Establishment Democrats are prematurely
calling for Bernie Sanders to step out of the race and for his supporters to
line up for Hillary. The Democratic
Party is delusional if it thinks that the people who are supporting Sanders
will just come happily into the corporate Democrat fold and vote for
Hillary. Sanders supporters have many
reasons not to support Hillary and the Democratic Party.
Many Sanders supporters felt abandoned by
the Democratic Party since the Clintons steered it away from its support of the
working class back in the nineties. The
party and both Clintons have enjoyed the support of unions, but have not done
much to repay that support. The radical
trade agreements that continue to force American workers into a global race to
the bottom of wages and quality of life have been supported, advanced and
passed by establishment Democrats and both Clintons.
Sanders supporters share strong
progressive values evident in policies that support social safety net programs
and healthcare for all. Many feel
strongly that the Democratic Party has abandoned these values and is no longer
focused on The People. These values are
not evident to Sanders supporters anywhere in Hillary’s record or in her
current policies. If they had been, his
supporters would have been supporting her instead of him. Yet, the party seems to think that Sanders
supporters will just put aside the very values and policies that have attracted
first-time voters and long-time non-voters into the Sanders movement in order to
vote for Hillary.
As much as she has tried to copy Bernie's
platform, Hillary’s policy platform is not the same as Bernie's. She has stated
as much when she has repeatedly said that his plans are unrealistic. If her policy platform were the same as his,
she would be condemning her own platform with that statement.
She won't work toward single payer
healthcare. She famously said, “Single
Payer Healthcare will never, ever happen.”BUT, after that went over like a lead
balloon, she then said that she is working toward single payer in the long term. Remember that Obama said he would support it,
too, and he could have; but he didn't. This is because Clinton and Obama are
both political centrists that practice incrementalism. Clinton promises baby steps when so many in
this country are living on the edge. The
people of this country have patiently waited for the baby steps to provide some
relief and they can wait no longer. If
anything is unrealistic, it is the belief that Sanders supporters will just
settle for an ACA expansion when they believe that we can have the cost savings
and eventual cost controls that come with single payer.
Hillary won't break up the big banks; she
says that it isn't necessary and pretends that her Wall Street platform is more
"comprehensive." But that is only true if, by comprehensive, you mean
detailed and bureaucratic.Her plan basically leaves oversight in the hands of
Wall Street, where it has been all this time and relies on fines to keep the
boys in line. When have fines ever deterred anyone on Wall Street? Breaking up the banking cartel is a major part
of the reason so many support Sanders. Though
establishment Democrats have spread the myth that only Millennials support him,
many Sanders supporters have actually lived long enough to remember how
Glass-Steagall served as a leash and collar to regulate the banking and
investment industries in a way that served the best interest of the majority in
our economy. They are also old enough to
remember when government did not allow the kind of monopolies that have
destroyed small business in our country. Knowing that Clinton won’t break up
the banks or monopolies that have a stranglehold on our economy, and that this
a central part of Bernie’s platform, why does the Democratic Party believe that
Sanders supporters are just going to shrug it off?
The establishment Democrat line of
thinking doesn’t take into consideration that the times have changed. Though people used to line up to hold their
nose and vote for the lesser evil, too much has changed in the past ten years
and the voting public is unwilling to do that in this current climate. The establishment does not have its finger on
the pulse of this country and has not kept up with the times. Many of the policies and values that are
woven throughout the Sanders platform are overwhelmingly popular with a
majority of the voting public, and Clinton has put herself on the record
stating that they are unrealistic and unreasonable. She made herself the candidate of “No, we
can’t.” The Democratic establishment
thinks Sanders supporters will just forget about that?
The establishment keeps telling us that
there is not much difference between Bernie’s platform and Hillary’s
platform. Sanders supporters are
uber-aware of the facts and they know that is just not true. This is viewed as an insult to their
intelligence and knowledge.
The establishment keeps saying that
Bernie Sanders is not electable. The
massive numbers of people who come to his speaking events, the increased voter
turnout at caucuses and primaries around the country do not support that
talking point.
Finally, there is the fact that Hillary
supporters have been rude, condescending, and bullying in their behavior toward
Sanders supporters throughout the campaign. Beginning with the announcement of his
candidacy, any support for Sanders has been immediately been met with patronizing
arrogance by Hillary’s supporters. “But
you will vote for Hillary in the general, right?” As if Bernie never had a chance to win the
nomination. The questioning quickly grew
into harassment with Hillary trolls invading Sanders Facebook pages demanding
Sanders supporters pledge fealty for their candidate in November. And then the media machine began to smear
Sanders and his supporters as sexist, then racist. Somehow, the elitism, arrogance and bullying
by Hillary supporters was turned against Sanders supporters through the myth of
the “BernieBro” and by lumping them in with Trump supporters. Smears, dirty tricks and media manipulations
are not the best way to win friends and/or influence enemies. Why would the Democratic party establishment
believe that Sanders supporters would be so anxious to jump on the Hillary bus
with those types of people on board?
Establishment Democrats can delude
themselves into believing that Bernie’s supporters will hold their noses and
vote for Hillary if it comes down to it, but that doesn't mean it will happen. It appears to be more likely that it won’t,
despite their dangling of the Trump boogeyman.
Sanders supporters have glimpsed a
possible future wherein they would have the healthcare, education and economy
that they need; where campaign finance reform would put control of the
government back in the hands of the people where it belongs; and where global
climate change would be immediately given the priority necessary to properly
address the problem, among other things.
Once you’ve seen something, you can’t unsee it.
How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm
after they’ve seen Paree?
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