If you are a Democrat, certainly the path of least resistance in 2016 would be to vote for Hillary. After all, she was supposed to be a lock for the nomination. Get that presidential nomination cleared up and we can start working on the Congressional and Senate seats.
But if you are pushing for Bernie, at least in the early stages of the campaign season, it means that Hillary, for whatever reason, is unacceptable to you. Everyone walks their own intellectual path to determine who gets their vote.
When Bernie supporters look across the divide at what most of the GOP is selling during the debates, they see common ground. Every one of their debates is an opportunity to say, "We need to stop Hillary." The candidates say it in every way possible, that is their message.
What if the Sanders campaign tapped into the idea that we need to stop Hillary? Yes, it is a side effect of running for president yourself; that you are stopping everyone else. But highlight it a little differently.
Run a quick campaign right before the Iowa Caucuses not to Democrats, but to anyone who is NOT a Democrat. After all, he is an Independent...
The Iowa Caucuses allow anyone in the precinct to walk into the caucus, register as a Democrat and start convincing people. Flood the caucus with Bernie folks, non-Democrats and first-timers feeling the Bern.
I can see running a couple of robo calls with a message something like this:
Hi, I'm Joe.
I am a Bernie Sanders supporter and I am calling you because you are not a Democrat.
Seems everyone in the GOP wants to stop Hillary. Why not do it now instead of waiting for November?
In fact, having Hillary in the race is clouding all the GOP candidates' judgment as to what they might REALLY do if they get elected.
So this is an invitation to come to the Democratic Caucus, re-register as a Democrat, and help get Hillary out of the race.
This is common ground right now for us. Let's work together.
With Hillary out of the race, we can have a more substantive discussion as to where we want to go as a country.
We are betting once you hear what Bernie is about, you are going to stick with us for the November election. Part of the deal is we also need to stay involved past November to keep our democratic republic functioning.
Hope to hear your voice on February 1st!
There will be wails of cross-partisanship, working with our enemies, dogs and cats living in sin.
But with the mood of politics right now we need to start building bridges. If Hillary wanted to be the bridge across the divide, she gave that up when, during the first debate, she categorized the Republicans as her enemies.
We are Americans first. Before we are Democrats. Before we are Republicans. Before we are the politically disenchanted. We need to talk to each other.
Let's remove at least one barrier to the conversation.