During this election cycle, the establishment Democrats and the mainstream media have continued their efforts to head-off Bernie Sanders. Although it is more ferocious this time, it might not be working, as Sanders has taken the lead toward the nomination.
In 2016, according to hacked emails made public by WikiLeaks, top Democrats dismissed Sanders as a viable candidate during the primaries, attempted to undermine him with voters, and even took steps to derail his campaign. That happened even though Sander was polling much better against Donald Trump than Hilary Clinton.
In the Democratic primaries in 2016, Sanders was consistently the better choice to defeat Trump. In May of that year, Hillary Clinton led Bernie Sanders nationally by 12 percentage points in the polls. Still, in a hypothetical match-up against Donald Trump, Sanders did much better than Clinton. Sanders was the favorite over Trump by 13 points and Clinton by just four points. But this comparison was seldom mentioned. Sanders argued that the corporate media pushed much of the opposition to him.
Today, as the Sanders’ movement has grown, the attacks from every corner of the establishment have grown into a full-scale, open war against him. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has been plotting rule changes to head off Sanders.
One plan they have been discussing is to allow super delegates (representing only themselves) to vote in the first ballot at the convention. Super delegates, numbering 700, voted overwhelmingly for Clinton in 2016. Excluding them from the first ballot was a reform won by Sanders.
In another effort to undermine Sanders, the DNC changed its own rules of a minimum donor requirement to allow Michael Bloomberg to enter the February 19 debate.
One critic argued that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) might fear Sanders and the movement that supports him even more than they fear Donald Trump. Why fear Sanders so much? One reason is the Democrat establishment, mostly centrists, tend to be under the sway of neo-liberalism, the key target of the Sanders revolution.
Neo-liberalism has played a significant role in some critical crises: the financial meltdown of 2007 8, the offshoring of wealth and power, the slow collapse of public health and education, and the recent increase in child poverty, to name a few.
The proposition of neoliberalism is low taxes, minimal regulation, and increasing the role of the private sector in society. These policies supposedly produce a rising tide that lifts all boats.
According to a writer in The Guardian, neo-liberalism causes inequality to be recast as a good thing, “a reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles down to enrich everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counterproductive and morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve.”
But Sanders is a socialist!
I agree with Paul Krugman, “Bernie Sanders isn’t actually a socialist in any normal sense of the term. He doesn’t want to nationalize our major industries and replace markets with central planning; he has expressed admiration, not for Venezuela, but for Denmark. He’s basically what Europeans would call a social democrat.”
Social democracy does not eliminate capitalism. Instead, it regulates it, providing public services and substantial welfare within the market economy.
Importantly, the public favors what Sanders is pushing. For example, 60 percent agree with him on Medicare for all, 78 percent believe the wealthy do not pay their fair share of taxes, 84 percent agree on some measures of gun control, and 63 percent—including 47 percent of Republicans—favor making four-year public colleges and universities tuition-free.
The task before us is to have Democratic leaders stop shooting the party “in the foot,” and support Sanders, paving the way to defeat Donald Trump AND make needed structural changes to our society.
