Can Clinton Overcome The Sanders Surge?

After Bernie Sanders’ historic victory in New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign is in official freak-out mode.

No other candidate in modern history has taken 60 percent of the New Hampshire vote and, as a variety of pundits have pointed out, a great many of those votes for Sanders came from (young) women – a bloc Clinton has been counting on. But it’s not only women who showed up for Sanders. Exit polls revealed the Democratic-socialist swept all age categories except voters over 65. He also accumulated support from an impressive number of independent voters – something Clinton has been unable to accomplish so far.

The Hill reports Clinton allies are panicking, saying her campaign’s fundamental problem is messaging. Allies are calling the New Hampshire loss “devastating.” The author goes on to explain that while Clinton currently has the edge in states that are more culturally diverse than Iowa and New Hampshire, she could lose that edge if the Clinton machine refuses to find more effective messaging.

Clinton’s high-profile feminist supporters’ attempt at shaming young women into voting for her seriously backfired last weekend when Gloria Steinem suggested young female voters are only interested in Bernie Sanders because they’re chasing after boys, and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright effectively damned women who aren’t supporting Clinton to hell. While some Hillary supporters see no real problem with that tactic, a huge number of women – young and old – took offense. In the end, the idea that prominent feminists could shame other feminists into voting for Clinton was an embarrassing mistake that came back to bite them in the ass.

Sanders’ assertive, positive messaging is working. The more the public becomes familiar with Sanders and his ideas, the more money he collects. When Clinton attempts to smear him, his fiercely loyal supporters invariably donate to his campaign and he gains more supporters. There’s no doubt that Sanders has a tough road, ahead and he must overcome some pretty hefty obstacles. His nomination isn’t in the bag, but underestimating his potential has only given his star more rise and his campaign more momentum.

In his NH victory speech, Bernie Sanders called on the American people to donate to his campaign and, within minutes, the campaign’s server slowed to a crawl due to a surge of donations. The surge was also record breaking — $7.2 million was collected in just over 24 hours.

Clinton has everything to lose, just like she did in 2008. Sanders has everything to gain; and if Clinton’s campaign doesn’t realize the smears, the shaming and the message that we as a nation can’t push forward a bold, progressive agenda because it’s too hard or expensive isn’t working, she could be facing a repeat of 2008.

After watching Bill Clinton’s attempt to paint Bernie Sanders as a sexist hypocrite, something struck me. I was a young adult when I cast my first vote for Clinton. After eight years of Reagan, the Clintons represented what seemed to be a new era. They were young, hip, charismatic and they represented what was wildly popular at that particular time in history: success. They were role models for Generation X. But now GenXers are buried in debt; many are incapable of paying the bills and still can’t afford healthcare (despite the gains made by the Affordable Care Act). More importantly, their children are facing crippling college debt without the promise of a living wage, as well as a myriad of other valid concerns that could negatively impact their future. Consequently, they aren’t very enthused about Clinton’s campaign promises. Bernie Sanders has captured their minds, their hearts and their attention with an honest message and one that fills them with hope – much like Barack Obama did eight years ago.

Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers, and the Clintons no longer have the same charismatic appeal as they did in 1992. Bill looks tired and frail. His rock star status and clout as a surrogate holds little appeal for a generation that didn’t grow up with him as their commander-in-chief.

Hillary is slick, polished and — while there’s no doubt she’s experienced and skilled — young people don’t feel she’s authentic or honest. They feel she’s out-of-touch with their specific set of needs. They don’t trust her and in some cases, they don’t even like her.

If the Clinton campaign wants to create a new surge of excitement for their effort, it’s going to have to figure out a way to keep the message positive and exciting to voters. A safe, “pragmatic,” corporate approach to governing isn’t cutting it for a huge part of the electorate that feels betrayed by a government bought by corporate America.

Like Kimberley A. Johnson on Facebook HERE, follow her HERE. Twitter: @authorkimberley

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