Does Hillary get it?
Does Hillary Clinton understand that the biggest divide in American politics is no longer between the right and the left, but between the anti-establishment and the establishment?
I worry she doesn鈥檛 鈥� at least not yet. 聽
A Democratic operative I鈥檝e known since the Bill Clinton administration told me 鈥渘ow that she鈥檚 won the nomination, Hillary is moving to the middle. She鈥檚 going after moderate swing voters.鈥�
Presumably that鈥檚 why she tapped Tim Kaine to be her vice president. Kaine is as vanilla middle as you can get.
In fairness, Hillary is only doing what she knows best. Moving to the putative center is what Bill Clinton did after the Democrats lost the House and Senate in 1994 鈥� signing legislation on welfare reform, crime, trade, and financial deregulation that enabled him to win reelection in 1996 and declare 鈥渢he era of big government鈥� over.
In those days a general election was like a competition between two hot-dog vendors on a boardwalk extending from right to left. Each had to move to the middle to maximize sales. (If one strayed too far left or right, the other would move beside him and take all sales on rest of the boardwalk.)
But this view is outdated. Nowadays, it鈥檚 the boardwalk versus the private jets on their way to the Hamptons.聽
The most powerful force in American politics today is anti-establishment fury at a system rigged by big corporations, Wall Street, and the super-wealthy.
This is a big reason why Donald Trump won the Republican nomination. It鈥檚 also why Bernie Sanders took 22 states in the Democratic primaries, including a majority of Democratic primary voters under age 45.
There are no longer 鈥渕oderates.鈥� 聽There鈥檚 no longer a 鈥渃enter.鈥� There鈥檚 authoritarian populism (Trump) or democratic populism (which had been Bernie鈥檚 鈥減olitical revolution,鈥� and is now up for grabs).聽
And then there鈥檚 the Republican establishment (now scattered to the winds), and the Democratic establishment.
If Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party don鈥檛 recognize this realignment, they鈥檙e in for a rude shock 鈥� as, I鈥檓 afraid, is the nation. Because Donald Trump does recognize it. His authoritarian (鈥淚鈥� am your voice鈥�) populism is premised on it.
鈥淚n five, ten years from now,鈥� Trump聽, 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to have a worker鈥檚 party. A party of people that haven鈥檛 had a real wage increase in 18 years, that are angry.鈥�
Speaking at a factory in Pennsylvania in June, he聽聽politicians and financiers who had betrayed Americans by 鈥渢aking away from the people their means of making a living and supporting their families.鈥�
Worries about free trade used to be confined to the political left. Now,聽聽to the Pew Research Center, people who say free-trade deals are bad for America are more likely to lean Republican.
The problem isn鈥檛 trade itself. It鈥檚 a political-economic system that won鈥檛 cushion working people against trade鈥檚 downsides or share trade鈥檚 upsides. In other words, a system that鈥檚 rigged.
Most basically, the anti-establishment wants big money out of politics. This was the premise of Bernie Sanders鈥檚 campaign. It鈥檚 also been central to Donald (鈥�) Trump鈥檚 appeal, although he鈥檚 now trolling for big money.
A recent聽聽found that 80 percent of GOP primary voters who preferred Donald Trump as the nominee listed money in politics as an important issue, and a聽聽shows a similar percentage of Republicans opposed to the Supreme Court鈥檚 2010聽Citizens United v. FEC decision.
Getting big money out of politics is of growing importance to voters in both major parties. A June聽聽poll showed that 84 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans want to fundamentally change or completely rebuild our campaign finance system.
Last January, a DeMoines Register聽of likely Iowa caucus-goers found 91 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats unsatisfied or 鈥渕ad as hell鈥� about money in politics.聽
Hillary Clinton doesn鈥檛 need to move toward the 鈥渕iddle.鈥� In fact, such a move could hurt her if it鈥檚 perceived to be compromising the stances she took in the primaries in order to be more acceptable to Democratic movers and shakers.
She needs to move instead toward the anti-establishment 鈥� forcefully committing herself to getting big money out of politics, and making the system work for the many rather than a privileged few.
She must make clear Donald Trump鈥檚 authoritarian populism is a dangerous gambit, and the best way to end crony capitalism and make America work for the many is to strengthen American democracy.
This article originally appeared on .
