Bernie Sanders is the future of the Democratic Party

Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM’s weekly program “The Dean Obeidallah Show,” a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean’s Report. Follow him on Twitter: @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

Attention Democratic leaders, and especially DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: The key to the Democratic Party winning is Bernie Sanders. And I don’t mean just preventing the nightmare of Donald J. Trump serving as our nation’s commander in chief. Sanders is also the key to Democrats retaking the U.S. Congress as well as governorships and state legislatures.

Why? Simple. Sanders has attracted a legion of voters under 30, a category that now represents 17% of the total electorate, up from 14% in 2012. Sanders won 71% of these younger voters in the Democratic contests through early May, which is even higher than the 59% Barack Obama won in 2008.

Thousands of people gather at the Paris casino in Las Vegas for the Nevada State Democratic Convention on Saturday, May 14, 2016. They are picking delegates to send to the national convention in July.

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And polls show Sanders has consistently won first-time voters. For example in the New Hampshire primary, Sanders was supported by 78% of first-time voters.

Sanders is getting young people to become part of the election process for the first time in their lives. I have heard this firsthand when I have given talks at colleges over the past few months. But what I also learned was that these young people are not Democrats. Rather they are Sanders’ supporters drawn to his populist, inclusive message.

And these people are increasingly getting angry with Democratic leaders, which is a huge problem for the future of the party. We saw a sign of that Tuesday night at Sanders’ packed rally in California. The biggest boos of the night were reserved for Trump. But the second loudest boos came when Sanders mentioned he had a message for the “leadership of the Democratic Party.”

HENDERSON, NV - FEBRUARY 20: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) gives a concession speech at the Henderson Pavilion on February 20, 2016 in Henderson, Nevada. Sanders lost to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the Nevada caucus. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Sanders then laid out a very clear choice for these Democratic Party honchos, telling them they’re now faced with a “very profound and important decision.” They could “do the right thing and open its doors to welcome to the party people prepared to fight for real economic and social change.”

Or as Sanders noted, the Democratic leaders could choose the “sad and tragic option” of defending “the status quo and remain dependent on big money campaign contributions.” If they choose that path, Sanders warned that the Democratic Party would see “limited participation and limited energy.”

US Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Chicago in March 2019. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress.

Sanders, right, leads a sit-in organized by the Congress of Racial Equality in 1962. The demonstration was staged to oppose housing segregation at the University of Chicago. It was Chicago's first civil rights sit-in.

Sanders takes the oath of office to become the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1981. He ran as an independent and won the race by 10 votes.

Sanders, right, tosses a baseball before a minor-league game in Vermont in 1984. US Sen. Patrick Leahy, center, was also on hand.

In 1987, Sanders and a group of Vermont musicians recorded a spoken-word folk album. "We Shall Overcome" was first released as a cassette that sold about 600 copies. When Sanders entered the US presidential race in 2015, the album surged in online sales. But at a CNN town hall, Sanders said, "It's the worst album ever recorded."

Sanders reads mail at his campaign office in Burlington in 1990. He was running for the US House of Representatives after an unsuccessful bid in 1988.

In 1990, Sanders defeated US Rep. Peter Smith in the race for Vermont's lone House seat. He won by 16 percentage points.

Sanders sits next to President Bill Clinton in 1993 before the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a meeting at the White House. Sanders co-founded the caucus in 1991 and served as its first chairman.

Barack Obama, then a US senator, endorses Sanders' Senate bid at a rally in Burlington in 2006.

Sanders takes part in a swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol in January 2007. He won his Senate seat with 65% of the vote.

Sanders chats with Dr. John Matthew, director of The Health Center in Plainfield, Vermont, in May 2007. Sanders was in Plainfield to celebrate a new source of federal funding for The Health Center.

Sanders speaks to reporters in 2010 about the Obama administration's push to extend Bush-era tax cuts. Three days later, Sanders held a filibuster against the reinstatement of the tax cuts. His speech, which lasted more than eight hours, was published in book form in 2011. It is called "The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class."

Sanders and US Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, walk to a news conference on Capitol Hill in 2014. Sanders was chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

In March 2015, Sanders speaks in front of letters and petitions asking Congress to reject proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

In July 2015, two months after announcing he would be seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for President, Sanders spoke to nearly 10,000 supporters in Madison, Wisconsin. "Tonight we have made a little bit of history," he said. "You may know that some 25 candidates are running for President of the United States, but tonight we have more people at a meeting for a candidate for President of the United States than any other candidate has."

Seconds after Sanders took the stage for a campaign rally in August 2015, a dozen protesters from Seattle's Black Lives Matter chapter jumped barricades and grabbed the microphone from the senator. Holding a banner that said "Smash Racism," two of the protesters -- Marissa Johnson, left, and Mara Jacqueline Willaford -- began to address the crowd.

Sanders shakes hands with Hillary Clinton at a Democratic debate in Las Vegas in October 2015. The hand shake came after Sanders' take on the Clinton email scandal. "Let me say something that may not be great politics, but the secretary is right -- and that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails," Sanders said. "Enough of the emails, let's talk about the real issues facing the United States of America."

Sanders embraces Remaz Abdelgader, a Muslim student, during an October 2015 event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Asked what he would do about Islamophobia in the United States, Sanders said he was determined to fight racism and "build a nation in which we all stand together as one people."

Sanders waves while walking in a Veterans Day parade in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in November 2015.

Sanders sits with rapper and activist Killer Mike at the Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta in November 2015. That evening, Killer Mike introduced Sanders at a campaign event in the city. "I'm talking about a revolutionary," the rapper told supporters. "In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that Sen. Bernie Sanders is the right man to lead this country."

Comedian Larry David and Sanders appear together on "Saturday Night Live" in February 2016. David had played Sanders in a series of sketches throughout the campaign season.

Sanders and his wife, Jane, wave to the crowd during a primary night rally in Concord, New Hampshire, in February 2016. Sanders defeated Clinton in the New Hampshire primary with 60% of the vote, becoming the first Jewish candidate to win a presidential primary.

Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in March 2016. He won the state's primary the next day, an upset that delivered a sharp blow to Clinton's hopes of quickly securing the nomination.

Sanders speaks at a campaign event in New York's Washington Square Park in April 2016.

Sanders speaks at a rally in Santa Monica, California, in June 2016. He pledged to stay in the Democratic race even though Clinton secured the delegates she needed to become the presumptive nominee.

Sanders endorses Clinton at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in July 2016.

Sanders addresses delegates on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in July 2016.

Sanders brings a giant printout of one of Donald Trump's tweets to a Senate debate in January 2017. In the tweet, Trump had promised not to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Sanders thanks supporters after winning re-election to the Senate in November 2018.

Sanders looks at his notes as he watches President Trump deliver the State of the Union address in February 2019. That month, Sanders announced that he would be running for president again.

Sanders hugs a young supporter during a campaign rally in Los Angeles in March 2019.

Sanders addresses the audience at a CNN town hall in Washington in April 2019.

Sanders speaks next to former Vice President Joe Biden at the first Democratic debates in June 2019.

Sanders raises his fist as he holds a rally in Santa Monica, California, in July 2019.

Sanders grabs the hand of US Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the Democratic debates in Detroit in July 2019.

Sanders campaigns at the University of New Hampshire in September 2019. A few days later, he took himself off the campaign trail after doctors treated a blockage in one of his arteries. Sanders suffered a heart attack, his campaign confirmed.

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduces Sanders at a New York rally after endorsing him for president in October 2019.

In a tense and dramatic exchange moments after a Democratic debate, Warren accused Sanders of calling her a liar on national television. Sanders responded that it was Warren who called him a liar. Earlier in the debate, the two disagreed on whether Sanders told Warren, during a private dinner in 2018, that he didn't believe a woman could win the presidency.

Sanders laughs during a primary-night rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, in February 2020. Sanders won the primary, just as he did in 2016.

A triumphant Sanders raises his fist in San Antonio after he was projected to win the Nevada caucuses.

Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden talk before a Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2020.

Sanders addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in March 2020.

Sanders speaks to reporters in Burlington, Vermont, a day after Super Tuesday II. Sanders said it "was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view" but that he looked forward to staying in the race and taking on Joe Biden in an upcoming debate.

Biden greets Sanders with an elbow bump before the start of a debate in Washington in March 2020. They went with an elbow bump instead of a handshake because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders

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Now that doesn’t mean every Sanders supporter will sit out the November election if Sanders’ message isn’t embraced. Some Sanders supporters – such as myself – will still proudly and passionately support Hillary Clinton if she’s the nominee. But unlike Sanders’ younger supporters, I’ve been a Democrat for years.

What can Clinton do with Sanders?

Alarmingly it seems that the schism between Wasserman Schultz and the Sanders’ camp is escalating. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Wassermann Schultz was on CNN scolding Sanders over what she viewed as his lackluster response to some of his supporters becoming violent at the Nevada Democratic convention over the weekend. (Sanders did condemn the violence in a statement.)

Then on Wednesday, Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver let it all out, declaring on TV what many Sanders’ supporters have long felt about Wasserman Schultz: “It’s been pretty clear almost from the get-go that she has been working against Bernie Sanders.” Weaver blamed the DNC chair for the initial scheduling of Democratic debates in times with low TV viewership as well as revoking their campaign’s access to the party’s voter database.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the audience in Eugene, Oregon on May 6, 2016. / AFP / Rob Kerr (Photo credit should read ROB KERR/AFP/Getty Images)

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Some Democratic leaders I have spoken with – including a person on the Clinton staff – say this is nothing to worry about and the party will unite if Clinton is the nominee. They then typically cite the fact that 40% of Clinton supporters in 2008 said they wouldn’t vote for Obama but most ended up doing just that as the Democratic Party united.

The problem, though, is that the 2008 Clinton supporters are unlike the younger Sanders’ supporters. Clinton’s supporters were mostly older and were likely longtime Democrats, which is not true of the younger Sanders supporters.

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK - APRIL 10: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in front of a capacity crowd at a rally for his campaign on April 10, 2016 in Rochester, New York. The New York Democratic primary is scheduled for April 19th. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

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Trump supporters will hate to hear this, but it’s very unlikely that these young Sanders’ supporters will vote for the billionaire. After all, Trump is one of the marquee players in the rigged economic system that Sanders has railed against and Trump has made truly despicable comments about women, Latinos and Muslims. The more likely scenario is they simply stay home, which could spell doom for Clinton’s candidacy.

So what do the Clinton campaign and Democratic leaders need to do to enlist the young Sanders supporters if he loses the nomination? For starters, treat them fairly and respectfully. And then embrace as much of Sanders’ message as possible. (In reality, Sanders and Clinton are very close on many policy issues.)

The good news for the Democratic Party is that one of the biggest cheers of the night at Sanders’ campaign rally Tuesday was when he declared that Democratic leaders need to, “Open the doors and let the people in!” The ball is now in Wasserman Schultz’s court: What’s it going to be?

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Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM’s weekly program “The Dean Obeidallah Show,” a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean’s Report. Follow him on Twitter: @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.