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News Tip: Clinton-Sanders Tensions ‘Potentially Explosive,” Expert Says

Clinton represents past, Sanders the future of the Democratic Party, says Pope “Mac” McCorkle

Tensions between the camps of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders continue to escalate.•    Quotes:"The rising tension between the Sanders and Clinton forces is hardly unprecedented in the history of Democratic or Republican presidential primary battles. But the Clinton-Sanders conflict involves something more than a hard-fought fight between different candidate personalities or even a simple changing of the guard in a party," says Pope "Mac" McCorkle, an associate professor of the practice at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.  "What makes management of this conflict so tricky and potentially explosive is that the losing Sanders side seems to represent the future of the party and the winning Clinton side seems to represent its past. It is hardly self-evident how the Democrats can negotiate a settlement that unites the party behind Secretary Clinton in 2016 but also accepts the need to pass the torch.""The Democrats thought that they had successfully made this transition in 2008 with President Obama's victory," says McCorkle, who has worked as an issues consultant to political candidates and state governments, including former North Carolina Democratic Govs. Mike Easley and Bev Perdue."But on the ideological scale, the Sanders side is demanding a far more radical economic message and a total party divorce from Wall Street. And party peace may depend on the Democratic establishment and Clinton feminists finding some way to embrace a more full-throated economic populism.""At the same time, the Sanders' insurgency has failed on the cultural side to attract strong support from the loyal Democratic base of African-American and Hispanic voters. Bernie's campaign has to recognize that its claim to the future remains limited because its constituency represents a step backwards compared to Obama, and now even Clinton, on the multicultural front."    "In such a complicated political situation, a workable peace between the two sides could be very challenging to negotiate. Simple notions of ‘compromise’ are probably not sufficient. Both Secretary Clinton and Sen. Sanders will have to exhibit a savvy sense of statesmanship that at least implicitly acknowledges the weaknesses in their own candidacies."•    Bio:Pope "Mac" McCorkle has served as an issues consultant to political candidates, state governments and various organizations for the last two decades. Since starting McCorkle Policy Consulting in 1994, he has worked for state and federal candidates in North Carolina as well as 28 other states.http://sanford.duke.edu/people/faculty/mccorkle-iii-pope•    Archive video interview (different subject): (1:43 mark)http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/n-c-voters-consider-clashing-messages-hig...•    For additional comment, contact McCorkle at: mac.mccorkle@duke.edu