This is Sanders’s first significant foray as the Democrats’ head of outreach. (The event is being touted as “Our First Stand.”) Even more notably, it is also his first attempt to rally the revolutionaries who fueled his White House run around something other than his candidacy. But, as President Obama can attest, transferring a political following from a person onto a policy crusade or set of political goals can be tough. A presidential candidate provides a clear, compelling focal point for a diverse coalition. A policy fight, by contrast, tends to draw a much narrower band of support.
The Day of Action didn’t exactly capture the public imagination (certainly far less than the fuzzier women’s march). Around three-dozen rallies were set up (including six in Iowa and five in Wisconsin!), led by a collage of Congress members, local officials and Democratic groups, labor unions, and senior-citizens organizations—not shabby, but hardly an overwhelming show of force.
Its agenda requires the media and public to tear themselves away from the spectacle of Trump’s Cabinet hearings and inauguration hullabaloo, not to mention the rolling revelations about Russia’s efforts to undermine American democracy. Piercing the cacophony of the Trump carnival will not be easy for any politician, much less those looking to talk policy.
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