Reunite the Family

And now, it is time for the peace talks. On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton became the first female candidate in a United States presidential election.* All that remains is for her nomination to be confirmed at the Philadelphia convention in late July. For Bernie Sanders, the challenge is to continue his “socialist” crusade within the Democratic Party, while being careful not to let his stubbornness have a perverse effect in Donald Trump’s favor.

Bridges are better than walls, declared Hillary Clinton in her victory speech in New York, alluding to Republican Donald Trump’s populist idea of building a wall on the U.S. side of the Mexican border. And bridges are exactly what she initially needs to build with her immediate rival, who is, quite rightly, dragging his feet. Bernie Sanders did not show very much class in the aftermath of his disappointing defeat on Tuesday evening in the California primary. He ostensibly avoided acknowledging the page of history that Clinton had just written. It would, without a doubt, be better for his cause if his determination to stay in the race did not seem to come down to unreasonable stubbornness. However, the voices that urge him increasingly more insistently to bow out in the name of unifying the party against Trump do not deserve to be listened to. At least, not for the time being.

Under normal circumstances, Sanders would have acknowledged that his rival had acquired an insurmountable lead in the number of delegates and superdelegates, and would have immediately stepped aside, as Clinton did eight years ago for Barack Obama. However, the circumstances are not normal. On both the left and the right, the United States is experiencing some politically transformational events.

Sanders is well placed to not allow himself to be dictated to by those events. And Clinton probably knows only too well that it would be a mistake not to accommodate the demands of the movement that has formed around him.

Universal health coverage, opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, free higher education, an increase in the minimum wage: Clinton has been pulled to the left and has finally distanced herself from the soft Democratic center, giving credence, either wholly or in part, to her rival’s social discourse. It remains to be seen, said sociologist Simon-Pierre Savard Tremblay in a recent article in the Philosophy section of this paper, what Clinton will do with this social mobilization, beyond using it for her own campaign purposes. In the short term, Sanders is right to persevere, as it has been his candidacy that has rallied young Americans, a group that is difficult to mobilize. It would help no one if Clinton did not make a substantial effort to mobilize them, as this would give an advantage to the Republican Party, which is traditionally favored by a low turnout. It would also not help matters if Clinton suffered from a huge lack of confidence on the part of Democratic voters. According to a recent survey, if they could not vote for Sanders in November, 20 percent of Sanders voters would vote for Trump rather than for Clinton.

Therefore, on Tuesday evening, Clinton reached out to Sanders in unequivocal terms. Sanders made it quite clear that when it comes down to it, his perfectly legitimate aim during “peace talks” between the two camps will be to ensure that his demands are fixed in the presidency of a future Democratic administration. “Our mission is more than just defeating Trump; it is transforming our country,” Sanders said. Otherwise, the family will be divided.

*Editor’s Note: Hillary Clinton is the first female presidential nominee in a U.S. presidential election for a major political party (i.e., Democrat or Republican). There have been other female presidential nominees for parties such as the Green Party, the New Alliance Party, the Social Worker’s Party, and others.