Nathan Robinson: After Bernie Sanders' landslide Nevada win, it's time for Democrats to unite behind him
.. Let’s be clear: the other candidates were crushed, and Nevada was yet more
evidence that there is no longer much serious opposition to Sanders. Michael
Bloomberg fizzled
completely in his big debut, and Democrats would be out
of their minds to enrage every Sanders supporter by nominating a
Republican billionaire. Joe Biden has lost badly in all of the first three
contests, and it’s very clear that he can’t run an effective campaign.
Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has
nearly gone broke and in desperation she has resorted to
relying on the Super PACs that she previously shunned. Pete Buttigieg can’t win
voters of color or young people (and has accurately been described as
sounding like “a neural network trained on West Wing episodes”).
As Matthews
says: it’s over. Bernie is dominating the fundraising, dominating the polls,
and winning every primary. I am not sure Jacobin is right that “it’s
Bernie’s party now”—for one thing, virtually the entire Congressional
Democratic party is still opposed to Bernie. But it’s certainly Bernie’s
nomination. There is simply no other credible candidate. Democrats shouldn’t
worry, though: Bernie has a strong organization and a lot of money, and can
mobilize millions of people to support him in November. He’s exactly the kind
of candidate you should want your party to have.
And for all the fear of his
“radicalism,” he’s really a moderate: his signature policies are a national
health insurance program, a living wage, free public higher education, and a
serious green energy investment plan. It’s shocking that there is such
opposition to such sensible plans. On what planet are these things so
politically toxic that Democrats are afraid to run on them? Voters like these
ideas, and so long as Democrats unify behind Bernie rather than continuing to
try to tear him down, they will have a very good shot at defeating a radical
and unhinged president like Donald Trump. The polling looks good for Bernie in
November, so now we just need to get this primary over with and focus on the
real fight. The other candidates had their shot: they lost. They need to accept
it.... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/23/after-bernie-sanders-landslide-nevada-win-its-time-for-democrats-to-unite-behind-him
Comment: It’s not hard to see why
the Democratic establishment is threatened by Bernie Sanders. He is from the
FDR/Harry Truman/JFK/LBJ progressive tradition, while today’s Democratic
establishment is dominated by Clinton/Obama corporatists. Sanders’ campaign is
financed by small donations from many individuals, while the Democratic
establishment relies on large corporate donations.
FDR famously remarked
about the big money forces arrayed against him: “They hate me, and I welcome
their hatred.” To the Wall Street executives who helped facilitate the economic
meltdown in 2008, Obama said: “My administration is the only thing between you
and the pitchforks.” What was Obama’s signature “achievement” as President?
Enacting an expensive health care plan hatched in a conservative think tank.
There hasn’t been a
progressive in the White House since LBJ, with the predictable result of
massive income and wealth inequality and a hollowing out of the middle class.
But, the American people are catching on to the fact that they have been
funding massive corporate socialism (corporate welfare) designed to create
profit, not decent jobs. And, it’s time to better balance the scales. Let’s
hope the Democratic establishment gets onboard, instead of run over.
