Bernie Sanders picked the wrong type of coalition to build: this is what he should have done

Is this movement broad enough to win the nomination?

It’s fair to say that until a week ago Bernie Sanders was the underdog’s top dog. His multi-class, multi-racial, intergenerational ‘revolution’ looked real. Many progressives — even those who weren’t convinced that Bernie was their perfect candidate — got behind the Sanders team.

But then South Carolina happened, and a wave of moderate Democratic reorganising followed. All the leading moderates pulled out of the race, forming an alliance to back Biden. Super Tuesday and Super PAC money now put Biden in a strong position to take out the nomination, unless something dramatically changes.

What’s gone wrong? The answer is in the coalition Sanders has been building. He’s pick the wrong one for this moment in history.

Building alliances across voting constituencies has been one of the ‘go to’ concepts of this campaign.

Sanders forged an ‘intersectional’ working class coalition — combining a diverse array of social movements and identities under an ideologically radical banner. This isn’t an accidental strategy. It takes its modern form from history. It’s a 21st century take on the “United Front”.

Back in the early 20th century radicals in Russia and across Europe used the term to describe an…