The New York Times recently reported that Senator Bernie Sanders raised over $8 million from his grassroots supporters on ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising web platform. For a presidential candidate considered a long shot, this is, and should be, considered quite a feat. It’s clear the senator has unexpected levels of grassroots support among the Democratic Party base.
A question remains, however: Is the Sanders surge a fluke, or can it be sustained long enough to become a noteworthy political campaign? In a race widely considered a non-contest, the ability for Senator Sanders to do well without taking major campaign donations could be substantial for future non-establishment candidates running in a post-Citizens United election.
It’s possible that Sanders’ success is built on an anti-Clinton wave, but if it is instead based on his policies, the right political infrastructure could take him far. And the support for many of Sanders’ ideas is clearly there.
Sanders is progressive on issues that are considered most important to young people, from marijuana legalization to income inequality to climate change. In early states, like New Hampshire and Iowa, polling hints that he is gaining ground on Clinton. Polling by Democracy Corps shows that the new majority of Americans also leans progressive. But being populist or progressive on the issues isn’t enough. The political infrastructure that supports the new majority and its populist ideas must also exist: a new kind of political power.
This “new power” politics is a rejection of the top-down, king-making mentality that has become symbolic of current American politics. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Jeremy Hiemans and Henry Timms define “old power” as “a currency possessed by the few.” However, they argue that new power, a force on the rise, is open and participatory. It is represented by institutions that crowdsource wisdom, allow for wide participation and sharing, and capitalize on the agency of a population. It’s the kind of political power driven by grassroots energy and bottom-up fundraising. It’s what many may say Barack Obama achieved in 2008. But it’s not the dominant force in today’s political system.
Sanders needs a surge of new political infrastructure, which can only be achieved by investing in it. We should invest in technology that not only polls and analyzes voters but also engages citizens in the long-term political and policy process. We should invest in civic infrastructure beyond the electoral cycle to ensure that democratic participation is not about being dragged to the polls every two to four years but, instead, is a regular aspect of American life.
A change in investments that shifts power politics could be game-changing for Sanders and future non-establishment candidates. It is still, of course, an uphill battle for Sanders to become a dangerous challenger for Hillary Clinton. But a powerful enough Sanders candidacy is good for the future of democratic elections.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 500 new monthly donors in the next 10 days.
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With love, rage, and solidarity,
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