Although Bernie Sanders supporters are still bemoaning his failing campaign across social media, they are, one-by-one, resigning themselves to Hillary Clinton. The shift isn’t unexpected, though some political strategists thought the months of rancor between the Sanders and Clinton camps would lead a few stragglers over to Donald Trump.
But if they can’t pick up Sanders stragglers through attrition, the RNC is going to try to disgust Sanders supporters with cold hard facts about Clinton’s veep choice, whomever that may be. And, according to a memo uncovered by the Huffington Post, use Clinton’s choice to nudge disgruntled progressives and liberal single-issue voters out of the political process.
The memo—creatively named “Project Pander” and addressed to RNC Chief of Staff Katie Walsh and Trump chairman Paul Manafort—lists six potential Clinton VP picks, including the top three, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and HUD Secretary Julian Castro. It goes on to list “narratives” the RNC intends to push with the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
Kaine, for example, likes tax hikes and universal health care, but he’s moderate on issues like abortion and free trade. Warren may be Bernie Sanders in a skirt suit, but her progressive hard line is out of touch with most middle class Americans (as is her net worth), and her anti-Wall Street bias puts her at odds with Clinton’s top funders. Castro, unlike modern Democrats, is soft on gun control and hawkish on foreign policy, and his resume is thin enough that he could portrayed as an “affirmative action” addition to the ticket, according to the RNC researchers.
In each case, the RNC is trying to make a dual argument: the potential pick is too liberal for most Democrats but too moderate for most Sanders supporters. According to the memo, the RNC wants to “drive wedges between these top contenders and either Clinton and/or traditional Democrat constituencies, such as labor, environmentalists, and gun control advocates, and other traditional left-wing constituencies.”
The RNC didn’t deny the memo when questioned by HuffPo. They did say, however, that they have Freedom of Information Act requests into San Antonio, Boston and Richmond, Virginia, for more public records.
Clinton is expected to announce her running mate within the next couple of weeks.
