Tag: bernie sanders

Let’s Keep Working For the New World We Hold in Our Hearts

By Paul Messersmith-Glavin (March 11, 2020)

I understand the appeal of the Bernie Sanders campaign for President and hold nothing against his champions.

It would have been a positive development if he got the Democratic nomination, and for a couple of weeks there it looked like a possibility. I’ve also seen leftists and well meaning people for years try and advance a Left agenda in the Democratic Party and fail. Again and again. The US national electoral system protects vested interests which are not ours, the majority of working people. Our interests lie in creating a fundamentally different society. Our Interests are not represented within the confines of the dominant system.

So I want to welcome Sanders supporters back to reality, and hopefully, to a recognition that the type of fundamental social change humanity and other species desperately need today won’t come through the very system that helped deliver the mess we are currently in. Trump vs. Biden tells you much of what you need to know about the US system.

Our task is now harder, our time shorter, and the consequences of our failure more dire. Let’s keep working for the new world we hold in our hearts. Future generations depend on us.

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Building Democratic Socialism in the US Requires the Long View

By Marc Cooper (March 4, 2020)

Sanders comes out of Super Tuesday an underdog (much to my dismay). While he needed to finish with a 200-300 delegate advantage to stay clearly and firmly in front, it is now projected that Sanders — under the best realistic finish in California– will finish about 25-30 delegates BEHIND Biden. Probably more as this is the best case scenario. This takes into account the three states of California, Maine and Texas where all the votes are not counted but can be reliably projected… at least roughly.

That said, and with no spin, the race is far from over though it is now Advantage Biden. Warren and Bloomberg are still wild cards that have no path to victory but who skew projections to some degree.

Nor is it in anyway clear if Biden can get a plurality let alone a majority of delegates to avoid a contested convention even if he continues a winning streak.

Bernie faces a stiff challenge now from Biden. But Biden also has to deal with Biden. I believe him a very weak and vulnerable candidate and only Heaven knows what SNAFU he can bring down on himself in the days and weeks to come. There is another debate coming soon and the key state of Michigan votes next week where Sanders might stage a comeback — or not. If you are a Berner, as I am, you must now redouble your efforts… no pouting, no complaining allowed. No resignation, no demoralization. Fueling a socialist to the presidency of the US is a Herculean task under any conditions, especially with Trump in office.

My humble suggestion to my fellow democratic socialists and other anti-Biden progressives: you MUST take the long view. It would be just short of a miracle to turn the political culture in this country around in just 4 yrs given there has been no significant socialist presence in the U.S. in a hundred years. So you continue your work for Sanders but you also understand that you are building something important for the future that might be years or decades away. Our immediate work is not finished with the primary. Next comes ousting Donald Trump. This does not make you a Biden Bot. It makes you a responsible citizen.

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Bernie is the Only Logical Choice

By Arun Gupta (February 12, 2020)

Last year I said, “If not Bernie then Warren.” Her campaign is finished, even if she tries to limp on to South Carolina. I am sad to see her go, but a fourth-place finish means it’s over for her. Biden is finished as well but will stick around until Super Tuesday.

Now watch as the “Never Bernie” elites come out in force and in desperation. They will try to herd voters behind Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and then Bloomberg. In effect, they are telling Democratic voters to beat Trump you need to nominate uninspiring, mendacious, vindictive candidates.

I’m not saying Bernie can beat Trump, but I argue he has a better chance than these tools and representatives of the ruling class. Bernie inspires people. He inspires young people, Latinos, the working class. He is the only one left who can draw working-class white men away from Trump and into the Democratic fold.

If you think that Bernie being a socialist will hurt him, do you really imagine Trump won’t use that against whoever might be the nominee, including Bloomberg? In his case, it will be a steady stream of explicit/veiled anti-semitism of Bloomberg being a globalist and part of an internationalist conspiracy to rob Americans of their guns and freedom. Or how about Buttigieg who is completely unvetted and untested and has a new scandal coming out about his past statements and actions every day. Or Klobuchar, who is about as inspiring as her salad comb.

When Trump says Bernie is coming for you, all he needs to say is that’s right, “I am coming to give you all healthcare and take away all your medical debt.”

In 2016, I said the Left needed to unite behind Clinton because Trump was such a danger. Now liberals need to unite behind Bernie. He’s the only logical choice going forward.

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What is Bernie Sanders Doing Right Now for Racial Justice?

 

By Angus Maguire  (August 9, 2015)

I have a good number of friends going to see Bernie Sanders today in Portland. To those folks, especially ‪#‎mywhitepeople‬, you might give some thought ahead of time about how you will act if ‪#‎blacklivesmatter‬ activists interrupt the event. I have no knowledge of plans to do so, but it seems like a pretty good bet.

I understand the impulse to frustration at the interruptions. When you have hope for justice, and basic change in this country, and you see a presidential candidate breaking out of the two-party narrative, talking about inequality and justice, it feels like a precious thing. It feels like something that should be upheld, and protected, and that everyone who has your kind of hope should learn to put aside differences, and work together for a better tomorrow. I feel that.

But I think we have to ask ourselves what we are afraid of. What are we afraid of losing in these interruptions? If you want Bernie to run, to make a difference, even to win, how do these interruptions take away from that? Who do you imagine will suddenly NOT vote for Bernie, because he’s been publicly called out on taking action on racism? Is there some demographic that is going to say “hey, Bernie’s not talking about race, let’s vote for Hillary” or “let’s vote for Jeb”? No. What this comes down to is this question: are black communities, and all those who have been shouting Black Lives Matter for the last year, going to get behind Bernie? The main response I see from white liberals to these interventions boils down to “Bernie is all you’ve got, he’s on the right side, so get in line.”

If you want unity, if you want a united left speaking out for justice and equality, then those who fashion themselves leaders are REQUIRED to be the bridge builders, are REQUIRED to do the work to show all the constituencies who are daily crushed under the heel of capitalism and racism that they are committed to each of these fights. #blacklivesmatter activists are not the problem here. Would-be leaders who assume the support of communities without addressing their issues are the problem. I don’t want to hear “Bernie marched for Civil Rights”. That literally doesn’t matter. The question is, “what is Bernie doing RIGHT NOW for racial justice?”. If he’s so great on racial justice, the answer shouldn’t be hard. And if the answer is hard, then why should I support him? This process, of calling Bernie out, of intervening in his appearances, is a process of accountability. If, as so many are quick to argue, Bernie is the voice of those fighting racism, then #blacklivesmatter activists are a constituency he has a duty to heed.

You might get the chance to make a choice today, to decide which side you are on. And the choice is not between Bernie and Black activists. The choice, today, is between two Bernies: the one that systemic racism and white supremacy wants in the conversation because he erases black lives and ignores structural racism, and the one that makes racial justice a priority, for ALL our sakes, because he’s been moved by the constituencies he claims to represent.

If you favor the latter, I hope you’ll act accordingly.

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