Here’s my opinion.
More than any other Political President before him, Donald Trump has understood, harnessed and manipulated cultural political resentment in a manner that has tapped into deep seated economic anxieties caused by free market globalisation.
This union members who voted Barack twice and then voted in Trump aren’t racist, they’re the working classes who feel burnt by the Democrats for embracing neoliberalism.
Trump gave them hope that someone, even a racist sex offender, might hear their economic pain.
Trump is a master of negative populism and plays to the worst angels of our nature.
Winning the popular vote in America means nothing if you can’t win in the Electoral College and in those states Trump needs to win 2020, he is competitive.
Those working class voters in those States are the ones the Democrats must win over to defeat Trump, and I think Bernie Sanders offers those working class voters the best policy line up to convince them to vote Democrat this year.
You counter negative populism with positive populism, you offer hope instead of fear. Free education and free health care is positive populism, so popular that the Democrats created ‘Super Delegates’ to ensure a positive populist who challenges the Military Industrial Complex and the rigged casino crony capitalist state in favour of domestic universal social policy can never become the Democratic candidate for President.
That’s what happened in 2016, the Democratic establishment rigged the primary against Sanders so that a positive populist couldn’t become the nominee.
You can see the gathering nervousness by the Democrats and Republicans as Bernie starts to lead in polls and has had a surge in donations. The same corporate gatekeepers and Billionaire Plutocracy that rules the Republicans dominate the Democrats as well. Someone like Sanders who is such a threat to private health and private education interests at the cost of the Military Industrial Complex will never be allowed anywhere near power so the Democrat establishment will do everything to kill his candidacy off again.
Which is inane because the hope Sanders offers with free education and health would be the best chance of beating Trump’s negative populism.
I can see Sanders beating the shit out of Trump in those debates, where as I only see Biden tripping over himself during the debate or some ridiculous chest puffing bumping into each other fiasco which makes him look weak and loses to Trump.
You counter Trump’s hate not with Warren’s policy geekery or Biden’s passive progress, you beat Trump’s hate with Sander’s hope.
This matters because Trump has lied over 15 000 times since becoming President and his latest bewildering lie regarding the supposed ‘imminent threat’ from Iran highlights how dangerously erratic and pathologically deceptive this immoral orange tumour is to the body politic of a good faith Democracy.
Neither the United States or the Planet can survive another 4 years of this toxic narcissist, and that’s why the Democratic hierarchy must be considered responsible if they produce another candidate who protects corporate interests rather than a champion for the people.
Bernie is up against it–the DNC and it’s billionaire backers will throw everything at him. Trump has realised Bernie has a shot and his orcs are waist deep in their foul work all over Insta, FB and Twitter. The Washington Post and New York Times are digging the dirt on Mr Sanders. But the Union, Activist and Celebrity endorsements keep coming for the Sanders Campaign. And the non corporate donations and support from ordinary Americans. Michael Moore’s pro Bernie “Rumble” podcast is attracting millions after just a couple of weeks.
Bernie’s winning hand is in his tagline–“Not Me. Us!” He knows and increasingly numbers of his supporters are realising that a movement of the people is the only way for him to succeed against the odds in the Primary circus, the Dem Convention and the even more formidable odds to win the Presidency AND implement his policy. Wide popular support is the only way any of this can happen.
There has been one change re Superdelegates for 2020 after the 2016 fiasco.
“Saturday’s vote officially barred the super delegates from voting on the first ballot to choose the party’s presidential nominee unless a candidate has secured a majority of the convention using only pledged delegates, whose votes are earned during the primary process.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/25/politics/democrats-superdelegates-voting-changes/index.html
Bernie is on “last chance power drive”, he is campaigning strongly in the twilight of his life for young and future Americans not for personal gain. He attacks the billionaire class and does not take their cash like Mr Biden.
There is a chance, at least, that this time next year we could be witnessing the inauguration of President Sanders. …something I never dared hope for until now.
I find US politics very hard to follow but the main problem with Democrats is that they have a no holds barred fight for the right to stand which destroys the mana of the winner. I would hope Trump does not win but all the pointers are in his favour unless any of the current mud sticks .
Even in the unlikely event that Bernie wins the Democratic nomination – his chances of winning the presidency are slim. One only needs to look at what happened to Corbyn in the UK where the entire media establishment – left and right – lined up against him for 4 years. The working class doffed their caps to the upper class and voted against their own economic interests because they were led to believe that foreigners were over running the country.
I expect the exact same play book will be used against Bernie. Don’t rely on unions they represent a tiny proportion of the working class in the US and don’t rely on wealthy liberals who will turn on Bernie and advocate support for Trump in order to protect their financial position. Just as many high profile Labour members in the UK explicitly endorsed Boris over Corbyn.
The US working class will vote to protect the interests of their millionaire Republican advocates based on a whipped up fear of migration.
Better late than never, – the city of Seattle has just voted to ban foreign influenced corporations (eg Amazon) from spending in local elections. It was approved unanimously, and serves as a model for others to take on powerful corporations and win.
(An example of what they were dealing with: In 2018 the company [Amazon] lobbied against a corporate tax aimed at raising revenue for homeless services and affordable housing to help combat the effects of skyrocketing home prices, driven partially by Amazon’s presence in the city.)
And, who are Amazon? “…two of the company’s top ten investors are foreign banks.”
Banned from TDB (a public platform after all) for expressing views contrary to Bradbury, his TDB brown shirts & all the middle class chardonnay socialists & fake radicals who follow him. Be courageous DB & publish this with an attached statement of banishment. Nah, to gutless I suspect.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a woke, chardonnay socialist – I’m proud of my cushy, liberal middle class upbringing, expensive university degree and high paying job. But at the same time I believe that people in my position should pay more in taxes and that wealth should be re-distributed via comprehensive public services, welfare and a high minimum wage.
I find it deeply frustrating and incomprehensible that there isn’t an overwhelming number of working and middle class people who share my views and that election after election voters are convinced that protecting the wealthy is the only purpose of government.
How much would your computer cost if the ones making it all get a living wage? $5,000?
@ JohnnyOverton.
” Nah, to gutless I suspect.”
I’m prepared to give you ‘Nah’ but I can’t overlook your ‘to’. In this instance, it has two Oh’s dear boy. Or girl.
Or Confederate, counter narrative propagandist for the old dark-shadows neoliberals who stole off with our stuff and things and who promote hate against our primary industry agrarians so [they] might get away with having ripped them off for years tOO.
This sexism smear that Warren and her activists are using
… has about as much substance as Jacinda’s “sex scandal embroilment”.
What Sanders was alleged to have said in the 2018 conversation was first made by anonymous sources “familiar with” the meeting in a report earlier Monday by CNN—a piece of journalism pilloried by critics as an irresponsible hit job.
When pressed about this more recently, Warren said, “I have no interest in discussing this private meeting any further because Bernie and I have far more in common than our differences on punditry.” Jon Queally link here
It would be a serious error for progressives to buy into corporate media portrayals of the Sanders and Warren campaigns as destined to play a traditional zero-sum political game. [my emphasis] Norman Solomon link here
CBS is giving live updates of the final debate (before nominations begin), due to start… about now. CBS are also pushing the “Fight! Fight!” line between Bernie and Liz Warren – Good luck to both those two in dealing with that. Here is their live updates link
Or watch it all live here
Sorry, HERE is the correct link to watch the debate, live now
Throw in the word SOCIALIST, and Trump will convince enough USA fans to NOT vote Bernie.
Bingo! Trump will eat Bernie alive. Their only chance is Biden, cause he won’t scare the horses.
Trump just has to point out that if you want Bernie, then all your taxes are going up, and they hate tax as more than we do
Bernie is as popular in the US as Corbyn was in the UK, a hero for some, not enough.
Both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are too old to be running for president. I wouldn’t take bets on either of them surviving the campaign.
“Free education and free health care…”
My impression from listening to many vox pops is that Americans see that sort of thing as socialism: almost COMMUNISM, even! And generations of US propaganda has left them viewing communism with as much enthusiasm as many people have for the sight of a very large and hairy spider on their livingroom rug.
Trump will prove to be his own undoing.
Good people far outnumber arseholes, we must remember that. It’s just that arseholes are far more difficult to ignore and much more bankable by fellow arseholes who own the MSM.
The Orange Drumpho’s biggest score was entrancing the God botherers.
The Christian evangelicals are truly hoisted by their own petard.
They were boxed in by the mighty trumpenator’s clever strategists and now, if they were to renounce the trumpster, the must also renounce their God.
That’s why, in todays Guardian we can read this:
” Where Christian evangelicals worship Trump more than Jesus – key voters stay loyal to president ”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/15/evangelical-christian-swing-voters-stay-loyal-donald-trump-wisconsin-2020-election
( How terrible it would be, to be so imprisoned within one’s spiritual beliefs that one must stick to a dick head like the orange trumpette when he’s clearly so far up the devils arse hole, all one can see is his wallet sticking out. )
Bernie Sanders is what the U$A needs more than the U$S can fathom.
I wouldn’t touch Liz Warren with someone else’s finger.
Why, you ask?
Go and read her bio. Go on? I dare you. Forget about a good nights sleep if you do.
I think a clue to Trumphs skills at attracting undying adoration lies in this thankfully dead nut’s dysfunctional brain.
Jim Jones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones
By the way…
Watched the film ‘The Irishman’? Yes?
So should Bernie Sanders.
Look the odds for Bernie are huge and he knows that but is convinced that after his progress in 2016 there is a real urgency being felt by many Americans that things must change and that the time is right too make that change.
His fundraising efforts are amazing asking only small amounts of money doesnt matter when you have so many wanting to contribute to a fairer deal for themselves and their families and believing that the 99% together can beat the 1%
He has been exceptional in conveying the evils of Neo liberal greed and corruption and how many American are missing out and being extorted by the system in place but they can change it by being organised too vote and that one person one vote resonates with a lot of the electorate.
He has warned everyone that he will be under constant attack and that has already begun as after ignoring him in the media has not worked they will now go for the kill.
The other strategy is his direct communication with the next generation of Americans who believe that things must change and that only progressive policies can deliver and reaching that audience has been a success since 2016 and the momentum has continued.
This is not the UK and there is no BREXIT too muddy the waters here but there are huge obstacles that will need too be overcome but he is disciplined and on message and with his vast years of experience knows all the pitfalls and his enemies tactics they will use against him.
The coming caucuses in Iowa on Feb 3rd are crucial and is where the work really begins.
The momentum cannot be underestimated in the run up too the New Hampshire primary and that result will be crucial too every candidate as too whether they will surge or fall.
Bernie is telling it like it really is and the reality is not lost on a lot of Americans when they look at how life can be better than it is now and the reasons why they are so disadvantaged.
As he frequently reminds his audience ” real change never come from the top down but from the bottom up ”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-election-calendar.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x8Nwu4FTbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxJQ6z8EBo
Mayor Pete 2020!
(and it’s ironic that Martyn endorses a boomer.)
Bernie Sanders is the only one who could beat Trump….but they would never let him….they being the Democrat Party which is a puppet of…
Seth Rich died trying …and exposing the corruption of Clinton…Assange is also in jail for the same reason
Bernie should give it a go inspite of the corrupt Dems and corporate forces that will fight him behind the scenes. Money means power to lie, cheat and manipulate MSM, all of which I am sure will be done.
But Bernie’s younger voters are aware of this an listen to Bernie making sense of a better deal.
He is not too old.
His mind is active and sharp with decades of experience in the field of fighting for better deals an winning against liars.
The half of the population that don’t bother voting may take heart and come out for Bernie and hope.
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