A key takeaway here is that on major economic policy issues, there is no clear difference between the two candidates supporters. Both Clinton voters and Sanders voters are very worried about economic inequality and moderately supportive of government intervention in the economy and of liberal positions on moral issues.
On other issues, mild differences are visible. Despite the Clinton campaigns emphasis on identity politics themes, Sanders backers are slightly further to the left in their attitude toward African Americans, immigrants, and gender roles. And despite the Sanders campaigns emphasis on the welfare state, Clinton backers are further to the left on the importance of Social Security and Medicare. But critically, there is a lot of overlap between both candidates camps on all of these topics.
Theres a big difference on trade, but then a yawning void on attitudes toward America itself.
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Compared with Sanders supporters, voters with a favorable view of Clinton are much less likely to view politics as a rigged game, much more likely to express pride in America, and much less likely to express the view that people like me are in decline.
That tension was highly visible at the 2016 Democratic convention. The Clinton and Sanders camps had some difficult discussions on the partys platform committee, but ultimately crafted an agenda that both sides could enthusiastically support. The speeches from the convention floor, however, revealed a stark contrast between optimistic, upbeat speeches from Clinton and the Obama families and things like Elizabeth Warren darkly warning that people get it: the system is rigged.
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The practical issue, to the extent that there is one, is more likely to arise if Democrats ever take power again. Candidate Obama ran on a message promising fundamental change to the way Washington worked. He then proceeded to govern as a fairly conventional inside player who focused on getting things done according to the established rules of the game. The gap that opened up between message and reality very much reflects the gap between the worldview of the Sanders and Clinton camps. And if Democrats get a chance to cover again, the basic choice will arise again do Democrats want to talk about reforming the system, or do they want to actually do it.
