Fear the Bern? Top NJ Democrats worried Sanders will win presidential nomination

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez issued a rare public plea last week to fellow New Jersey Democrats who will soon flock to their county conventions and pick their preferred candidates for the June primary.

He wants Democratic county leaders to create a separate column, or "line," on the June primary ballot for presidential candidates, instead of the traditional method of bracketing them with their endorsed choices for U.S. Senate, the House, county freeholder and other down-ballot candidates for local office.

That way, he argues, primary voters can make their choices for local office separately and on their own merits and without being influenced by the chaotic course of the presidential race.

"It's about focusing all of our down-ballot candidates, from [U.S. Sen.] Cory Booker to whatever the local and county offices ... on New Jersey issues, not national issues,'' Menendez said in an interview.

But what Menendez offered as a sensible, practical adjustment is being seen by New Jersey's vocal grassroots progressives as nothing more than a thinly disguised power play aimed at preventing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his "movement" of fervent followers from storming the smoke-filled party clubhouse.

Progressives view it as a micro-level version of the same Stop-Bernie-At-All-Costs movement now underway behind closed doors in Washington.

Sanders could very well consolidate his position as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president after this week's Super Tuesday contests in 14 states, including Texas and California, an outcome that many party elders view as debacle in the making.

Establishment party leaders, like Menendez, fear that the unapologetic, 78-year-old democratic socialist will get crushed by President Donald Trump and hand over control of the House to the Republicans.

That fear has stoked talk of the superdelegates — top officeholders and officials from the upper ranks of the establishment — flexing their muscles to block Sanders from grabbing the nomination. One potential and messy outcome: a brokered nomination process at the July convention.

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But for progressives, blocking Sanders would almost alienate his ardent base of support and virtually hand Trump a second term. It would also subvert the true, progressive spirit that has redefined the Democratic Party over the past four years.

Menendez's plan has only inflamed suspicions among progressives.

If Sanders' name is parked with other presidential contenders in a special presidential primary column, Sanders operatives say, they'll lose the advantage of having Sanders listed with a rival Sanders-aligned candidates slate, or ballot "line" for federal and local offices. In effect, it would rob them of Sanders' coattails as a presidential contender.

The move essentially hands a powerful advantage to incumbents and establishment-groomed candidates on the primary ballot. To Sanders' supporters, it is an attempt by party leaders to stop Sanders' allies from gaining a foothold within the party machinery.

"I have had several people who are on the inside of these things say they are just scared to death of a Bernie Sanders line,'' said Barry Brendel, a political consultant and vice chairman of the "New Jersey for Bernie 2020" committee. "It's not just about Bernie Sanders winning. It's Bernie Sanders pulling a whole bunch of people on his line, a whole bunch of progressives."

But Menendez denied trying to undercut Sanders. He said separating the presidential choices from local slates allows voters to focus and consider other candidates for federal and local office without being influenced by the presidential campaign.

"Those running for public office in New Jersey should not be judged by what any presidential candidate says to lure voters in other states," Menendez said in his statement calling for a separate presidential primary column.

"Likewise, a candidate for local, county or statewide office must be independently focused on addressing the unique needs of their constituents, instead of beholden to any national campaign," he added.

Menendez also said it was ironic that Sanders complained to him four years ago about the difficulties of the New Jersey method of bracketing slates for the June primary ballot. "I find it interesting that Senator Sanders didn't care for bracketing that we did then, but his people are advocating for it now,'' he said.

Menendez also said his proposal does not strip away the ability of insurgents to compete for support among county leaders. "If your views can win the day, it doesn’t matter where you are bracketed,'' he said. "If your views are stronger than any member of the House who is up for reelection in a primary, then you should be able to win with those views."

Still, some progressives say the proposal has wider implications than just the Sanders candidacy. They read it as a sign that the establishment Democrats are "really scared" about the growing grassroots power, says Sue Altman, state director of the New Jersey Working Families Party.

"I think it is a message to progressive activists that no matter what we do from an organizing standpoint, they will always figure out a way to get the structural and procedural advantage,'' Altman said, adding that her national organization has endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts but she has not personally endorsed a candidate. "I think its meant to discourage activists."

As much as Menendez pitches his plan as a procedural move, it comes at a time when Sanders, the onetime left-wing outlier, is gaining traction in New Jersey. A recent Fairleigh Dickinson/Public Mind poll found Sanders and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg locked in a virtual tie among New Jersey democrats.

“Sanders is doing about as well in New Jersey as what national polling averages are finding," said Krista Jenkins, the poll director. And there are other hints at Sanders' Garden State momentum. He beat Bloomberg in a presidential straw poll in Union Township earlier this month by almost a 2-to-1 ratio.

Amid this Sanders surge, several leading Democrats have warmed to Menendez's plans. They include Senate President Steve Sweeney, Hudson County Democratic Chairwoman Amy DeGise, Essex County Chairman LeRoy Jones and state Democratic Chairman John Currie, who says Sanders' impact on first-term members of Congress running for reelection "is definitely a fear."

Menendez, who has not endorsed any of the presidential candidates, also says he has concerns that some of Sanders' views — he cited Sanders' "Medicare for All" proposal, which would abolish private health care coverage — could undermine Democrats in the fall.

"The question is who at the top of the ticket who can complement the efforts to conserve the House and win back the Senate?" Menendez said. "I think some of Senator Sanders' views are not necessarily ones that can best do that."

Charlie Stile is New Jersey’s preeminent political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com Twitter: @politicalstile