Bernie Goes Back to College for Hillary

The Clinton campaign deployed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to Ohio campuses on Saturday as part of a weeklong frantic effort to shore up the Democratic base.

Clinton has struggled consistently to generate enthusiasm among the legions of Millennials that flocked to the self-described Democratic Socialist during the primary season. A Bloomberg Politics poll released on Wednesday showed Clinton trailing Republican nominee Donald Trump by five percentage points in the battleground state of Ohio, with Libertarian Gary Johnson cutting deeply into liberal young voters.

“We’re excited to have Sen. Sanders out on the trail because he speaks passionately about the progressive economic agenda that he and Hillary Clinton share and about the consequences and dangers of electing Donald Trump.”

“We’re excited to have Sen. Sanders out on the trail because he speaks passionately about the progressive economic agenda that he and Hillary Clinton share and about the consequences and dangers of electing Donald Trump,” Jesse Ferguson, a Clinton spokesman, told USA Today.

Although Sanders endorsed Clinton for the presidency in July, he held no solo campaign events for her until Labor Day weekend. Even though the Vermont senator spoke at the Democratic National Convention in late July on Clinton’s behalf, his remaining reluctance and bitterness at his loss shone through his words.

“It is no secret that Hillary Clinton and I disagree on a number of issues,” Sanders had said at the DNC in the understatement of the century. “I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process. I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. But to all of our supporters – here and around the country – I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved.”

[lz_jwplayer video= “vkFVpLzm” ads=”true”]

Sanders did indeed succeed in spurring Millennial voters to turn out in droves to vote during the primary season and his campaign energized thousands of young supporters to rally against the political establishment and the status quo. Clinton has failed to appeal to this young demographic. Even though Clinton won Ohio during the primaries, Sanders carried 81 percent of the vote from 18-29-year-olds, according to a CNN exit poll.

Sanders is set to speak at Kent State University on Saturday afternoon as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren hits the campaign trail for Clinton in Columbus and Cleveland. Both Sanders and Warren represent the more progressive streak of the Democratic Party, and in sending both senators to make Clinton’s case before younger voters, the Democratic nominee hopes to gin-up some more enthusiasm for her campaign.

But Clinton’s slew of scandals, longstanding connections to Wall Street, her recent health scares and her perception of dishonesty and non-transparency make Sanders’ and Warren’s cases all the more difficult to make for Millennial voters – and Sanders knows it. Clinton’s alignment with Wall Street and the political establishment – an alignment that Sanders has vehemently spurned – doesn’t bode well for her hopes of wooing Sanders’ Millennials.

[lz_related_box id=”207702″]

“Bernie, your campaign inspired millions of Americans, particularly the young people who threw their hearts and souls into our primary,” Clinton had said during her speech at the DNC. “You’ve put economic and social justice issues front and center, where they belong. And to all of your supporters here and around the country: I want you to know, I’ve heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That’s the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America.”

After a terrible campaign week, that saw Clinton insult millions of Americans and disappear for days due to a health scare her campaign was caught lying about, Clinton launched a full-scale effort to pander-to and shore-up the Democratic base.

On Friday Clinton spoke to the Black Women’s Agenda Symposium in Washington D.C., declaring “black girl magic is real.” That same day Michelle Obama, popular among millennials and African-American voters, hit the campaign trail for Clinton in Virginia.

Although Clinton claims that the Millennials’ “cause” is “our cause,” she will need more than Sanders’ reluctant support to put to rest the doubts and bitterness the disappointed Millennial generation harbors.