The audacity of Bernie
I am not a young person, but, in my entire voting life I have never, ever voted for a candidate in which I had virtually no qualms about whatsoever. To be honest, I think I just shut off the part of my brain that used to say, "this isn't nearly enough" and just lived with it. So, about the title. Yeah, I know Obama used 'audacity', but he has long relinquished any form of boldness (as in,the day he was elected), so I'm claiming it for Bernie Sanders. It fits.
Bernie has embraced, and forcefully argued for, things that I had long given up on. Single-payer healthcare, a platform of working toward peace rather than warfare, free public college tuition, a real working wage, boosting our infrastructure and creating real jobs, and many more things -- all things that I had essentially written off as I had written off Santa Claus as a child. Unapologetically. THAT is the mind-blowing part, and makes me pull for Bernie like no candidate in my life. He doesn't tiptoe about our need for these things. He is offensive with the need, and even requirement, of these things. And he has placed so many of these truly liberal/progressive stances in front of our young people, and there is no turning back now. They are going to vote in many, many elections to come, and are not going to settle for what we did. And THAT alone, is the best political occurrence in my lifetime.
This is NOT a "well, we did good, so be happy with that" post. Not at all. We are literally closer to winning this thing right now than we have been in this entire primary. But I am saying there is nothing wrong with taking a quick glance back in awe and disbelief as to what Bernie Sanders, and we, have done. A "socialist" senator from one of the smallest states in the country, sitting at 4% nationally, with very little appearance of doing better than that. Our youngest generation of adults, down and out, written off as a lost generation that had thrown in the towel on this country ever working for them. And, finally, some of us older generations who managed to find that seemingly lost glimmer of doing great things again, have been able to be a part of this magic. And it has been very uplifting, and very rewarding. And, yes, hopeful.
So, thanks to Bernie's audacity, and, yes, our audacity, too, we find ourselves in a place that never seemed possible. There are more rewards to come, undoubtedly, but we are the winners of this election already, and I cannot be convinced otherwise. When we all stand up and refuse to settle for what we've been given as choices, we will continue to win.
Now let's keep this going. No use stopping now.
Go Bernie! Go Us!
Comments
Well said GBB!
And you could have fooled me - that part about not being young. Your enthusiasm is as youthful as it gets! But I hear you, I'm not young either, and this is the first time that my wife and I have been out there on the hustings, canvassing, calling, tabling, and contributing till it hurts. This time, it is indeed different! Bernie is our one-in-several-generations chance to see a sea-change in our country - it was our grandparents (or great-grans) with FDR, the last time this was so. And yes, it's astonishing to see what has been accomplished, and even more so considering the forces that have been arrayed against us!
The spirit of party serves to enfeeble the Public Administration,
agitates with Jealousies and false alarms, and opens the door to corruption,
which finds access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.
George Washington
Thanks, Szaephod for the Bernie support!
Look at the map to here:
Go GBB! Go Bernie!
Go GBB!
Go Bernie!
The establishment is powerful. If we want to change this world, we have to unite first. El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.
You got me thinking about history
for which I am currently trying to get my Masters in. And you are right, the last time we spoke of issues like the ones we are currently focused on...was with FDR. The programs were so very popular with the masses, but not so with the upper classes, so for 30 (and now more) years, they have been steadfastly picking and nipping away at these progressions until we now have this threadbare social "safety net". Bernie is old enough to remember how it used to be and is not afraid the tell the young what they are missing.
Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin
Hey us old folks
used to be young. We can still fake it.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
a great moment
I've been in the struggle for a long time, but I'm more hopeful than I've been in years. I thought OWS might be the turning point, but Bernie has energized the thinking people of our country.
We should savor this time when the movement is alive and well! Onward...there is much to do.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
My Wife Says...
Bernie is "Too Good To Be True."
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Agree with the poster who said ...
... your enthusiasm is as youthful as it gets.
I really underestimated you when you first came on the scene - and for that very audacity that you have shown since I started reading your stuff.
When I first encountered your writing at Daily Kos I was hesitant to embrace you - I thought you were probably some paid troll there to cause trouble and make us look stupid.
But I didn't ever subscribe 100% to that suspicion, and I don't know why, but I continued to read what you said and watch the kind of political strategies you employed in breaking through several blog taboos and not backing down.
Plenty of us leftys got mad at you and wanted to push you around to do what we wanted you to do! lol
I think it was because, at least in my case, I was afraid, and that fear was caused by the conditioning I experienced at Daily Kos.
I don't know if I'll ever really understand the extent of that conditioning and it surely is not the only conditioning we here in the US of A are subjected to, that in the 21st Century now has a technological aspect which would make ancient tyrants salivate.
Anyway, to be perfectly truthful, I'd cringe when you wrote things that were aggressive and - according to site rules - obnoxious. You didn't cover up the conflict we are having in the Democratic Party. You just kept your stance.
The cringe-experience didn't last very long and I ended up, even during the cringe-experience rec'ing your diaries, as I felt the very audacity of how you were expressing yourself was an appropriate energy to support against the equally audacious power grab that Hillary supporters were employing.
Anyway, I'm glad I kept reading you, geebeebee. It's such a strange feeling, knowing we're in the majority, yet every conventional form of communication in our society is trying to divide us and tell us otherwise.
I support your audacity and join it with my own!
Beat in the USA.
Oh, man, Npk, that is so kind.
I could very much be obnoxious there, and I can TOTALLY understand your initial stance -- haha! I would cringe at what I wrote, too, sometimes! Many moments of lingering before pushing that Publish button! What drove me is that I wasn't going to let those weasels back me off -- they might TO me and ban me, but that was the only way they were going to quiet me -- and that's what they did! haha. I'm a very stubborn jackass!
Thanks much for sticking with me --- I know it hasn't been easy! So glad you are here, though. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss poking kos' eye as much as possible, but this is a great place, and very supportive for what is really important!
See you around!
I appreciate ...
... your patience with me!
Here's a nice picture for you:
Beat in the USA.
Oh, psst! I haven't gone
Oh, psst! I haven't gone cold-turkey on poking kos. There's still twitter. I will continue to chip away at that wall the best I can:
I just followed you.
I poke dailykos on FB and twitter too. I love you took a poke at Turkana. I have no idea how he turned into such a big jerk.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Followed back you and Npk
We'll be able to have some fun with them, I figure. Very thin-skinned, all of them.
Just followed you as well
I'm @justme2 over there (I was on Twitter before Twitter was cool -- saw an article on it in the paper and it looked intriguing), though with baseball season you'll have to wade through my #SFGiants takes along with the politics. And there's random shit like this:
Followed back! Thanks!
I delayed in getting going on Twitter much, but am seeing that it is an important tool in politics.
I think we all closed the loop on each other.
I even ran into Peef when I went looking for NPK. Followed he too.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
orlbucfan....
is shorthand for Orlando Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan. I'm registered on FB, and twitter. I don't use them.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Hey GBB! Just followed you, retweeted and liked this tweet.
So glad to see you here at C99, GBB.
DK's loss is our gain!!
Yep this is what I told a young man who always greets me when I go to buy dog food, cause he loves my Bernie shirt:
"I've been waiting for a long long time for a chance to vote for someone like Bernie."
He was proud to tell me that he voted for Bernie in the Texas primary!
Young people are always telling me they love my Bernie t-shirts and I seldom leave home without them.
Anther young Bernie supporter always talks to me about Bernie as I go thru the line where she is the checker at the grocery near my house. She is ON FIRE for Bernie and says all of her friends are too. She tells me that they are all over social media. She's 18 and in her senior year at high school and made sure to register to vote so she could vote for Bernie if he gets the nomination. Oh and she's Hispanic, not white. Sad that I even need to say that. But the lie needs to be countered that Bernie only has the support of the "BernieBros."
So then the guy next in line speaks up. I had mistaken him for a long-haired Texas redneck teabagger, but he says, "Bernie is on fire out west. Go Bernie." So I got a lesson there in not judging a book by its cover.
I've been in Texas now for 20 years, and I have never met so many people loudly and publicly declaring themselves for a Democratic candidate.
Bernie is waking up a sleeping giant of popular resistance to the oligarchy. Esp among the younger generation. And that means that:
THE FUTURE IS OURS!!!
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons
Thanks so much JayRaye
Followed back, and glad you are here, too!
Love to read those stories about the kids. Even if Bernie won the presidency, not sure that will be any more important than the fire he's stoked with them. The Democrats best heed their warning, or they will be done going forward, I believe.
The young will complete this revolution.
Bernie has been teaching and they hear and learn. The big lesson: it does not have to be this way. Change is possible from the bottom up.
The Netroots is old, going no where. Young people use various other forms of social media.
The TOS model of " change" is being disrupted and they do not realize it.
So many people there
still denigrate Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media. But with an increasingly mobile society and the continued improvements in smartphone/tablet technology including 3rd party apps (I use Tweetbot for iOS -- it blows Twitter's own app out of the water), social media is the communication tool of the future. You've now got Periscope which enables live events to be quickly shown real time, whether it's a party or a protest, and Vine for short stuff. Instagram and Snapchat for quick pics and commentary. And who knows what else might be on the horizon?
Even more confusing
is why anyone who considers themselves a progressive would denigrate Facebook, Twitter and others. Because these apps are available on smart phones, many people of color who were left out of online discourse due to not having a computer at home are now involved, because phones have become cheap compared to desktop computers + Internet access. So social media has enabled many more people to be involved than ever before, and it only continues to grow. In my opinion, anyone calling themselves a progressive should support forms of communication that reach more people and enable more people to get involved in the political process.
I have hope - thanks GBB
When I was 18 I felt pretty good about Jimmy Carter, but I didn't have this passion.
Bernie Sanders is the only hope for averting climate catastrophe. We have the next 4 - 8 years to make drastic changes that only he and we can do.
Unfortunately, I think Mother Nature will convince us pretty soon. I think even before the election. James Hansen's latest article about super storms . . . we have had several already. Super Storm Sandy of course = hurricane meets winter storm. The big snow storm in DC last year was the result of a storm from the north crashing with a storm from the south. This massive El Nino' that dumped 80 inches of rain on me last year. That was a collision of sorts as well, because the jet stream was going crazy and running a north/south pattern through Texas . . . sucking up the moisture from the Gulf, topping it off with Hurricane Patricia. The hurricane only dumped one inch on us, the other 19 inches of rain that weekend came from the other event.
And now we have been having this really warm winter. I have been playing it, trying garden as quick as I can.
But the sun is so damn hot. Even if the temperature is 60, if you are standing in the sun, you feel it's oppressive heat. And the sunshine is a different color this year. I feel like I am in one of those freaky sci-fi movies like "War of the Worlds."
Bernie has a plan and the support of the top climate scientists and activists.
That gives me hope.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Thanks, Marilyn!
Some days, the climate crisis is too much to think about. I didn't even mention it in my post, probably my brain keeping it held back. Thanks for adding that in -- it is not just important, it is critical and required. Not really a choice.
Thanks again!
The audacity of geebeebee.
I have long admired your courage. I hope you know that. I thought your work was important from the get-go. When everyone attacked, I worked to support your work, the message you were trying to convey. It was my message, too. I only wished I had the words to express my feelings about Bernie and this most important election of my lifetime. You had those words and I could stand with you.
In reading Nightprowlktty's comment above, I am surprised at finding out there was hesitancy to support your work because of negative consequences one could suffer at DK. I never felt that because I didn't join "back in the day" of all the wars I hear about; 2004, 2008. Sure, I had people jump down my throat and flag me when I said something they didn't like, but I just chalked it up to personality disorder or some such nonsense.
Going through the nonsense at DK now is eye-opening. Frankly, at 63, I have little patience for bullies. They can wallow in their own excrement, which they are doing, as far as I'm concerned. I have enough real shit in my everyday life, I don't need their bullshit.
Thank you, gbb. Thank you for carrying that torch and never dropping it.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
For a while, RA, it was you, me, and two other people I think?
Everyone else was wary -- ha! And I hope you know how much I appreciated it. Do you remember the time I wrote a diary about why the Hillary people were so grumpy -- hahaha! (Here it is WARNING GOES TO DK-- oh god, what a cluster that was!) I literally think you were the only person supporting me. I had every Hillary person and quite a lot of Bernie people frothing at the mouth! Fun days!
I, like you, loathe bullies. And I'm too old, stubborn, and maybe stupid to back down. Apparently every new pro-Bernie writer over there gets accused of being me, now. I never did, and never will write a word over there other than as me -- why would I? I LOVE getting under their skins!
Again, thanks so much -- wouldn't have survived as long as I did over there without you, I don't think!
gbb
Fun times and scary times!
I kept expecting someone to warn me, but I only got flagged and excoriated for supporting you. I found their attempts to shame, humorous at best, and disgusting at worse. Anyway, keep up the good fight. We've a ways to go and we're going to be proved right - we're gonna win this. Believe it!!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
TOP support
gbb: I supported your stuff over there from the get-go. I loved the humor you and thumb would put in your work.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
I sure appreciate! We could get them stirred, haha.
Good essay.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
The size of the target on his back
was indicative of how much of a threat they saw him. I think OPOL's time is limited. His target is getting bigger. He posted a rather innocuous diary but it was titled shilling for ?? something. They took objection to the word shilling and were all over him in comments. After all, hill is in shill...
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I agree about OPOL.
He's still fighting the good fight over there and I tip, rec, and comment, but I'm not there as much because I don't care for the abuse, which is getting worse, if we can even believe that!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Meteor Blades.
There has been a lot of cyber ink wasted on the Markos-is-a-CIA-shill meme. The reason why I am dubious is MB. If he is a CIA shill, then I hope I drop dead tomorrow from stupidity!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
They have issues about accusing anybody of shilling
Which of course ensures that people will do it all the time.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
The battles I was in ...
... weren't about the primaries in 2008 (I joined in 2005).
I was in the issues battles - immigration, torture, New Orleans post-Katrina. Those were some real wars. After Obama got elected, those issues became untouchable. Some of the best writers, including the fabulous Valtin (Jeff Kaye, an expert on torture issues) left the site as it wasn't worth the time to deal with all the pushback.
My mistake was thinking that I could advocate for what I believed in using site rules. I wasn't afraid of bullying - frankly, during my blogwar time, I was often accused of bullying - I was afraid that being too aggressive would damage my "cause," as a political strategy.
I didn't realize then that it just didn't matter whether I was too aggressive or not. The game was rigged, it was built into the software. I could win the argument over and over again and still lose the war.
Once I realized that, my opinion of geebeebee's strategic value changed radically.
Beat in the USA.
I hear ya, npk.
I guess, since I didn't write diaries, I was shielded from a lot of that. I found, though, if I criticized Obama for anything, I would get jumped on and flagged, but, I didn't care much because I just wasn't as invested in the site until Bernie. It was baptism by fire, I soon found out.
It's great to be here, though.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
For some reason..
I always envisioned you as younger than me (31), geebeebee. I guess that's the internet for ya.
I don't think I even remember being 31!
Heh!
31 Y-O????
Don't remind me as that was 1983, and the CURSE had been in office for 3 years!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Diggin it!
Well said GBB!
How old are you, gbb?
I am 63 years old, female, white, straight and more lefty than anyone I care about down here. So 'fess up. I'll be checking back. Rec'd!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Hahaha!
Almost a half-century! I'll catch you pretty soon!
Man, are you a young, feisty
whippersnapper!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
LOL!
Things are looking up
Congressman Rick Nolan from Minnesota just announced he is casting his super delegate vote for Bernie. He said he needed to support the views of the voters in his district. The timing of his announcement has me wondering. I have a feeling there are some things going on regarding the FBI investigation that the insiders in DC know.
"The Audacity of Bernie" (love it ;->)
May be this is another "audacity" of Bernie, though
Juan Cole thinks that "Nothing he said was actually controversial or departed in any way from the current positions of the US government".
Are Sanders’ Criticisms of Israel’s Occupation Policies Unprecedented in a Presidential Campaign?
Excellent
Thanks for adding that. Very good stuff.