Bernie Sanders’s ride has come to its end. Finally. Or has
it?
When Senator Sanders launched his nascent bid for the
presidency last year, my initial thoughts were not complimentary. Here was a
perennial outsider and nonconformist (qualities I actually could respect), who
had charmed my home state of Vermont into thinking he could accomplish
something in the Senate, casting aside any notions of political independence in
signing on to the Democratic party machine. Why? “It is the only way to get
elected,” he claimed at the time. If that were true, then Jill Stein and Gov.
Gary Johnson would have to be at the party doorstep, would they not? The truth is,
that was never the reason.
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| I kinda love this meme. |
Bernie finally admitted that he latched on to the Dems for
two reasons: media
and money, and the first begets the second. Yes, he wanted an easier path
to the presidency if possible, but what he really wanted was the media
attention and the donations that would accompany that. He got both, and don’t
let anyone tell you Bernie has been ‘ignored’ by the media. He has received
just as much attention as anyone not named Trump or Clinton in this race, and
if that isn’t enough, then maybe he should ask Jill Stein how she feels about
the media attention she doesn’t receive.
And the money did roll in. While Sanders will tell you he
didn’t get the ‘big money’ that the others got, that is another falsehood.
Sanders received more
outside money than any other candidate! And maybe the list of his direct
donors doesn’t include the billionaires and banks that Hillary’s has, I’m pretty sure the
people ponying up for those SuperPACs were making six-figure incomes, thus
perpetuating the supposed ‘income inequality’ that Bernie rails against.
Bernie’s real goal was, and still is, to make the Democratic
party a Socialist one. Which is why he remains in the race despite being
technically incapable of winning at this stage. One might ask why he didn’t
just align himself with Socialists in the first place. After all, there are
Socialists actually getting
elected in America. The reason is: Americans
don’t actually like Socialism.
Bernie’s uphill battle wasn’t an effort to win the
presidency, it was an effort to convince people that progressive,
Democrat, and Socialist are all the same thing. Pursuant to this, he’ll
look at the ballot returns in his favor as evidence people are on his side. However,
his notion that the vote tallies in his favor are the indication of a revolution are laughable. Though the article cited above states that nearly 35% of Americans have
a favorable view of Socialism, only 5% of Americans have voted for Sanders. And that ‘favorability’ number has
actually declined in the period in which Sanders has been campaigning!
Sanders claims to have started a revolution. He hasn’t. The net
effect is that Sanders has made people more aware of what direction the
Democrats are actually moving - bigger government, less liberty. And that
scares people. People clearly like free enterprise, entrepreneurship and
small business according to those Gallup results. Those things are antithetical
to Socialism, in which the federal government would own the means of
production. And make no mistake, that is what Sanders has advocated for in
every day of his career… Well, right up until he ran for president.
Look around and ask yourself, if this is Sanders’s
revolution, who will carry the torch going forward? Who are the up-and-coming
politicians who will champion his policies when this campaign subsides? The list of
endorsees is actually more chock full of people who have left office, seems more interested in
celebrities than public servants, and is notable for its lack of anyone with
any kind of executive experience. And don’t look past the fact he has Nicolas
Maduro’s backing. But don’t fret, he recently decided to flip-flop on legalizing
marijuana, so he has Kumar’s
vote.
There is no one in Congress who sides with Bernie. This
explains why not a single piece of legislation that Bernie has authored has
ever passed in either house. And Sanders’s supporters have taken umbrage with
the flaws in the system that have inhibited his campaign without acknowledging
that a) Sanders chose this route and
b) there is no one in the system who aligns with him that is interested in
changing things. Not. One. Person.
So when we dissect the denouement of his supposed
revolution, we can look back at a man who cast aside principles for party,
chose money and media over making a difference, and who now has an army with no
incipient leader – all while public opinion of Socialism has declined. In other
words, in every way imaginable, the Bernie Sanders campaign has actually
failed.
And that’s a good thing for America. You know, the one that
loves free enterprise and all...
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