September 21, 2015
Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
2353 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
2353 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
2701 W. Oakland Park Blvd Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
1755 East Tiffany Drive
Mangonia Park, FL 33407
Mangonia Park, FL 33407
CC: Hillary for America
Post Office Box 5256
New York, NY 10185-5256
Post Office Box 5256
New York, NY 10185-5256
Dear Representative Hastings:
While I am
not a resident of your district, I am a strong believer in the principle that
every member of Congress and of the Senate, although elected from a particular
geographical district, has an obligation to faithfully represent the interests
of the United States as a whole, and as such I believe I am qualified to offer
criticism to your public statements. In an article posted online at thehill.com
on September 19, 2015, you were interviewed regarding the candidacy of Senator Bernie
Sanders (D-VT) for the Democratic nomination for President of the United
States. In that interview, you expressed your concern about whether Senator
Sanders could win the general election, were he to be nominated by the
Democratic Party.
I want to
make it clear that I do not take issue with your expressed belief that Senator
Sanders would have difficulty winning (or even be unable to win) a general
election against a Republican candidate, although you seem to ignore the fact
that the general election will also include Dr. Jill Stein as the Green Party
candidate, whose impact on the general election would be severely weakened by a
Sanders candidacy as compared to a Clinton candidacy. What I take issue with,
sir, is your careless and insulting comparison of Senator Sanders’s candidacy
with that of Ralph Nader in 2000. According to the author of the article, you
stated, "Some argue, and I do, that Ralph Nader cost us that election …
and I don't have time for that. And I think that's what members are saying:
That I don't have time for fringes, at this point. And that's where Bernie is,
and it's regrettable." Leaving aside the questionable assumption that
Ralph Nader’s candidacy was the primary cause of the outcome of the 2000
election, this assertion is insulting to Senator Sanders and unnecessarily divisive
at a time when the Democratic Party should be focused on making changes that
are desperately needed in this country, rather than consuming ourselves.
Senator
Sanders’s candidacy in 2016 is in no way comparable to Ralph Nader’s candidacy
in 2000. Ralph Nader never campaigned for the Democratic nomination, whereas
Senator Sanders, despite never having been elected to any office as a Democrat,
has chosen to participate within the Democratic Party in a way that will unite
us, rather than dividing us. Ralph Nader was a longtime political activist who
has never been elected to political office, whereas Senator Sanders is the
longest-serving independent in United States congressional history, having
served in both the House and the Senate and worked closely and effectively with
Democrats as well as Republicans. Ralph Nader ran his presidential campaign in
2000 as the candidate of the Green Party, actively competing against Al Gore
and George Bush in the general election, whereas Senator Sanders has already pledged
to actively support the Democratic Party’s candidate, whoever he or she may be.
According
to the average of recent polls shown at realclearpolitics.com,
since announcing his candidacy less than four months ago, Senator Sanders has
seen his support nationally increase from 7.4% on May 27, 2015 to 23.3% on
September 15, 2015. In Iowa his support has increased from 8.6% on May 26, 2015
to 37% on September 14, 2015. In New Hampshire his support has increased from
13.8% on May 26, 2015 to 42.8% on September 16, 2015. In Florida his support
has increased from 3% on June 16, 2015 to 16.5% on September 15, 2015. All of
this increase has occurred while as recently as last month, one in four voters
did not know enough about Senator Sanders to form an opinion of him. Meanwhile,
Mrs. Clinton’s poll numbers and favorability have been falling, as a result of
the media’s continued attention on her private e-mail server, as a result of
Senator Sanders’s rising popularity, and as a result of hints that Vice
President Biden will announce his own candidacy soon.
But more
important than any of these things, Representative Hastings, is the fact that the
largely grassroots support for Senator Sanders is not driven by opposition to
Mrs. Clinton (though obviously some supporters oppose her). Nor is it driven by
loyalty to Senator Sanders himself (though again obviously some supporters are
here for the man himself). What is really at stake here is not only the soul of
the Democratic Party, but the soul of the United States itself.
The support
for Senator Sanders’s campaign comes as a direct result of the policies he
champions, policies which are the foundation of the Democratic Party and have
been largely ignored by the party since Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in
1980. For thirty-five years, the Democratic Party has been afraid of its
legacy, and that fear has allowed the Republican Party to systematically
dismantle the United States economic system and sell it to the highest bidder
for parts.
At the end
of the day, we have to ask ourselves these questions:
What good
is it to promote equal pay for women if every worker is being paid too little?
What good
is it to secure equal rights for LGBTQ people if those people continue to live
in a nation that values the interests of the billionaire class over the
interests of everyone else?
What good
is it to grow the economy if only the wealthiest of the wealthy see an
improvement in their circumstances?
Who do we
want our government to work for?
You can say
that Ralph Nader cost the Democratic Party the election in 2000, but what
difference would Nader’s 2.74% make if the 48.7% of the voting age population
who stayed home had turned out to vote?
Comparing
Senator Sanders to Ralph Nader at this point is irresponsible scaremongering,
designed and intended to drive primary voters away from him. Congressman
Hastings, you should be ashamed of yourself, and you owe Senator Sanders an apology.
Sincerely,
Joel Alan Gaffney
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn, New York
P.S. – I have copied the Hillary Clinton campaign on this
letter because I know you have endorsed her campaign, and I believe that her
campaign has been encouraging you, and other representatives who have endorsed
Mrs. Clinton, to make statements like those referenced in this letter. If I am
right, then Mrs. Clinton’s campaign also owes Senator Sanders an apology.
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