US Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (L) and Bernie Sanders shake hands before the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yar on April 14, 2016, in New York. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take their increasingly acrimonious battle for the Democratic White House nomination to a debate stage in Brooklyn ahead of the key New York primary. / AFP / Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Source: Time

By Sam Frizell

How the two rival campaigns are finally talking to each other

In the bright lights of the political revolution, Bernie Sanders does not sound like a candidate who is about to give up. “Here we are in mid-June, and we’re still standing!” he said on Thursday to a crowd at a stadium in Washington, D.C., where he will compete at the bitter end of a long Democratic primary, delegate counts damned.

But even as Sanders vows to fight on, he and presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton are making a truce.

The two friends-turned-opponents plan to meet face-to-face on Tuesday night for the first time in months after the polls close for the D.C. primary. They will begin to sort out their differences: Sanders will lay out what he wants from the party; Clinton will ask for Sanders’ support.

Meanwhile, top aides for the two campaigns have been in frequent contact in recent days. Sanders’ allies and Clinton’s are cordially working together to hash out a platform for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Sanders’ plan to pick off superdelegates from Clinton has lost momentum, Democrats say, and his allies are focused on winning platform concessions at the Democratic convention.

Clinton sounds optimistic that they will make peace. “I’m looking forward to working with [Sanders] to achieve our common goal, which is to defeat Donald Trump,” she said last week on CNN. “And Senator Sanders has said he’ll work every day, every week to see that happen.”

How and when Sanders and Clinton peaceably wind down the primary campaign over the next few days and weeks will be crucial for unifying the Democratic Party.

Sanders would be a major aid to Democrats and to Clinton in the fall if he were to write to his email list and bring his supporters on board. Sanders has attracted a cohort of younger and independent voters that Clinton and the Democratic Party desperately hope to adopt.

“Bernie’s going to be very good for the party,” said Senator Harry Reid, who has been in discussions with Sanders.

It is a delicate balance: Clinton wants to win Sanders’ support quickly and enlist him to defeat Trump, but she is wary of pushing him too quickly and asking too much of the famously cantankerous contrarian.

So far, much of the outreach has come from Clinton’s camp. It was Clinton who phoned Sanders last Tuesday after his crushing loss in California, reversing the usual custom of the loser calling the victor.

Clinton aides are playing at appeasement, hoping not to aggravate the Vermont Senator before the convention. Robby Mook, the Clinton campaign manager, and Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager, have spoken multiple times over the past week. The Clinton campaign’s Charlie Baker and Sanders’ Mark Longabaugh, both of whom negotiated a contentious debate schedule, have also been in regular contact.

Mook has been a key player in thawing relationships between the two campaigns, sources close to the discussions say, serving as a conduit between Sanders aides and Clinton. Mook is the closest person to Clinton who is communicating regularly with Sanders’ campaign, and Sanders’ aides respect and trust him.

Clinton’s charm offensive is public too. During her victory speech last Tuesday in Brooklyn, Clinton openly backslapped Sanders. “SenatorSanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate that we’ve had about how to raise incomes, reduce inequality, increase upward mobility have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America,” she said.

When Mark Ruffalo, the actor and Sanders surrogate, wrote on Twitter, “Chin up @BernieSanders supporters. we are doing impossible things together. We too have won historically and are just getting started!” communications maven for the Clinton campaign Jennifer Palmieri chimed in. “Truth,” she wrote.