After all the hard-fought campaigning in the Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders came together and held a unity rally in New Hampshire under the banner, “Stronger Together.” Said Sanders by way of conceding: “She will be the Democratic nominee for president, and I intend to do everything I can to make certain that she will be the next president of the United States.”
Understandably there were awkward moments, but Bernie ended his remarks unequivocally by saying: “Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding President, and I am proud to stand with her today.”
His endorsement was accompanied with word that Sanders had a large (yuuge?) influence on the Democratic Party platform. Unity amendments on a $15.00 minimum wage, higher education funding, and improvements in Social Security were included, thanks to Bernie. Writing in The Nation, one Sanders representative who worked on the platform committee said they delivered “the most progressive platform in Democratic Party platform history.” Note to self: go back and read FDR’s Democratic Party platforms.
Party platform, hugs and kisses not withstanding, Bernie is reported to be holding on to his email list of donors — all the information that helped him raise more than $222 million in small donations.
And wow, has there ever, ever been such a list? The Sanders email data is being called “perhaps the most coveted and valuable catalog of potential voters and donors in the Democratic Party at the moment.” There were reports in April that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s office and Sanders were talking about how best to utilize the fabled “list.” And speculation certainly continues that the Democratic Party (who shared their party data with the Sanders campaign)and Clinton campaign would be happy to have access if Sanders decides to share his email data.
However, not everyone likes the idea of sharing data lists with his former rival. “Young people have been very clear that they don’t want their information handed over and it’s not going to be,” RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of the Sanders-supporting group National Nurses United, told BuzzFeed last month. “Sanders could surprise me, but I don’t think so.” Sanders has not made clear his plans for his fundraising donor data, although he is talking about starting an organization to help fund progressive candidates around the country.
It’s hard to imagine Bernie, a veteran politician, never playing his “most coveted” donor data to advantage for his causes — but share it, I guess not so much.