Systems of Collective Representation in the Eighth Democratic Debate

“Like constellations in the night’s sky, or the anchoring radii of a spider’s web, collective representations order the symbolic worlds into which we are born and socialized.” (Mast; 2012).

In The Performative Presidency by Jason L. Mast, we are introduced the concept of systems of collective representation. Collective representations are powerful symbols that our cultural universe is organized around, and they exist in various capacities ranging from the binary codes of civil society to the ‘talking points’ of a political party. (Mast; 2012)

The performances of Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Vice-President Joe Biden in the eighth democratic debate of 2020 sees both of them invoking collective representations to “wrap oneself in a metaphorical flag that connotes the narratives of democracy and liberty” as Mast says. (Mast; 2012). Both Sanders and Biden call upon democratic and counter democratic codes to emphasize the strength of the democratic party and to condemn Trump and his policies. An example of this on Biden’s end would be when he praises Colonel Vindman for getting thrown out of the White House, then calls upon the audience to stand up and clap for the Colonel while saying, “Who we are. That’s who we are. We are not what Trump is.” (Biden; 2020). In saying this, there is a collective, unspoken understanding that Biden and the democratic party are the good guys, and Trump is the villain here. Biden, in this statement, is aligning himself and his followers with a figure that stood up against Trump; basically saying that he is here to do the same. In Sanders’ case, he mentions Donald Trump’s lies and corruption then follows by stating that “everybody up here, by the way, is united. No matter who wins this damn thing, we’re all going to stand together to defeat Donald Trump.” (Sanders; 2020). The concept of unity and togetherness is a counter to the corruption and selfishness of the Trump campaign, and this togetherness extends beyond the candidates to the American people. In this, Bernie is channeling the democratic code and calling upon the American people to also collectively unite under these values for the greater good, just as the democratic candidates are. 

These are just small examples in the grand scheme of this debate, but I think they denote the audiences that Sanders and Biden are attempting to call upon. While Biden and Bernie take somewhat different approaches, they are united under the common goal of defeating Trump and the counter democratic codes associated with him. 

Citations

Mast, Jason L. 2012. The Performative Presidency Crisis and Resurrection during the Clinton 

Years. Cambridge, Ma: Cambridge University Press.

Anon. n.d. “New Hampshire Democratic Debate Transcript.” Rev. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/new-hampshire-democratic-debate-transcript).