Senator Barbara Boxer -- a very fine person and Hillary backer now who served with me as co-chair of the SolarCal legislative task force back during Jerry Brown 1.0 -- at the recent Nevada Democratic Convention, Sanders has mostly cooled the anti-Hillary Clinton rhetoric coming from his campaign. Sanders himself has seemed to take up the challenge of competing to be the best candidate in running against Donald Trump. And his campaign has seemed to really take off here in California, with big rallies all over the state.
Is the force really with Sanders now, such that he can come from behind to win the California primary, then somehow parlay that into overturning Hillary's 3 million-vote advantage in the popular vote and near lock on the number of delegates needed to win the nomination?
Well, maybe the first. But you wouldn't want to bet on the second.
California public polls are all over the place. One very respected poll has a statistical tie, while a couple of other public polls have double-digit Clinton leads. My read is that both are off, that Hillary is ahead, but Bernie is in striking distance.
The Clintons evidently see things the same way, as Hillary is scrapping her previous schedule in favor of campaigning on five straight days here, starting Thursday.
Sanders has been drawing big crowds everywhere, and I mean everywhere, including places no other presidential primary candidate has ever gone, around California. It's ultimate import is not yet clear, but there is clearly, as old Hart for President campaign friend Stephen Stills sang so long ago, "something happening here."
If supporter enthusiasm equated to electoral victory, Sanders would have the Democratic presidential nomination in the bag. That it often does not does nothing to negate the fact that Sanders has struck a very powerful chord with his message criticizing the historic levels of income inequality and rigging of the political system by big money and media.
Governor Jerry Brown cited that in a statement on the race, praising Sanders and noting that he emphasized similar themes in his 1992 presidential campaign, in which he finished as the Democratic runner-up to Bill Clinton in a bruising battle. Sanders, of course, differs from Brown in running as a democratic socialist.
But Brown went on to endorse Hillary Clinton this time after meeting for 90 minutes earlier this month with former rival Bill Clinton at the Old Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, which Brown and First Lady/Special Counsel Anne Gust Brown have refurbished as a truly historic residence.
Brown pointed up Hillary's big overall lead in the Democratic contest and near lock on the delegates needed to win. He praised her skills, experience, and tenacity, citing a world in crisis and the not at all unrelated threat of Donald Trump.
"This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other," he declared. "The general election has already begun."
As longtime readers know, I'm essentially always for Jerry Brown. His take is always very interesting and usually on target. And, not surprisingly, I don't disagree with his analysis.
But as a mere columnist, I have a slightly different conclusion. As I've said before, I intend to vote for Bernie Sanders.
He may not have struck me as a president when we met a few years ago, but he was clearly a powerful advocate. And his advocacy in this campaign merits not only my great respect, but my primary vote.
While I may differ with this and that particular in his democratic socialist agenda, he and his movement represent a powerful political tendency which can serve as a force for greater justice and less corruption.
As for Hillary Clinton, longtime readers know that I not infrequently disagree with her on the issues. While I'm hardly a pacifist or really any sort of dove, I'm generally a much more highly selective hawk than the former secretary of state. And the Wall Street coziness really is too much.
The presence of a powerful Sanders vector in American politics can serve to help move her away from some problematic stances.
And if Hillary continues on the course probably set when she won three of the four February contest states, I will be happy to support Hillary for the general election.
She is highly intelligent, capable, hard-working and deeply engaged by substance, a pragmatic progressive and battle-tested veteran of decades of attacks from the right-wing and its compliant de facto media partners.
The stakes, with a chaotic world and the potential advent of the neo-fascist bully boy Trump, as aggressive a know-nothing ever to come close to the presidency in my lifetime, are simply too high.
In the meantime, godspeed to Bernie Sanders.
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