Enough Republicans, at least, have been brave enough - even in the face of severe criticism of their choice, often well-deserved - to elect for change from the same old establishment politics. On the Democrat side there are still too many people satisfied with what they've had in President Obama, and wish to continue along that road. These people cannot, or will not consider that this country is being held hostage by corporations, plutocrats, war hawks, oligarchy - call 'em whatever one wishes. Electing Bernie Sanders might not be the solution, no single person ever could be, he realises this too, but his nomination would be one step forward in the long road needed to reach a fairer, more just state of affairs in the USA.
Bernie winning the nomination, though not 100% out of the question, has become much less likely after his loss in New York. That does not mean that supporters should abandon him in primaries to come - not if they ever believed in his vision for a better future for all the people of the USA. The closer Bernie Sanders can keep the race the better, to enable him to put his case, at the Democratic Convention, that some of his policies must become part of the party's platform. He needs to get as many delegates into the convention as possible, to use as leverage there.
by Robert C. Koehler:
The New Enlightenment
What remains endlessly hinted at about the 2016 presidential race, but not fully articulated, is that something enormous — bigger than politics, bigger than America itself, perhaps — is trembling and kicking just below the surface, struggling to emerge.
I have a name to suggest for this hypothetical phenomenon: the New Enlightenment. Nothing less than that seems adequate.
There are millions of midwives at the ready — angry, despairing citizens — desperately hoping to assist in the birthing process . . . by being part of the Bernie Sanders campaign. I say this with full cognizance of the flawed, compromised nature of politics in general and the Democratic Party in particular. The political process is a stew of money and competing interests, power, compromise, cynicism and secret deals. But that’s not all it is.
It’s also the opening to our collective future. A failure to acknowledge this leaves the process in the hands of those who think they own it.
12 comments:
Your Jupiter is showing ;P
Read a while back that Kasich would be the one to watch, but, oh, oh...?
https://ohioastrology.com/2016/04/25/john-kasichs-astrological-misstep/
And all these retrograde planets; not to mention this announcement made during what Eric Francis terms 'Mercury storm'.
Yet more thrills, chills and spills!
Sabina ~ Good article - thanks! Kasich will no doubt be saying "Ooops!" in a few weeks - maybe sooner. :-)
I think that the very substance of Bernie's uncompromising message-platform is his saving grace and downfall, all in one. He distinctly has a coalition that avidly supports his ideology. I'm highly in favor of his platform and there's little for me to not like...OK, maybe a bit more anti-NRA, but I can accept his position.
Now evaluate his opponent, Hillary, who operates in a multi-positional, one-size-fits-all, zeitgeist of positioning. She started with her basics, but quickly borrowed proposals from Bernie, allowing her to borrow potential Bernie supporters. She's a conservative and progressive at the same time, depending on the need. She will be tough on regulating the financial industry, yet panders their money. She's done plenty-a-flip-flopping on issues. Rolled-out the spouse to campaign for her, then denigrated some of his POTUS activities, as required. Denounced Obama, but is now closely allied. Riding pompously on her Secretary of State job as foreign policy credential, yet received many negative performance reviews and much to clean-up. She's the epitome of "politician" that most voters are accustomed.
Bernie could have expanded his coalition by flip-flopping on issues and assuming some of Hillary's objectives, but to his credit, he's stayed consistent. He could have his own SuperPACs, but he disdains them [there does appear to be one SuperPAC for him: Collective Actions PAC, which raised $443]. There are an incredible number of Hillary-issues he could implore against her, but he chose to minimize contention with his opponent.
There have been two primary obstacles for Bernie all along. Low voter turn-out hurts him...apparently, those inclined to vote for Bernie stay home or never registered to vote. Among those that do vote, should a person believe Bernie to be the best candidate, but believe Hillary will win, then they have nothing to lose by voting for Bernie. I've seen too many exit-polls where a Bernie-leaning voter selected Hillary simply because they thought Hillary had the nomination wrapped-up and why "waste" their vote!!! I simply don't understand their thought process!!!
P.S. - I'm always chagrined by the "undecided" voters, particular in this primary, as the candidates are night-and-day comparisons. Pro-Bernie essays available on the net are typically heavily comment-assaulted...Rensin's smugness at work. Some comments from the pro-Hillary camp, but so many more apparently from the pro-Republican defense force. I'm often startled by the incredible, intentional use of misinformation against a nominee, and that individuals go out of their way to post negative comments on articles that I wouldn't think they would bother to read in the first place. Part of modern campaigning must be having volunteer armies to fight the digital opposition. It must work or they wouldn't exert the effort trying to persuade those undecided. A frequent comment appearing too many times is that Bernie is a socialist running on an independent ticket, so he shouldn't be given all of this attention. Is the author of this comment just uninformed? Stupid? A volunteer for Hillary? LOL.
mike + (again) ~ Thanks for your good assessment of the situation: Sanders vs Clinton.
I'm puzzled, too, that anyone who agrees with Bernie's stances would consider voting for Hillary just because they assume she has it all "wrapped up". That'd be the very time to bolster Bernie's support for goodness sake!
Yes, this time around it's hard to understand how a voter could be undecided in Dem primaries. I think most must surely have made up their minds by this stage of the game.
There's no doubt at all that there are disruptive commenters (volunteer, or even possibly paid by opposing campaigns) doing the rounds in comment threads. Common Dreams, and some other sites too with a battery of regulars, have them sorted out, even when they change screen names, as often happens. The cleverest ones do their dirty business with a subtle approach - I'm starting to recognise these.
Things must be even worse on Facebook!
We saw a few minutes of Bernie's "Town Hall" on MSNBC during the ad. breaks in "The Voice" last evening. I could not bear to watch more than a few seconds of Hillary's similar "Town Hall" which followed. I think the toll on both of them is beginning to show, though Bernie does seems to be standing up to it better - apart from his voice becoming a tad raspy. I thought Hillary looked strained last night, from the brief sight I had of her - not nearly as good as she was looking in the early debate sessions.
Today's news flash is Trump tweeting that Bernie has been mistreated by the Dems and should consider running as an independent. Sure! That would split the Dem vote and give the Republicans the POTUS win, particularly Trump, IF he is their nominee. Bernie should tell Trump, I will if you will, and we'll both announce it at the same time on the same stage. I would like two popularized independents running against the Dems and Repubs. I suppose that some states have rules that only allow one to vote the same party ticket as they voted in the primary, so this would backfire, but perhaps there's an allowance for independent candidates.
Additional news flash...the KKK has contributed $20K to Hillary's campaign in anonymous donations. Hhmmmm. Sounds like a ploy for Trump votes, but he's been accused of the same.
mike (again) ~ It's a nice scenario upon which to daydream - 4 candidates in the GE! I think, from what I've read, that it's already too late for any new Indie 3rd party runs, to get on every state's ballot. After the convention it'd be even later and probably, even if possible, very very expensive. I doubt Bernie would do it anyway, even if Trump did. If Trump were less ridiculous an anti-establishment run with both he and Bernie on the ticket could be fun, and probably a winner, but he's not reasonable enough, so that's another daydream.
If Bernie loses the nomination and Clinton and the DNC give him the cold shoulder at the convention, regarding his request to have some of his proposals included in the party platform....well...what he'd do then? I wonder if he has a plan B...and C? But...let's not assume the worst, let's think positive thoughts, towards tonight's results. :-)
Yikes! Where do the KKK get their stash from these days? Ew!
mike ~ Received from the Sanders Campaign this afternoon:
Over the past few days, Hillary Clinton’s campaign and some of its top supporters have launched an odd new line of attack against people like you who stand with Bernie. They are saying that by continuing to campaign and fight for every vote, for every delegate, that we are helping Donald Trump.
They’ve used language reserved for traitors to our country, saying we are "giving aid and comfort" to Trump. They are emailing supporters with the subject line "What Trump loves about Bernie."
Let me be clear, there is one candidate in this Democratic primary who Donald Trump said would make a "great president," and it’s not Bernie Sanders.
Dearie me!!!
A congress for Bernie:
"Let's elect a Brand New Congress that works for all."
https://brandnewcongress.org/
mike (again) ~ Looks like that's the only way forward now. :-(
I'm not in the mood for it tonight though. The Dems have got their candidate and the best of luck to 'em with her. They'll need it! I've got to change my registration back to Independent asap!
Not sure how you'll handle voting in the actual election...you've stated previously that you wouldn't. It appears to be Hillary vs Trump at this juncture. We do seem to be in a slip-sliding time warp, so maybe something unusual will factor into this mess we are now facing and alter the current view. I saw yesterday that The Donald will be going to court over his Trump University scam...maybe Hillary will face some untoward fate. There's always hope...LOL. Should Bernie remain in the contest and Hillary snags her pantsuit on felony charges, his future may appear brighter.
If the POTUS position is between Hillary and Trump, I'll have to go Hillary. I'll have to anyway, as I voted Dem in the primary, so I'll have to vote Dem in November. I won't leave it blank, as omission is a vote for Trump. I'll also be pleased to cast a vote against Republican Blake Farenthold, House Rep.
Disheartening that Hillary has her coveted lead. It was mentioned on the news last night that Bernie's advisors were meeting this morning to determine next steps. Bernie said in a brief interview last night that he was continuing.
All that said, I need to congratulate Sonny, et al, for Hillary's apparent win.
mike (again) ~ I don't know how I'll be feeling come November. The way I feel this morning - I just don't care anymore. That attitude will likely pass though (I know me!) I'd always vote Democrat down-list though. I will not not vote at all, that'd be a waste of my effort to become a US citizen - but my vote for the president is useless in Oklahoma - the state will vote Republican anyway, so I shall not feel guilty if I decide to leave that line blank, as I did in 2012.
I might keep my Dem registration until after November, then change it back to Indie, depending on what happens in the next few weeks.
I think I shall hold off from congratulating on Hillary's likely nomination. She will still have to beat The Donald, or whomever they nominate in his place before any congratulations are warranted - in my view. Even then though, We the People will still remain on the losing side.
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