Ignore Bernie At Your Peril!
After Super Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden has consolidated much of the Democratic establishment around him. After struggling mightily in the first few primaries, he has regained his “front-runner” mantle.
At leas according to the corporate media which wants him to win both the nomination and the presidency.
As six more states have their primaries today, something needs to be said.
Regardless of whether he or Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gets the nomination, there is one thing the Democrats, and more specifically, their establishment wing, should not do. At any cost.
Do not ignore Bernie. Do not ignore his supporters. Do not ignore their issues.
While the establishment frets and pulls its hair out over a so-called “radical” candidate, have they ever examined why Bernie is so popular? Have they ever thought “Gee, maybe our establishment/basic bitch Democrats aren’t doing the job for many voters?”
No, not really.
They shoved Bernie and his Bros. under the bus in 2016 with a Hillary Clinton controlled DNC. The networks did whatever they could to downplay his message. Not a conspiracy theory by any means. Simple fact. Bernie and his Bros. were treated like shit by the Democrats.
Mr. Biden may legitimately win the nomination, without foul play or cronyism. That’s certainly possible. But if he does, he needs to realize why people “Feel the Bern” and how their concerns can be addressed.
Let me ask, what is more ridiculous: Supporting a “radical” candidate, or continuing to support a power structure that only pays your needs lip service?
No longer such an easy question to answer.
You don’t have to agree with Bernie’s policies to appreciate the attention he draws to issues. I don’t agree with him on the specifics of much, but I am beyond thankful that someone is talking about these problems.
His agenda is expensive, there’s no question about it. However, I believe that were he elected, he would modify it in a rational manner. He would have to.
Though we could compare the Bernie and the Biden campaigns on many issues, let’s focus on one of the most important: financing.
While Mr. Biden’s policies and positions are more “moderate”, some sources of his campaign funds certainly aren’t. He pledged to not accept money from lobbyists, but as CBS pointed out, the Biden campaign “demonstrates a comfort with an industry that is the scorn of Democratic activists and some of Biden’s principal rivals.” He also reversed his opposition to Super PACs once his position in the Democratic field weakened last fall.
While Mr. Sanders has accepted lobbyist money in the past, contrary to Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s claim, he has raised standards so that his 2020 campaign is more grassroots than his 2016 one. He is not 100% grassroots funded, but is actively making steps to get there. The Senator exaggerated his current level of grassroots funding, but since we have an Exaggerator-In-Chief, I am not going to be too hard on the man. His Super PAC, ‘Our Revolution’, operates on a much smaller level than critics argue.
For a party that spent much of the 20th century as for labor and of “the people”, supposedly, Super PACs and lobbists are kind of the opposites of that. There’s a reason why more and more people label ‘centrist’ or ‘moderate’ Democrats as ‘corporate Dems.’
Why do those in power think the average American is going to be ok with this long-term? “Gee, I just love how every hedge fund manager, Wall Street tycoon and potential Jeffrey Epstein financier dictates the direction of America. Please sir, I want some more bullshit!”
I am a policy guy- I have argued that politics is policy multiple times on this site. But what do policies matter if you are controlled by groups who aren’t accountable to Tom, Dick and Harry?
Something to really chew and nibble on.
Again, you don’t have to agree with Bernie’s ideas and proposals. But you do have to engage with them. I’m talking to you, corporate Dems.
Aka the establishment. Aka those who control the party and parts of the media.
If Bernie and his supporters are ignored, if their issues are unaddressed, if little to nothing happens to make the “American Dream” work for them, then there will be a much more radical candidate than Bernie in the future. It’s impossible to say when, but it will happen.
And there will be no stopping him or her. The entire establishment will be torn asunder.
Ignore Bernie at your own peril.
Originally published at https://theprimacyofpolitics.blogspot.com.