I’m not a Sander’s fan and never really looked at him, thinking it very early; but after watching his performance at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, I’m beginning to look more closely and think something important happened there.
I’m familiar a little with the school, and much more with the region. While Liberty was founded probably as a vanity response to Robert’s Regent’s Un., it is slowly evolving into something else since Jerry is gone and no longer playing hardball with Lynchburg City Council. That’s not to say it isn’t promoting its stated institutional values, but the community and student body its drawing from is not as homogeneous as it once was. Its student body are like any other group of similarly aged kids, with good, bad and indifferent morals or interests. The potential is there to reach out to them and find common ground on issues they think are important and offer realistic alternative viewpoints on issues to which they have been taught to oppose.
One value of his speech is that it shows those who are on a different political spectrum are not evil incarnate, raving commie, morally corrupt and bent on America’s destruction; which has been the message since Gingrich and Lutz came up with the word list and the GOP climbed in bed with the hard shell southern religious sects. Sanders presented an image of a sincere individual who has thought long and hard about America’s current situation and how it could be addressed based on his moral world view. And he offered the suggestion (with examples) where his and his audience’s moral world view may coincide at many points in addressing those very same problems.
Butttt. I think the REAL value of this speech isn’t the handful of converts he may have made, it is in the effect it will have on the Democratic electorate. Here is a man speaking basically from the heart and appealing to the heart of his natural opposition. Without 2 dozen staff writing talking point, weak jokes and leaking behind the scenes gossip to the MSM; like another nominee. He is secure in himself and his position in a way HRC has never seemed to be in public. Certainly not in anyway her 2nd go around for the nomination. And I CANNOT imagine HRC going there to make a speech and doing half as well. I don’t think she would see the value of going there, trying or finding common ground. I believe she would come off as hectoring.
Which now begs the question. Should the Democratic nominee pursue a Blue/Purple State campaign, writing off large portions of the Nation or should that nominee actively and effectively address the concerns of those who may instinctively oppose any nominee of that party in areas not naturally predisposed to support said nominee? And if support could be gained, if not won, how much extra political capital would that nominee carry with him on Inauguration Day?
Ridge
