Yes, it’s true. In 2008, the Clinton campaign made many dumb moves. They miscounted delegates or merely ignored the fact that the contest was about winning delegates and fell decisively behind early. They discounted and wrote off voters in southern states. They tried to claim to be better at appealing to white working class voters. They directly appealed to voters more comfortable in the Republican party. They called into question the character and trustworthiness of the front-runner. They claimed the need to stay in the race in case something terrible happened. They put forward the idea that super delegates should flip to them for completely specious reasons.
And when called out on it, the Clinton campaign and its supporters stomped their feet and shouted from the rooftops that Clinton would never stop fighting and that nothing her campaign was doing was inappropriate. They even argued that calls for civility were a sign that their opponent was not ready to face the Republicans.
As the links above demonstrate, the Sanders campaign has managed to replicate in this election cycle nearly every stupid thing the Clinton campaign did. It’s uncanny and I am tempted to think that it’s deliberate. Only I can’t figure out what purpose would be served for anyone by repeating those same mistakes.
I suppose it’s possible that along with copying all the stupid things the Clinton campaign did in 2008, the Sanders campaign might also copy the gracious and party strengthening things she did afterwards. One can hope.
