How Bernie's campaign contributed to Trump's win.

[DanTex]

He didn't intend it that way, but that's how it turned out.

Bernie correctly identified many of the economic problems facing this country. The problem is, his diagnosis was wrong. He blamed it on "the establishment", whereas the actual blame lies with the GOP.

Bernie had a very progressive campaign platform, but what he didn't mention is that most of what he was advocating were things that Obama has been pushing for for the last 8 years, but were blocked by the GOP. Instead of focusing on who the actual enemies of progress are, Bernie made the enemy the "establishment," blurring the lines between the GOP, the Dems, Goldman Sachs, etc.

And it was a very good campaign tactic. Other than Obama himself, few people were more easy to tie to the "establishment" than Hillary. If Bernie had been honest, and said that Hillary, like Obama, has been fighting for progressive causes for years, but with the House in GOP hands there is an inherent limit on what can be accomplished, he wouldn't gotten nearly the votes that he did.

So instead he went for the simplistic and inaccurate anti-establishment message, which played perfectly into Trump's hands during the general. The main thrust of his message and Trump's were basically the same: everything is wrong, and it's the "establishment's" fault.

Beyond helping Trump become president, crude "anti-establishment" messages are problematic for Democrats in broader ways. The federal government is the "establishment", and the Democratic Party wants the federal government to do more, not less, to help people. We want more environmental and financial regulations. A stronger social safety net. Expanded access to education. If the "establishment", and therefore the government, is made to be the enemy, then these government programs end up being smeared by association.