The presidential candidates are all over Wisconsin this week. Donald Trump’s doing radio interviews, providing me with a bit of joy as he reminds Charlie Sykes that no one cares about Charlie Sykes outside of Milwaukee. Ted Cruz is going to watch God’s Not Dead 2. John Kasich is going to work hard to get the votes of Wisconsin Republicans who aren’t completely terrifying, the ol’ Tommy Thompson strategy.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will both show state-level Democrats what a successful campaign actually looks like. Each of their campaigns is built upon energizing voter blocs that the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has abandoned for the last few cycles, with disastrous results.
Lost in the brutal Bernie vs. Hillary fights on social media is the fact that the tight race has made both of these Democrats better and stronger, making them each focus on potential blind spots in traditional Democratic campaigns. It is far better than the Republican side, where each candidate has slowly been dragged down to Trump’s level.
Last summer, I praised Bernie Sanders for doing what Wisconsin’s Democratic leaders had failed to do for more than half a decade — get progressives excited to vote for a candidate, not just against the Republican. At the time, Sanders had just packed the Alliant Energy Center. Nine months later he packed it again. And he will again draw thousands to a Sunday visit to the Kohl Center. In the interim, he went from fringe candidate to legitimate contender for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Sanders has shown that candidates who aren’t afraid to be progressive can win races.
While Sanders has focused on income inequality, Clinton’s campaign has increasingly focused on the damage to society from sexism and racism. And Clinton brings with her a powerful message for Wisconsin Democrats — Wisconsin has black people.
The Clinton campaign is currently airing an ad called “Stand.” In Wisconsin, this particular ad is only airing in the Milwaukee market.
The ad features narration by Morgan Freeman. It namechecks some of the unarmed black men and women whose deaths have sparked outrage all over the country. The list includes Dontre Hamilton, who was shot by a white police officer in Milwaukee. Clinton’s voice briefly echoes alongside Freeman’s narration when the ad mentions Sandra Bland.
The ad also makes mention of her close ties to President Obama, a man who made this state shine bright blue when state government was red. Black voters were part of that equation that gave Obama solid victories in Wisconsin in 2008 and 2012. Compare that to Al Gore or John Kerry, who each won Wisconsin by the slimmest of margins.
This ad says to Wisconsin’s black voters: “I want your vote.”
This is in stark contrast to what Democrats normally say to black people: “I EXPECT your vote.”
Would this ad be running if Clinton weren’t facing such a strong challenge from Sanders on the left? I’m not sure. But I’m glad it is running regardless.
Wisconsin’s state-level Democratic leaders have done a poor job reaching out to Wisconsin’s black voters. More importantly, they’ve done a poor job reaching out to potential black voters. Wisconsin has some of the worst racial disparities in the nation, and the absolute worst incarceration disparity.
Despite all this, Wisconsin’s Democratic leaders have rarely provided serious plans for how to make the situation better. Democrats even had a very good candidate with actual experience fighting Wisconsin’s achievement gap, Mary Burke, but the campaign chose to underplay a lot of that work. How many black voters in Milwaukee or Kenosha were even aware of Burke’s stellar work with the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County or her support for the AVID/TOPS program in Madison’s schools? The campaign was too focused on reaching a handful of moderates to boost turnout among core constituencies.
Too many Democrats treat black voters as an afterthought; worse, they are often treated like a nuisance. State Sen. Chris Larson, who is white, is running for Milwaukee County executive and apparently couldn’t stop himself from accusing Sen. Lena Taylor, who is black, of being mentally ill. This guy wants to run Wisconsin’s largest, most diverse county and he can’t refrain from insulting a prominent member of Milwaukee’s black community.
If Larson wins his race, it will largely be because his opponent, Chris Abele, is so disliked. Winning only because the alternative is worse shouldn’t be the progressive playbook. Sanders and Clinton are both providing Wisconsin’s Democrats with a wake-up call.
