If Bernie Sanders Wins the Most Pledged Delegates, On Whom Should the Burden of "Unity" Fall?

Would these people accept an Establishment bargain with a "unity candidate"?

by Thomas Neuburger

“We are going to win this primary, but if we don’t, he will do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump. If the nominee is Bernie Sanders, will those Democratic insiders fully support a Bernie Sanders campaign? Will they put aside their personal animus?”
—Ari Rabin-Havt, Bernie Sanders' chief of staff

We're starting to see more and more questions from Democratic insiders about whether Bernie Sanders can "unify the party" if he wins the nomination. For example, in this piece from Ruby Cramer at BuzzFeed on the recent fight that broke out between ThinkProgress and CAP on one side and the Sanders campaign on the other, two quotes stand out (emphasis added):

"Sanders' brand is fighting the establishment. It's who he is. It's core to his appeal. But the landscape is different this time," said John Neffinger, a longtime progressive operative. "Voters have more choices, which argues for leaning into that strength, but they also want someone who can unite the party in the end."

and:

Ahead of his February campaign launch, a number of senior advisers, including [former Sanders adviser Mark] Longabaugh, whose consulting firm has since split with the campaign, warned that Sanders, a longtime independent who made a point of filing his 2024 Senate reelection paperwork as a third-party candidate on the same day he registered as a candidate in the 2020 Democratic primary, would need to work to unite the party behind him.

Which raises the question, if Bernie Sanders wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, on whom does the burden of "unity" primarily fall — Party operatives and insiders, or Bernie Sanders?

To ask that differently, if Democratic Party voters choose Sanders as their presidential candidate, do Democratic Party insiders have any right to resist or hobble his campaign in the general election?

Remember, that was what Sanders was tasked with in 2016 when he lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton. His job was to work as hard as he could to support her election, a job which he performed energetically and without reservation. Hillary Clinton and Party insiders didn't consider it their job to "unite" with Sanders and his program — the burden fell entirely to him to support her policy agenda.

Will It Work That Way in 2020?

Will expectations be different now that Sanders is leading? For a clue, let's turn to the very next paragraph of the BuzzFeed article:

Sanders advisers now describe a scenario where the senator captures the nomination with less than a plurality of support from Democrats — setting up the possibility of a multiple rounds at the national convention next summer.

"Multiple rounds" means only one thing — the superdelegates will have the upper hand, and if they do, they will know it going into the convention. If Sanders has a mere plurality, "Stop Sanders" insiders appear to have a plan (emphasis added):

Should no bargain be struck by the time of the first roll call vote at the 2020 convention in Milwaukee — such as a unity ticket between a pair of the leading delegate-winners — the nomination battle would move to a second ballot. And under the new rules crafted after the 2016 race, that is when the party insiders and elected officials known as superdelegates would be able to cast a binding vote.

Note that this "bargain" would be offered before the first roll call vote.

If Sanders enters the convention with a plurality of pledged delegates, but no majority, will he be told that the price for superdelegate support is to accept an establishment- and superPAC-supported candidate as his running mate, someone well positioned to sabotage his agenda should he leave or be forced out of office?

Or worse, would he be asked to be the running mate to a less-progressive candidate?

Will he be publicly vilified as "anti-unity" ahead of the general election if he fails to accept their "offer"? And if so, will Party insiders blame him for their own lack of energetic and whole-hearted support?

I guess only time will tell, but the signs aren't good at this point.

If Sanders enters the convention as the candidate with the most first-round votes, majority or not, I think the burden of "unity" falls squarely on the shoulders of the Party. More importantly, I think the voters will think that as well — something Party insiders should keep in mind as they contemplate their Stop Sanders options.