Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will be the front-runner in the next Democratic presidential primary. How can we know for certain these 23 months away from Election Day? Well, that’s what his campaign says, of course!
“This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners,” Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver told the Associated Press citing fundraising prowess, campaign infrastructure, and a grass roots army. The operative adds, “It’ll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again.”
And to be sure, the democratic socialist would be a formidable opponent for those reasons stated. But while the Sanders camp deserves points for confidence, they get docked for their hubris. Very recent history shows that cocky candidates are especially at risk of ruining their own coronations. If Sanders doubts this, Sanders should check in with the last Democratic presidential nominee.
Hillary Clinton is on tour at the moment talking to mostly empty stadiums. Tickets are cheap and enthusiasm low for the would be woman president, a price she pays for her arrogance.
Inevitability was the byword around this time ahead of 2016:
“Hillary Clinton and Inevitability,” read a headline in the New York Times, “This Time Is Different.”
“Is Hillary Clinton’s Nomination Inevitable?,” asked another in the Atlantic.
“Hillary Clinton’s Main Obstacle,” cautioned one in Time, “Her Own Inevitability.”
Inevitability made it from the mouths of her flacks and into the copy of journalists everywhere until Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania made Clinton an impossibility. She was overconfident in 2016 just like she was overconfident in 2008. Pride wenteth before the fall both times.
This lesson shouldn’t be lost on Sanders. He turned a primary that should have been a sprint into a bruising and grueling marathon. Clinton beat him, yes. But Clinton beat him with the help of a party that slashed at Sanders at every turn. Perhaps the senator should force his overeager staff to reread some history and quit this front-runner talk.
