Why revisit 2016 now?

Tad Devine, Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign strategist, wrote a new book examining how the Democratic establishment blocked Sanders' path to the nomination. The lessons matter for Democrats heading into 2026 and beyond.

The nominating system favored insiders

The Democratic primary process was designed to keep outsiders out and give established candidates a tremendous advantage. This structural bias worked against Sanders from the start.

Clinton controlled the DNC

WikiLeaks revealed that the Clinton campaign ran the Democratic National Committee, controlling debate schedules, funding flows, and strategy. This gave Clinton an unfair institutional advantage.

“Clinton's control of the DNC, dark money super PACS, the way the press covered the race, all of those things that they did, which they should not have done, screwed Bernie.”

Dark money shaped the race

Super PACs funded by anonymous dark money donors ran campaigns against Sanders. This underhanded tactic gave Clinton's campaign resources Sanders couldn't match.

Media coverage tilted against Bernie

The press played a role in undermining Sanders' campaign, providing less favorable coverage than Clinton received. This media bias compounded the structural disadvantages he faced.

Bernie earned party loyalty

Sanders caucused with Democrats in Congress for decades and ran as a Democrat in 2016. The party establishment owed him a fair process, not sabotage.

The DNC must become independent

For future elections to be fair, the DNC needs to operate as a neutral arbiter of the nominating process rather than serving as an extension of any candidate's campaign.

Citizens United corrupted everything

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision enabled anonymous donors to pour hundreds of millions into elections, creating a corrupt system that holds a rigged economy in place.

Campaign finance reform is urgent

Democrats must elevate campaign finance reform to the same priority level as jobs and healthcare. Without fixing the money in politics, the country cannot address its economic problems.

The 2024 autopsy missed the point

The DNC's post-mortem report on the 2024 election was a political agenda item, not a serious examination of what went wrong. The party has not learned from its recent failures.

Independents are leaving the party

Party registration numbers are declining as more voters become independents because they cannot find a home in either major party. The Democrats must address this exodus.

Bernie sparked a movement

Sanders' 2016 campaign inspired a wave of democratic socialist candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His focus on economic issues changed the party's agenda.

Economic populism wins elections

If Democrats become the party of jobs, wages, healthcare, housing, education, and Social Security, they will be the majority party for a generation. Bernie put this agenda on the table.

Embrace outsiders and progressives

Democrats must welcome democratic socialists and outside candidates into their coalition and empower voters to choose them. There is room for these people in the party.

“We have to run outside candidates who have no allegiance or history to the Democratic Party to win.”

Voters want authenticity and results

People are tired of politics as usual. They want candidates who are authentic, responsive to their needs, and focused on issues that matter to their lives.

2026 requires resources and candidates

To beat Republicans in the midterms, Democrats need enough resources to compete and authentic candidates who connect with voters and share their values.

2028 could surprise everyone

The Democratic nominee in 2028 could be someone unknown today. Candidates like Jon Ossoff, Andy Beshear, and potentially Sherrod Brown are worth watching.

Past as prologue for the future

Devine's book is not about dwelling on 2016 grievances. It's about learning lessons from what happened so Democrats can build a better future.

“If we learned something from the 2016 campaign, I'll be very happy about that.”