So the plot sickens in US lesser evil politics in an entirely predictable & cliched way. Tom Hayden, an ultra-left political activist in his youth, aged into an entirely conformist Democratic Party politician. That’s not an unnatural progression for grandstanders who have no commitment to or confidence in working people as agents of social transformation.
He has issued the first volley in uniting Sanders’ supporters behind Clinton using alarmism about Drumpf. (The typos in his statement are all his):
“I am seeking a seat on the DNC to spread one message far & wide: to defeat Trump & win back the Supreme Court, we need to build a united front to defeat Republicans in November & elect a bloc of senators in swing states. The most important need is to put together a ticket & platform doing the least damage & divisions in our ranks. Build without bruising? We have suffered losses in close or stolen elections before & with we might have conducted ourselves differently. Trump represents a growing, virulent, violent & hateful resentment of too many groups to event count up. I do what I can everyday to engage both Hillary & Bernie supporters on how to best repair their differences & achieve unity in the short & long run.”
That Hayden is a hack comes as no surprise. That Sanders’ supporters would endorse this proposal exposes the fault line of lesser evil politics: that it lacks the bearings of political principle. It would be good for Sandernistas to explain how the differences between Clinton & Sanders can be brokered. But of course, meaningful differences never existed in the first place, except in the realm of chimera.