Ingrid Laas
Bernie Sanders drew a crowd of about 8,000 to a rally in Madison March 26.
Wisconsin residents have become used to living in a divided state since Gov. Scott Walker took office. But the tight contest between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders has created a new layer of discord among the state’s liberal voters. And supporters of both candidates say friendships have suffered.
Andy Olsen, an environmental lawyer and liberal activist, wants Sanders to win the nomination. He also hopes some of his strained relationships survive the April 5 primary.
“I’ve just stepped away from the debates...and let things cool down,” Olsen says. “I’ll rekindle the friendships later.”
Olsen believes Sanders is the candidate who is willing to make wholesale changes.
“The main reason I’m a Bernie supporter is because incremental change is not enough for the challenges we face, the climate crisis as well as the great economic inequality in this country,” Olsen says. “You can’t nibble around the edges of that stuff and expect to do any good.”
But among Madison liberals, this is hardly a universal opinion. Olsen laments that Sanders — and his supporters — have been attacked and ridiculed on Facebook and elsewhere. He resents how some Hillary Clinton supporters have promoted a “Bernie Bros” meme, characterizing Sanders’ supporters as being older, sexist white dudes. “There are a lot of strong intelligent women standing up in favor of Bernie,” he says. “To say it’s just a bunch of rude males is not accurate.”
Chris Deisinger, a Madison resident who supports Clinton, has also been turned off by the campaign vitriol. He notes that he’s “been called things, mostly on Facebook.”
“The negative tone that I see from Bernie supporters against Hillary and the people supporting her has really seemed out of line to me,” he says. “The characterization of her being the enemy is strange to me.”
Deisinger says that he understands why young idealistic people favor Sanders, but is dismayed to see middle-aged liberals spreading conspiracy theories about how Clinton is stealing the nomination in some states. “For people to claim that there’s no reason for Hillary to be winning other than conspiracy and theft and media manipulation — it’s just wrong and a way for them to avoid facing up to some real choices that are being made.”
Normally, Wisconsin isn’t much of a player in the presidential nominations — the process is usually wrapped up by now. But this year, both the Republican and Democratic primaries remain competitive. The rival Democratic campaigns highlight an ideological divide among liberal-leaning voters, asking them to choose between Sanders’ populist-driven “political revolution” and Clinton’s establishment-backed pragmatism.
Sanders has a strong lead in Madison, part of the 2nd Congressional District, which comes with the state’s largest pot of Democratic delegates: 11. But statewide, the race could be closer. Wednesday’s Marquette Law School poll shows Sanders leading 49% to 45%. In an earlier poll from Emerson College, Clinton led by six points.
As a result, both campaigns have been showering the state with attention in the past week.
Chelsea Clinton campaigned for her mom March 24 in Madison at Clinton’s west-side campaign office. Kathy Utley, a political consultant who has been active in the Democratic Party, was one of about 100 supporters there to greet Chelsea.
“Democrats are feeling conflicted,” says Utley, who supported President Barack Obama over Clinton in 2008. But she is backing Clinton this time, calling this election her opportunity for “feminist redemption.” She says Clinton supporters are Democrats with a worldview that extends beyond such domestic issues as income equality — a centerpiece of Sanders’ platform. She believes Clinton’s experience in foreign policy and her work on gender equality make her the better candidate.
At the west-side event, Chelsea played up these accomplishments as well as her mother’s ability to work with Republicans. “We have to deal with the political realities as we find them,” she said, referencing a Republican-controlled Congress that is unlikely to be reclaimed by Democrats until 2022. “It’s important that we have a president who knows how to find common ground.”
Philip Gorman, who also turned out to see Chelsea, agrees that Clinton is the candidate best suited for bipartisan success. He supported Obama in 2008, but points out that Democrats controlled Congress at the time.
Gorman says the primary race has divided Democrats. “Sometimes I feel like the only guy under 30 who supports Hillary.” He believes the split goes deeper than talking points — those who support Sanders want to “tear down the system,” whereas Clinton backers believe that “things are going well.”
August McGinnity-Wake, press secretary of the UW-Madison College Democrats and a Clinton supporter, acknowledges that “Bernie has a lot of appeal with college Democrats” and predicts he will win campus “handily.” Still, McGinnity-Wake believes that Clinton has the best chance in the general election. And he’s not convinced Sanders can deliver on his promises: “You can’t just wave your hand and make things happen.”
Sanders spoke in Madison twice in the past week, once on Saturday at the Alliant Energy Center and again on Wednesday at the Orpheum Theatre. At Alliant, he urged supporters to keep fighting. “Don’t let anybody — don’t let anybody — tell you we can’t win the nomination or win the general election,” Sanders said to a cheering crowd of 8,000. “We’re going to do both of those things.”
Sanders fans at the rally were unforgiving in their assessment of Clinton. “She’s a fucking corporate whore,” says Patty Jacobson, 36, who traveled from Pardeeville to attend the Sanders rally on Saturday. A longtime political activist whose family was heavily involved in the Act 10 protests in Madison, Jacobson says she will never vote for Clinton, even if she wins the nomination.
“I would rather have [Donald] Trump,” she says.
Allie Kerper, a 22-year-old at Saturday’s rally, would not go that far. She likes Sanders for his “consistency and authenticity” and environmental policies, but would support Clinton “reluctantly” if she gets the nomination: “We need to keep the other guys out.”
Jasmine Nichols, who is 26 and black, traveled from Milwaukee to hear Sanders. Though Clinton has had strong support among African Americans, Nichols believes they would find a lot to like about Sanders, pointing to his statements about the water crisis in Flint, Mich., and his willingness to openly embrace the Black Lives Matter movement and make racial justice a part of his campaign platform.
“To me, that was really amazing,” she says.
“I think the country is at a point where it’s no longer about the people,” she adds, noting she has “Hillary fatigue.” “And [Clinton] has been a part of this mess for so long.”
Nichols attended the rally with her mother, Patricia Nichols, who says the election has special meaning to her family. A recent recipient of a lung transplant who is also awaiting a kidney, the elder Nichols says she “might not be here much longer” and is casting her vote with an eye on the future for her children.
Says Patricia: “It matters what kind of world I leave behind.”