Ersatz Avenue: Dem Party Takeover is Unrealistic
Like many others, I have been hanging on every statement made by Bernie and his campaign since the Primaries 'ended'. He has chosen his words carefully, using semantics which most of the time leave room for an interpretation other than "he will eventually concede and endorse".
Gleaning these interpretations, honestly has been no easy effort. Followers (and much of the Nation, really) had hoped for something very concrete, particularly in his press conference in VT and his Live Stream address last Thursday. A clear direction; a clear statement of intent. An answer, perhaps, to some Yes-No's. However, it wasn't much of a surprise that this did not happen. The comments from Bernie and his crew have been deliberately ambiguous, leaving the MSM frustratingly and comically grasping for straws and the DNC absolutely fuming.
While that has been a consolation prize which has been fun to watch, I must admit that the undercurrent of the messages which has been coming from Bernie does not necessarily buoy me.
It is difficult not to interpret his words as an eventual step-down. "Our nation has become an Oligarchy" has been replaced with "drifting toward Oligarchy" - not an insignificant revision. If one is to accept wholeheartedly that Bernie speaks with an honest tongue, then in fact 'his' race is probably over; as his statements continue to suggest he will not make a foray outside of the establishment Dem Party. If one is to accept his campaign's messages with a wink-and-a-nod, then perhaps some room still exists for alternate interpretations. But, IMHO, this is getting harder to do than it was, say, 8 days ago.
While we smiled on Thursday at his strafing of the Democrats as an essentially Failing Party...a nosediving machine....the Rx he has Provided us is, in my opinion, the Wrong Medicine.
Young people nationwide have been tweeting about their impetus to seek public office; many websites have sprung up about electing a Progressive Congress.
The spirit is uplifting.
The Avenue, however, is completely Ersatz.
As Jill Stein noted at the beginning of this Primary season: "what is impossible is for a Truly Transformative Change to happen inside a(n established) political party - like the Democratic Party, which is controlled by the Wall Street banks and the fossil fuel giants and the war profiteers. The party has systematically taken down the candidates who actually have integrity, like Bernie Sanders does." https://www.rt.com/op-edge/334275-us-trump-super-tuesday/
If one follows the logic of this developing "Take Over The Party" Movement, it leads to the identical Dead End which the Primaries have just painfully illustrated.
Goal: Take 'back' the Dem Party
How ? : By bumrushing 'em with inspired, informed Progressive Candidates.
Funded by ?: Same funding mechanism Bernie has established; which CAN compete with PAC funding, as we have seen.
(this all sounds VERY good so far)
How do we get 'em into Office ?: We Elect them into office.
How do they get elected into office ?: By the people Voting them in - in Primary first, then Gen'l Election.
(you see where this is headin', now ?)
A Candidate gets Voted in by...?: Winning an election with a greater # of Votes than her/his opponent.
(Remind me which Party we are talking about, here ?): The Democratic Party.
(watch your head, here comes the boom)
The Democratic Party which has just shown itself to rig its Primary elections and intentionally push forward a pre-chosen Winner ?:.............
So, HEREIN lies the problem. The "Take back the Party" notion relies on doing this via a path (Primary Voting Season) which we know the DNC actually rigs with seeming Impunity.
And which we know will not get called out by the MSM.
So, while I agree with Bernie that the Dem Party is a national embarrassment and a failed mechanism at this point (as he aptly illustrated in his address)...it is very hard to make an argument that the Party can be Rehabilitated thru the avenues which it provides and will provide.
Like a stonemason who is continuously working on an impenetrable dike, the DNC is constantly and vigilantly checking their Gauntlet for leaks, and always maneuvering to patch those leaks and possible future fissures which might allow some fresh water to make it through.
Back to my initial comments, I am not certain whether this Take Over Theme is really a final card which Bernie is playing, and in fact he already has capitulated to the phony 2-Party general Election race...or whether his campaign is still holding some cards close to its chest, and this Theme is simply an apt subtext to introduce at the moment to maintain the Bern thru these difficult several weeks.....
As always, thanks for reading. I would imagine this particular piece may not sit well with some (or many), but as usual, I must say: Comments welcome.
Comments
My only hope
Is that he goes to the convention and completely ignores Hillary. I want to see a white-hot lecture from an old man with nothing to lose.
He had never run as a Democrat in all the years he has been a politician. He won't do it again. It simply makes no sense that he would suddenly agree that there is merit to the party that he could have joined decades ago.
I agree with you, thx
I would LIKE to believe that Bernie is taking this to convention for 2 reasons:
1) DNC clearly freaking out that he hasn't dropped out illustrates they are expecting the sh#t to hit fan on FBI investigation and/or Wikileaks (or whatever elese) beforehand.
2) Bernie WANTS that national audience - clearly the largest audience he can ever have - to send his Message to the Nation.
Both are fair and just reasons. The problem for me becomes the potential Endgame of taking it to the Convention is that this ultimately will not lead to an end (or even beginning of an end) of our current Corporate Plutocracy. There must be something BEYOND the Dems to get us there, or to even initiate that movement. And our window of opportunity is quite finite. My 2 cents.
Watch The Economy
Neocon policies almost crashed the world economy, a condition from which the US only this year began showing any signs of truly recovering, however weakly. With the current talk about "full" employment (itself a major lie), major investors are now planning the next downturn so that wages won't rise. This downturn will have to be more severe than the last to rid the nation of the higher minimum-wage laws which have been passed around the nation. In fact, what is now being imposed on Puerto Rico might as well be seen as the test case for what will happen to the entire nation. Did not Trump say that American workers are paid too much?
Urban unrest over the restoration of poverty for the majority is likely to lead to a violent crackdown by the corporatist government. The only question now in my mind is how the general public will act once this happens. Will we stand like men? Or bleat like sheep?
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
This is the alternative, but it would be Bloody
Indeed, Economic collapse is inevitable with either a NeoCon or NeoLib administration - it would probably come w/i first 6 months of 2017. Of course, whatever happens, the Plutocracy already has a plan of action. So indeed, as Cheis Hedges reminds us in his latest TruthDig article, the time for breaking their laws is fast approaching...as no other alternative would remain.
At the moment however, one alternative DOES remain: Bernie's campaign is a final attempt for us to take back a piece of our country, within the limits of the law and rules; a potentially bloodless Revolution. He has called Americans to this, and we have responded. But he needs to Finish. If he bails, that window is closed.
It is not something which we can build slowly by planting a few seeds now, then gaining a seat here and a seat there in state and federal legislatures over the next 2-6 years. Those small leaks in the dike will be quickly taken care of by the DNC/GOP Plutocracy. My 2 cents.
Climate change will be bloody.
People don't seem to recognize this. Oh well. Greater Phoenix burns down; fire departments with no water to do anything about it. Miami sinks under water, hurricane coming. America cursed by massive crop failure, supermarket looting in 600 cities.
Ya know, it would be nice if the electorate didn't choose a woman who gets 20% of her money from the Saudis, but you can't have everything. Maybe when we get weeks on end of 120 degree temperatures across America the gun nuts can solve the problem by firing their AR-15s at the sun.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
This is exquisite
ly heartbreaking snark.
Yup, the Earth doesn't seem to much recognize Election cycles.
....I just keep wondering what the 1% plans on doing to innoculate themselves against impending environmental collapse.
Perhaps they all have pre-paid tickets for the Rocket Ship docked deep beneath the new Denver Airport ?
That's about all I can figure....
The .01% are building underground fully equipped shelters.
To "preserve a nucleus of human specimens"
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8L8NopVwdg]
Beware the bullshit factories.
What they do NOT intend to do
What they do NOT intend to do: worry about people dying, especially people dependent upon social safety nets.
gun nuts can solve the problem by firing their AR-15s at the sun
I consider neocon and
I consider neocon and neoliberalism all part of the same oligarchic plan for world hegemony, both utilizing US (our) wealth as the battering ram.
right on
Also implicated are neocolonialism, neopatriarchy, neoimperialism, neoconceptualism, neocatastrophism, Neo-Malthusianists, neo-Darwinism, neofeminists, neotectonics, neopatrimonialism, neoracism, neofeudalism, neo-realism, neosocialism, neogeography, neohumanists, neo-Lamarckism, neotraditionalists, neoglaciation, neoblasts, neo-Thomism, neo-Ricardians, neopuritans, neomammalians, the neobladder, and the neopenis. And, of course, neosurrealism.
Don't forget Neo from The Matrix, too....
....
GeorgeJohn, thank you
Truth be told, while I admire the French Revolution, there was much glee at beheadings, so Roman. Review history before you comment would be my advise. Of course, who am I to suggest learning before speaking.
We are older but wiser now, n'est-ce pas? (Forgive my uninformed textbookish take of language. Any ex-pats can expand on this.)
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. Stephen Hawking
I want to believe
That Bernie is focused only on number 2. He has never had the opportunity to have so many rank and file Dems gathered to listen to what is wrong wit how they've been operating. Hillary and her corruption are almost beside the point and wiil/will not take care of itself without a need for him to address it.
The best endgame would be to have Bernie deftly call out the party for its quarter century of lip service to the people while actually serving the corporate elite. Anything that ties the Dems to that other party that they claim to despise so much might be used to forge a path to something new and better. How great would it be if Bernie endorsed the Greens?
No. the best endgame is Bernie gets the nomination.
Too many people here seem in rush to call it over before all the votes are counted. Hand wringing and pearl clutching is the theme in too many of the essays lately. imho.
It is a difficult time. Much pressure from behind,
a big, not fully coalesced movement still coalescing, up to the Convention? Downward pressure from the corporatists is happening, police presence will maybe dampen some more just by threat. So there is fear of the unknown, but the movement was built on no fear of a leap. Solidarity. Stay the course, even if it's muddy now.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Too many appear to have bought into the Establishments BS
No, I'm not so young (lived thru the assassinations of '68 and Kent state and lived in Philly when Move was on the scene, and as Langston Hughes says 'I'm Still Here') or naive, that I don't understand that our 2 party system is off the rails and is run by sociopaths with their hands in the till and no concern for their constituents or the planet the are in process of rendering uninhabitable for human life. My gripe is that too many commentators not only spend their time predicting failure but bringing it on by questioning the honesty and judgment of a man who has taken on the establishment for most of his adult life. I guess they never came across such an honest and sincerely caring man before, tant pis for them. They are not among the dreamers = they fill these essays with their nightmares and negativity.
Bernie Sanders has put his life on the line for what he believes in, what don't y'all get about that?
Those are long odds
As much as I hate it, Bernie winning the nomination is very long odds. The machine wants Hillary, so it's going to get Hillary even if it has to cheat to get it. Why stop cheating now?
As bad as Trump might be, the best thing in my opinion would be for Bernie to run third party. Nothing can be done from within the party. Backing Hillary will just embolden the right wing of the party, and they'll have no reason to offer anything to the left.Taking away enough votes to cause Hillary to lose would force the Democrats to actually listen.
I agree with you all the way
until the end, only insofar as I think no matter what we do, "The Democrats" won't listen. Period.
That's the biggest reason that
You can't fix a broken system from within it.
I so hope that Sanders has a real mic drop moment ready for that convention, one that leaves the neolibs mouths hanging open, for all the audience to see.
Hold out hope
I also hold onto some sliver of hope that he'll do something big. Say that he'll never endorse Hillary, announce that he's running third party. Anything to make the establishment panic.
I'll try to be optimistic until then.
He literally has nothing else to lose
IMO. His constituents back home will not bail on him. For that reason, IMO, no matter what he does between now and January, he should and can plan on finishing out his Senate term and then fade away, if all else actually fails.
'fade away'?????????????????
Well? You don't want him to burn out, do ya?
It was a figure of speech, it's okay
Too many people have seen the light, and I hope that their
love and respect for what Bernie has shown them won't be fading anytime soon. Here's a little tune that came to mind when the words 'fade away' went into my memory bank. Music @ 2:50
Believe me when I say
I'm with you a thousand percent
Best outcome yes, but anyone believe Bernie will get DNC nod ?
If there's hand-wringing going on, it is for the reasons I opened my piece with.
The messages/semantics coming out of #Bernie camp are vague and sometimes contradictory. Again, question becomes, is this intentional ? I would think it must be, but it's still leaves supporters in a state of guessing...or simply hoping.
Peeps are just trying to communicate and converse about that. I see nothing wrong with this. Matter of fact, it;s a necessity.
Thanks for your comments
If we base that communication and conversation
on that which is built on the unknown, and take it down a road which leads nowhere anyway when the unknown hasn't even actually had the chance to finish playing out, what we're doing in some ways is depressing the effort with cynicism. We should really stop doing that.
We also have to stop assuming that every word uttered by "the press" is true. They lie like so many dogs on a backyard. This business about "our understanding about what Jill Stein said" the other day is a perfect example. The only way I could believe that Stein was disinvited or even said such a thing is because either Stein isn't very PR-savvy (at best) or else if Stein isn't really who she claims to be herself, and I don't know enough about her (yet) to make such a call.
All that being said, I'm not trying to be combative in general--I agree that trying to reform the Dems from within is pointless, we need a new party. So the very party that's poised more than everybody else to be an actual force in this cycle should be the way to go. Except....there's so much disinfo out and about, about the Greens all of a sudden.
I tell you, the whole thing is quite perplexing.
lunachickie, my support has always been
with those who stand for their humanitarian values. That said, the Green Party would need to expand beyond a one issue platform.
Some are distracted by the many messages flung from the dug of political assassins. Take hope in the support you have from those you may never know or meet.
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. Stephen Hawking
The entire election season
Has shown us that the Dems will in no way allow Bernie to be the nominee. Not to be a dick, but it simply will not happen. If--and what a big if it is--she is indicted, the party establishment will go anywhere but to the left to find its nominee. It could be contentious, ugly, even violent, but I just cannot envision a scenario in which the Dems allow ethics to get in the way of cash.
I totally appreciate the sense of hope that many have here, and I remain very hopeful for the future of truly progressive political stances. But Bernie has used the Dems as a launching pad, and the party has used him to try to look like a big tent party that is founded on well-defined ideals. After July, it's time for this weird marriage to end and for us to work on toppling the democratic party's stranglehold on many of our constituencies.
closer to 40 years
Solidarity forever
The People's Summit -- Disappointing
I agree with your take on the direction the Sanders campaign is attempting to steer the Political Revolution.
I wrote a few comments in another diary here about what I heard and saw at The People's Summit which I attended this past weekend. I left the weekend with the distinct impression that this event was definitely an attempt to direct the Bernie Sanders grassroots supporters and the progressive/activist groups that his campaign tapped into to become a more organized and activist progressive base of the Democratic Party.
The sponsor organizations of the People's Summit had booths. Two interested me - Democratic Socialists of America and Reclaim Chicago. We will have to see if those same organizations continue to network and expand. But grassroots organizations that formed around specific issues such as fracking are not going to find a natural home in the Democratic Party. Yet, there were anti-fracking groups represented at The People's Summit.
His sign-up sheet to encourage people to run for political office is an aspect to that. So is Brand New Congress, which is the formation of a PAC to identify and support progressive candidates. How many of these new efforts will further fragment the existing, nascent power that these activist coalitions have realized?
But, as you point out the electoral process is the most corrupt and he never directly confronted in any meaningful way the election fraud that was so much a part of this primary. He, as the candidate, was in the unique position in our legal system to challenge the results of primaries -- especially those elections where the certified results deviated so far from exit polls.
His failure to mount these legal challenges is the most questionable decision his campaign made in my opinion, coming very close to a betrayal. It is certainly more than a "disappointment."
Mmm, that's too bad.
The thing that shocked me about the Summit was that Jill Stein did not speak, and rumour has it that she was actually not invited...other rumours that they actually actively kept her out.
WTF ?
But you are correct...fragmenting/watering down what is (still) currently a very mobilized electorate would certainly be a goal of the Dem party right about now.
I also agree...Bernie's failure to address Election fraud, and also his failure to really attack the AP/DNC Secret Win of June 6...is beyond perplexing. I agree, it is borderline Betrayal. While I too would like to believe it is because " he is biding his time, cannot attack Dems while he is still technically a party candidate"...I also wonder if I am rationalizing here.
Jill Stein - The People's Summit
No candidates spoke at The People's Summit. No one from the Green Party appeared on any of the panels. However, the Green Party did have a booth at the venue, and they had ballot access petitions to gather signatures for several states (including Illinois, where I live). My husband and I both signed the ballot access petitions.
But what you allude to is that the Green Party was not welcome at The People's Summit, which is another indication that this event was part of the Sanders campaign strategy to re-position and re-invigorate the nearly moribund Democratic Party. That this would have been Bernie's ultimate goal if he didn't get the nomination is what is so disheartening. Fooled again.
I don't view third party candidates as "spoilers." Frankly, I am very intrigued by the Working Families Party which is moving into the midwest.
Sorry, this comment is getting pretty far afield.
WFP are sheep dogs
they endorsed como
Solidarity forever
maybe
They got a 'concession' from Cuomo in the fracking ban.
But then he went right back to being a Repig in Dem clothing.
If WFP didn't learn something from that, then they're useless as a populist, progressive party.
That's what a lot of the "summitry"
and "groups backing them" are trying to do now--dilute the movement. Which is probably a good reason to wait until the damned convention shakes out before deciding what any of us is going to do.
To this end, I'm not sure how you make this connection:
How exactly did you draw this conclusion?
My understanding is
That Dr, Stein wished to speak, but the Summit declined to allow her to.
It'd be great to find out if this is so.....because, if so, that would lend credence to the idea
Near as I can tell there has only been one source
for such a claim, even though a number of other sources reprinted it. I've never seen it truly corroborated.
We can just ask 'em....
I just did.
I believe that Bernie is waiting for the results
of the FBI primary, scheduled to hit the streets in late June/early July, 2016 (unless O'Bummer or Loretta Lynch clogs up the wheels).
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
What Results?
Neither Lynch nor Obama is going to follow up on anything Comey might recommend - assuming Comey is allowed to finish the investigation.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
That DOJ will ever indict is unlikely
I agree. Obama has shown his hand already by using DOJ to obstruct release of TPP-SOS emails. I do not think an expectation of an indictment is realistic at this point.
Obama will clearly flush any sort of (remaining) Legacy he might still have down the toilet to obstruct and cover-up.
FBI leaks are likely; a probablility I would say. Would this be enough for CrookedClinton to step aside ? I wouldn't bet on it, but dunno.
Would it matter, even ? Only if Bernie drops out.
Obama's Last Official Obligation
Obama is to get TPP through the Congress, against his own nation. Already, 28 House Democrats voted for Fast Track. Senate Democrats pretended to oppose Fast Track, but in the end passed it.
Everything stopped when Fast Track passed, because the bulk of the American people oppose TPP:
TPP is expected to pass during the lame duck session after the November Election. No elected representative will be harmed by the voters as a result.
Another post today looks at poverty being a crime. I add, "How else can a corporation add to its profits once TPP has passed and workers have no jobs? Make it a crime to not have one, and turn the unemployed over to the for-profit prison industry."
Expect SCOTUS to rule in favor of such a bill.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
I think the emails create a real bind
for Clinton and Obama. If the admin declines to indict, the GOP will use that as a rallying cry: Dem party protecting corrupt Dem. The problem is that her behavior, at the very least, was slimy. Everyone knows that one has no right to what is the property of one's employer. And everyone knows she used this server to avoid FOIA. So, the stench will rise.
If the admin indicts her (unlikely), it's all over. I think the only self-serving option for them is to stall and delay until after the election. Whether they can do that remains to be seen. I imagine the rabble will get louder if it appears they're stalling for political purposes.
Chomsky's manufactured consent comes into play with this issue. We (at least I) have become conditioned to think of this issue in terms of criminal wrongdoing/indictment or not, with the implication that if she's not indicted this just disappears into the ether (this is the manufactured consent). But when one actually thinks about the options and how they play out, it's a thorny path for Clinton and the Dem establishment.
Thanks GeorgeJohn for bursting my 60's bubble.
President Obama is not a knight of the round table. He supports a "bi-partisan" solution (DC speak for incremental change, and hope for a better day). The rubes use his black/white insecurities ( aside: from personal experience, not that I know the President). I expect bombs to explode, 3,2,1.
"You can't handle the truth." Jack Nicholson "A Few Good Men"
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. Stephen Hawking
I know I've already posted this a bunch, but ...
I still think it makes a strong case for how things might pan out in the next several weeks:
http://www.ninaillingworth.com/2016/06/01/the-foggy-bottom-of-clintons-m...
Note the suggestion that Comey and a large contingent of investigators are poised to resign en mass should Lynch refuse to indict (or should Obama scuttle the whole thing).
I Wish
Not going to hold my breath waiting for this to happen.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
It depends on how dedicated the current
staff at the FBI is. If they're really planning to resign en masse, Big Media and Clinton supporters (and prop-uppers) will do whatever they can to obscure that.
100 FBI Agents
With 100 FBI agents working on the case it will be very difficult to kill the investigation. Theae are people of integrity led by someone used to standing up to a previous administration. That is to many A personalities to turn their back and walk away. Judicial Watch would have hey day.
The Clinton's will say it is not what it appears. Another wide spread conspiracy against her.
100 agents?
More like one to two dozen.
There has been dispute about that number
in more than one source.
Makes you wonder why. Or at least, it should make you wonder why....
Comey has integrity?
Did J Edgar Hoover practice this principle? I'm in such deep dodo over my dated view of entrapment that some would think drowning would be my just reward.
Thank you Boston for doing what the experts failed to do.
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. Stephen Hawking
It remains to be seen
again, we need to stop giving up on all these things that are still outstanding.
Good essay
and I think that I agree with the main thrust.
Any takeover of the Dem party can only happen once enough momentum has been built up outside of the organization. It is all about leverage and there are far too many forces within the party working to stop said leverage from amassing.
Power never gives up... etc.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Thanks for comment. Just wanted to also say
...I appreciate your profile photo.
Cheers.
Yours is usually
closer to how I actually feel tbh
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Both parties have to split
Both parties have to split and go away. Keep up the pressure from within and it will split. I thought the Republicans would be the first to split up, but, the Dems could go first if the movement stays focused and united. The change will come after the split with the the most organized prevailing.
It takes a charismatic leader like Andrew Jackson or Abraham Lincoln. We have the best shot, I cannot think of a charismatic politician among all of the Clintonistas.
If you want to stop the the stealing of the 2016 election, stay with the movement.
That would be a Dream Scenario
Actually, dammit...I was sorta counting/hoping on that happening in GOP. Even I, however, failed to underestimate the complete stupidity of GOP voters (either that, or it's possible the GOP elections were rigged in favor of Trump just enough for him to secure nom outright).
I had half-expected a contested GOP convention to deny Trump the Nom, then to sit back and happily watch the redneck fireworks explode.
Then I had to remind myself...wait...GOP and DNC are all in the same Club.
Nevermind....
But I agree with you: Bernie, at the moment, IS that charismatic Leader. And the window of opportunity is still HERE. This is why so many peeps are pulling their hair out at the moment....
Not sure about that
I think you underestimate the forces that would literally do anything to stop that happening. 2008 didn't even crack the surface.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
I agree.
My dike mason allusion: DNC is ON that sorta stuff.
They will simply NOT allow any change to happen from within the apparatus.
We have seen how far and how publicly blatant they will be about denying that avenue...
At this point I'm tempted to
describe it as more than unrealistic. Frankly, it's stupid to think the democratic party can be reformed to become a vehicle for change in the United States Corrupted Congress and that the USCC can by extension be a vehicle for change for the Serfs. Many of us have heard this "more and better democrats" before haven't we? Didn't we get a democratic president who was awarded the Nobel peace prize who then turned out to be a bigger warmonger than George W. Bush? Didn't we have a real slimeball Democratic president before Bush who in retrospect clearly set the table for the next two? And now his wife is the unofficial head of the party and will probably become another Democratic party President?
One of the most pertinent songs a lot of us refer to from time to time is The Who's "Don't get Fooled Again". Short, sweet and to the point, it's a warning most agree with and yet look what happens. No offense to the Bernie supporters, but Bernie has made it very clear what he's going to do. There will be no indictment, there will be no third party, it will be all about the democratic party. It already is, he's bragging about all the people that want to run for office FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY! He's talking about the platform. Fuck the platform.
And maybe it's more than unrealistic to keep believing the democratic party can be reformed and that by extension our Congress will then make all these fantastic changes. Maybe its detrimental and hurtful. That's what many said when the presidential election started, what a waste of time and money that could be far better spent on an independent movement outside the election circus. Here we are 15-16 months later and we could say we're in the same place as before, except it's much worse.
This takeover the party, which btw the republican party is hosting as well, is just a fucking smokescreen to keep people in line with this farce of a political system. Sanders playing along is showing his true colors.
A most pessimistic interp.; but could also be spot-on, sadly
Yup. A Very pessimistic interpretation, but one can certainly find enough events, facts, and occurrences to back it all up.
This oddly reminds me of the failed Greek Rebellion of last year; Tsipras came on scene as an inspired socialist leader, demanding the Left be given their chance to fix Greece's EU-Neo-lib/Con mess.
Sadly, at end of day...there was just a Line which his Greek Syriza Party HAD to cross in order to bring a People's Movement to fruition: they absolutely had to dangle a EU Exit in order to make Merkel blink.
For whatever reason, Tsipras just would NOT cross that line, even though the potential for success on the other side of that Line was very great. As soon as EU figured that out, they just went for the jugular...and Tsipras and (enough of) his Leftist Party rolled over like a whooped dog...
Parallels here. There's a Line Bernie must cross. But will he ?
Has DNC already determined he will NOT cross that Line ? And this is why they are doubling, tripling down on him NOW, as opposed to publicly acting conciliatory and reassuring towards his followers ?
As I said, I cannot disagree with your assessment. It has validity. I just hope it won't end that way. Thanks for commenting.
Bernie would not have turned
Bernie would not have turned his cheek to the rampant corruption and widespread voter suppression that defined this primary season if he intended to truly expose and help real reform of our farce of a two party system that offers no real choice to the voters. He never would have joined the chorus directing us to make defeating Trump job number one.
This is a strong and valid argument to make
Cannot disagree with what you posit. It certainly can be interpreted that way.
Here we go again
I really, seriously wish some of you would knock off this kind of commentary:
You don't know WHY he's playing along. Jesus Christ, nobody does except him and probably one or two trusted others. Why perpetuate all this downer talk? What's the point?
I think the point is
Followers deserve to be suspicious...and we deserve to keep the pressure on.
The alternative is what, precisely: sit back and just trust 'em, see how all of this plays out ?
Bernie camp needs to know where his folowers stand, and what is acceptable to us and what isn't.
Folks have a right to know what they'd be Marching for.
Comments like the one you criticize are actually valid, as they can be supported by fact. This really MIGHT be a capitulation. We don't need to wait until it happens to be concerned about it.
It is the two competing notions: 1) We are waiting for Bernie to make a move vs 2) WE have some sway in pulling or pushing Bernie into some sort of move.
Are we spectators ? or are we influencers ?
Do you have patience at all, or do you have to have it NOW?
Can you control it yourself? No? Well then, to me, a few of you really need to back off until the fucking convention. This is ridiculous, some of this speculative second-guessing Debbie Downer bullshit doesn't serve one purpose other than to beat resolve down, and I'm rather disappointed to see it taking hold on this blog. It's fine to speculate as long as you're not putting words out there like they're factual when they're only your own speculation (you = not necessarily YOU, specifically, I mean in general)
It wouldn't be a leftish blog without some eating of our own
One reason folks like Clinton always seem to win is that we collectively fold faster than cheap lawn furniture in the face of a setback and start attacking everyone who isn't sufficiently pure or on board with "our" agenda.
I tend to agree with you here: the process hasn't played out. Giving up now just doesn't seem prudent. And casting the issues in terms of "sellout" and "sheepdog" isn't likely to be helpful, either.
We have common ground here. We should all take advantage of that and press for what we can, while we can.
It's not a partisan blog
It is political. I am allowed here to say Sheep Dog. As I see it this is not a Bernie site either. Most here support his movement and message. He is a pol and a Democratic pol at that. The process has been accomplished by the powers that be. There is no way in hell the The Mad Bomber is not going to be the candidate. Her global sponsor's have locked the doors and the so called Dem. progressives in congress and the states Dems. mayors governors and the party apparatchik have closed ranks around the Clinton's.
I find running around looking for a leader/savior within the gates of this anti-democratic duopoly absurd. I know a veal penning and a sheep dogging when I experience it. Time to move on and I do not mean MoveOn. Eating our own? Who is the leftist's 'own'? Not me. None of them including Bernie who I supported is anything I consider to be 'my own' or anyone's own.
I'm sick of interpreting and reading the politico's tea leaves, and analyzing every utterance of the players in this rigged farce of an election. I also find it offensive to be called a ideological purist. What's purist about wanting a democratic representational republic. I'll tell you who folds like a cheap tent the so called progressive candidate we get elected, including the progressive caucus.
I just can't see the point of following leaders when none of them are willing to stand up and fight the entrenched crooked Third Way Democratic party. Jill Stein and the Greens have had years to build a viable party and they haven't. They are lame and seem quite content not to be a real contender. Bernie is a decent man but he's not about to take the powers that be as well as the Clinton crime family on.
Maybe part of the lesson we can learn from Bernie is 'Don't follow leader's watch the parking meters'. Another thing I learned is just how deeply rotten and corrupt all of the pols we elect and the system is. I have no idea how we the people are going to prevail but I have faith in people ability to find a way to pry this vampire blood sucking squid of humanities face. It won't be via the Democratic party. Politics are not static and neither is history. Nothing is inevitable. Us not them.
I think the site is political in that life is political,
we learn. And this is an awful eye-opening political year for us all. I need to slice down weeds, but I have grasses going to seed that I want to let ripen. Such calculations! I remember you garden too. Do you seed-save? I am beginning, and trying plant propagation methods I learned in the lab in the wild now. Without a greenhouse, without much sun. Keeps my mind of this mess, at times. Peace, sister.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
My comment wasn't about partisanship.
Are you telling me not to criticize Saint Bernie?
The point is to expose the farce that has been the Bernie Sanders campaign for the DEMOCRATIC PARTY presidential nomination. Like it or not, that's my point.
that's why
he went to the Vatican. To be canonized.
Evidently
generally,
you have to be dead, to be saintified. But with Saint Bernard, they made an exception. Because he is so very special.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VWgzhwSIkU]
Yeah, and taking it out on HIM
when the DEMOCRATIC PARTY APPARATUS in power fucked him over royally is helpful how, again? Like it or not, why call it a farce like it's HIS fault when you and anyone else paying attention should know full fucking well that he HAD TO join that damnable Party in order to run at all.
Call it a farce all you want--it exposed Hillary Clinton for the two-bit cheap-ass con artist she really is. I'm not saying "don't criticize him", I'm saying what's the fucking point?
WHY he is doing what he's
doing is irrelevant. I'm sure he has his reasons and thinks this is the best way. That doesn't mean that this is downer talk. I mean come on this isn't about Bernie it's about getting a decent government. You might want to not invest so much in the persona of a pol. He's going to do what ever he does. If he's willing to step down after this obvious fraud of a primary that's his business but I'm sure as hell not following him or placing my trust in any Dem. pol. that preaches fear the Hairball.
Aren’t we all playing along with the political system as needed?
Though we may not always succeed, aren’t we mostly trying to follow the rules, filing taxes, maintaining a U.S. passport, carrying a driver’s license, providing a correct Social Security number . . . etc.?
The only people I see not playing along with the political system would be those who insist the whole U.S. setup is illegitimate — movements like the “sovereign citizens” guys or Hawaiians for independence.
Thanks for this post, GJ. Someone (maybe Al?) posted a
piece recently that quoted Jeff Weaver saying that Bernie intends to endorse FSC (sometime) before the Convention.
As I've stated in the past, if he were to refuse to do so, the Dem Party Leadership would likely destroy him (politically). I believe that he would literally be driven out of D.C., by hook or by crook.
And I further believe that he understands this. We shouldn't forget, Bernie's spent well over two decades amongst these piranhas--he's not naive.
Obviously, this is just my opinion, but it's based on both background reading, and my own observations/experiences as a career federal employee, now retired.
Yes, the Party Leadership is all for broadening, or bolstering the Party Base (think millennials), but they never intended to allow Bernie Sanders to take the nomination. And no mistake about it, in their minds, they have both the power and 'the right' to control the Party nomination.
I truly believe that if FSC is indicted--I wish she would be, but would be totally shocked if it happened--Party Leadership would parachute in Biden, or someone.
The Dem Party is nothing, if not a corporatist neoliberal Party. I am firmly convinced that they would rather lose the Presidency, than to elect anyone who is not a Clintonite.
But maybe I'm wrong. I hope so. Just my 2 cents.
Mollie
"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown
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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Thanks, it was the Weaver comment....
Which actually began to make my hope crumble, and led me to a weekend of mulling which produced this piece.
I agree with you completely. Dems will NEVER allow Bernie the Nom, even if they have to ham-fistedly prevent him from it (yet again, they have only done such at least 6 times so far).
I wrote a piece concluding that right after the Nevada Convention - THAT was the point where it was quite clear the Dem Party would never be a path for Change, nor did they even care if they revealed themselves as a rotting, corrupt entity.
So, it could well be Bernie has known this all along and never had any real intention of being a Genl Election candidate. Again, there are certainly facts which can be used to bolster such an argument.
But then he has made a... Yuge... error:
his Clarion Call held back NOTHING: he could have campaigned for extending Medicaid 'down' to folks 54 and older, stop there; he could have campaigned for just coming up with better refinancing of student debt and perhaps a gradual reduction of State college fees. He could have campaigned for a gradual fade out of Fossil Fuels. He could have campaigned for semi-quasi-effective legislation that would begin to chip away at targeted corners of Citizens United Ruling.
He did none of that, though. He shot for the Moon, and folks responded. But...we, the people, will NOT be marching on Philly for semantical changes to the Platform. And empty promises from Dem legislators.
So...as we await Assange and Comey...we must try to compute the possible scenarios of a month from now.
Cheers.
Bernie Sanders and The TPP - No Call To Action
Bernie's campaign has not hammered relentlessly on the TPP. At The People's Summit on Sunday, the facilitator asked the participants to think ahead to February 2017 and to suggest ideas for a National Day of Action.
I was stunned. Gob smacked. It is absolutely no secret that Barack Obama's last and most important task before he turns over the keys to the White House is to get the TPP passed.
How about a National Day of Action before the General Election to get people in the streets against the TPP?
Unbelievable. I have no idea what Bernie Sanders wants us to do before February 2017. Sit on our thumbs?
That IS shocking
Not just that Bernie has not hammered at it, I agree...but that the Summit is already treating it as if it's a foregone conclusion, with no public action in 2016 necessary.
Unfortunately, it sounds to
Unfortunately, it sounds to me that the People's Summit has much to do with harnessing and redirecting the anger and passion of Bernie supporters toward "incrementalism", meaning no meaningful positive change to the vast corruption of our political process. And, I agree that the TPP will be passed, probably in the lame duck days of Congress. How do we stop this, or at least make it more uncomfortable for the traitors to do this, quietly, after the election?
Sounds very diluting to me
which is why I've basically written it off, along with those who insist on continuing to push this.
Make your plans now for Philly. We need many, many, MANY people in the streets. That is what remains, given all the dilution attempts going on all around us.
It does sound like Philadelphia is the showdown. Scary.
If Bernie were to withdraw before the convention, would that suppress the anger turnout or increase it? even if everyone planning to attend had recent non-violent demonstration training, the opposition forces have the paramilitary Philly police. And the anarchists and troublemakers will be there, too. Will this be shown on TV? Or will some trumped-up crisis happen conveniently somewhere else? Shock doctrine.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
The AFL-CIO tried to remake the Dem Party starting in
the 1950s. Although the labor federation provided the party with major amounts of organizing, staffed campaign offices, phone-banked, etc. impact was very limited(at best).
They failed.
I don't think you can change the neoliberal course from within; it will take progressives and leftists coming together in a 3rd party.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Yes, absolutely
And for anyone who happens to be over 45 years of age, this whole "Change Blue" movement looks a hella lot like the "Angry Voter" or "Throw the Bums Out" movements of the late 80's-early 90's. The result of those: over 90% of incumbents at fed and state level still won re-election.
Not because folks are stupid. But because the GOP-Dem fake 2-Party Establishment fostered such a result. No other result was even possible.
So as you said, history is littered with inspired attempts.....
Too often the left is right(correct) but ineffective.
The people who own and operate the political economy have - they think - all their bases covered from the cops to the media to the banks to the Congress and WH. So where's the space? I think space will open up at the next economic fiasco which is surely building at present. Until then, it's better to plan and practice because people with jobs are job-scared and people w/o them are still hopeful.
Next time the banks, or whatever sector, is bailed out at the expense of the 99% there won't be the reserve of 9 years ago and real desperation will set in.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
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