The Democratic Party in 2020 is falling into a familiar territory of disunity and alienation, a realm stoked and prodded on by the current occupant in the White House. It’s part of the reason this party failed to pull together for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the division is becoming a major player in what could be a similar outcome this coming November.

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden encapsulate this division perfectly. Sanders, the unwavering Democratic-Socialist whose supporters are ardent in their insurgent views, and Biden, the middle-of-the-road centrist aiming for gradual change through means of unification and concord.

Throughout this election season, President Donald Trump has bolstered the idea that the Democratic establishment is rigging the election against Sanders, a view shared by many of Sanders’ supporters. Even with the ultimate goal of beating Trump in November, Democrats have begun to collide. The president knows his best chance of winning re-election is to stoke this division, and so far, it’s working.

Wow! If Elizabeth Warren wasn’t in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states. Our modern day Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020

Politics is a messy business, and right now the American political system is in the gutter. But the heart of American politics is pumping poison through its veins instead of blood. Members of the Democratic Party face the challenge of fighting for their individual values while still maintaining a collective large enough to defeat those who are content with the status quo.

It starts with recognizing that we do share the same political party stamp, that we can have these difficult conversations with each other without creating unnecessary turmoil and that Trump will be president for another four years unless we pull together to say otherwise.

 

Sam Bova is a freshman writing and rhetoric major. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at sabova@syr.edu. He can be followed on Twitter at @sam_bova.

Published on March 4, 2020 at 7:52 pm