I get a kick out of the fact that Senator Bernie Sanders decided to kick off his “presidential campaign” in Philadelphia, Mississippi. He has a real sense of humor.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Bernie’s going with his own Southern strategy.
Why a sense of humor? You seem to think this is some kind of joke.
Surely this is the very thing the non-voters of the South, and every other part of the nation, have been waiting for, to pull them off the sidelines and into the game — a real progressive, not a lesser-evil Democrat. In their up-until-now silent millions these voters’ll storm the polls. This is the game-changer. This is how social democracy finally comes to the US.
The big problem heretofore — finding and fielding a true progressive candidate, and not a captive creature of the parties, to serve as a spokesman and figurehead for those policies — is now taken care of.
I know from careful reading of the blogosphere that the absence of a sufficiently left-leading candidate has been the only hangup, because the policies he or she would espouse are approved by majorities in all the polls. (The ideas themselves are so obviously and self-evidently correct that no thinking person can gainsay them — and the voters’ self-interest correctly considered demands they vote for such a candidate.)
I predict Sanders carries Mississippi by 10 points… well, two or three at least. It’s still likely to be a three-way race after all.
The humor is that if Bernie actually starts to look like he might win, the Permagov, as Arthur Gilroy calls it, will manufacture some stupid meme like the Dean Scream to destroy him. Corporations own the government. Corporations are the government. From Medicaid to the NSA, they have complete control.
might as well stop trying altogether
Would you like to borrow my razor?
No, but ILJimP has a good suggestion upthread.
The Left in the US has been marginalized for ages, either by force (Red Scares, McCarthyism, COINTELPRO) or by corporate financial largess. If Sanders were serious about anything more than merely have a dialog about the direction our country was doing, he would be shut out and shouted down before we could blink our eyes. I don’t tend to get very excited about Presidential campaigns as they don’t work well as means of uniting various Leftist tendencies into an effective opposition. That doesn’t mean curling into fetal position and accepting the status quo as inevitable and its oligarchs and their enforcers as invincible – if history teaches us anything, it’s that there is no such thing as “inevitable” or “invincible”, at least over the long haul. It does mean figuring out how to read our current circumstances so that the building blocks of local/regional and later national Leftist opposition can be put into place. Those interested in doing that necessary groundwork probably aren’t even thinking about the 2016 Presidential farce.
The left has been “marginalized” here for generations for one and only one reason.
Ain’t enough real leftists, that’s why. Just fringy centrist types. That’s what happens when one is in the minority. One gets marginalized. Real leftisits are the marginority here. Why? Full bellies is why. Full bellies and media-emptied minds. Full of what? Cancerous fast and pre-processed food, mostly. Media -emptied? Wal…shore, podna. I mean…I have heard of so-called “leftists” who actually believe the PermaGov pap fed to them by corporate, ass-licking pollsters!!!
Imagine that.
Oh.
Wait a minute.
That wuz you!!!
Oh.
Sorry.
Nevermind.
Yore freind…
Emily Litella
Let’s see, the “real” leftists are the ones who shill for Ron and Rand Paul, and pay no attention to anything beyond their own subjective experiences. Got it. Ooookay.
It is “subjective” experiences…real-life experiences…that make real revolutionaries. Those who support real change no matter from what bullshit, media-defined “direction” it may come.
I’ve got mine. 50+ years on the multiracial big city streets, in the pocket of the equally multiracial big city musics. What are yours? Working as a pollster?
Nice.
I could download a little hammer-and-sickle logo too.
So?
AG
You have no idea what my real life experiences are – mainly because I have no intention of disclosing all that much about them. Something somewhere shaped me into a Marxist, and it’s safe to say I wear some real life scars to prove it. It sure had nothing to do with abstract theory at first. That came a little later. Then I learned that there’s a parallel between the street-level oppression of loudmouths and bullies and the economic and social oppression caused at the hands of capitalists. Then I also learned that there were methods that enhanced personal experience to help get closer to the truth.
You bluster a lot, but to be honest, you come off as one of the same loudmouths and bullies that I learned to despise many, many years ago. And in the process, I can honestly say your posts have not made a lick of difference on me. I won’t speak for anyone else here.
You identify yourself…over and over and over again…as a “communist.”
Question #1:
Have you ever been in a communist country? During some period of success, as it failed or afterwards?
Question #2:
Have you ever lived in a commune?
Just curious.
AG
Are you a mind-reader, now?
How about we keep it simple. People will compare my predictions to yours and we’ll see who comes out on top?
your vindication in political prognosis. Hammer a railroad spike into my spine, please!
you can engage in all the masochism that you like, but I have no problem with Bernie Sanders. He matches my own political beliefs better than any other member of the Senate.
Saunders has to win Mississippi, and with it the nation.
If he doesn’t then a generation of left political gospel is wrong.
The gospel being:
And that can’t be wrong. The false-consciousness theory explains everything.
Sooo, your air quotes around presidential campaign– that means you don’t think Sanders is qualified to run… he doesn’t have a chance at WINNING, right?
I’m supposed to more seriously take corporate ass-kisser, status quo supporting HRC??
Hahhh Hahh hahhhh!
FAIL.
I believe it refers to the fact that Sanders himself says in the article that he doesn’t want to be president – he wants a progressive voice articulating progressive values in the campaign.
Nonsense. We, the progressive blogosphere, will make him president, dammit, whether he wants to be president or not.
We will not be trifled with. We made Howard Dean into a liberal, didn’t we?
Someone who doesn’t want to be president may in fact make an excellent president.
And with Dean, it just shows the progressive blogosphere has it’s head on straight. They wanted someone whose actually policies were mainstream Dem, but who actually thinks it’s best if Republicans get put into the ground.
So tell me, who is the fool here?
but small d party democrats did NOT want Dean; they in fact feared him.
they were afraid of Dean because he’s an actual reformer, not the pretend kind that populate the small d democratic party.
The same Howard Dean who opposed the Islamoc community center and is now shilling for a lobbying firm which opposes rate setting as per his oped in the WSJ? Rate setting being the way a single payer system would work?
Yes. That one. Same guy.
Of course, he’s not really any place different than where he was in 2004 policy-wise, he’s just not a blank slate onto which the blogosphere can project its wishes and fears any more.
The run-up to Iraq, and 2004 campaign, was the Spitfire summer of the progressive internet, they’ll keep making everything that comes along now just like it, and use it as the yardstick to measure things, so long as any of the participants are left.
And President Obama is pressing for criminal penalties for copyright infringement.
As you have always said no one is perfect and I have no problem criticizing him for it.
That’s what I would have recommended a potential Presidential candidate with a populist message doing. The progressive position has been failing in the South primarily because there are no elected officials going to the South and making that case.
I hope he gives the Democratic establishment heartburn. And I hope he encourages some progressive candidates to oppose the crazies in the South. That could materially help Democratic chances in the 2014 mid-terms.
I also appreciate the style with which he operated in Mississippi instead of helicoptering in, messaging the house, and leaving without real engagement on issues.
Can we now say that the ghost of the Confederacy has been exorcised and it’s safe for Democratic candidates to be Democrats again?
When people argue that Reagan wasn’t really racist nor ran a racist campaign I’ve found that bringing up the Philadelphia, MS anecdote shuts them up. There really is no answer to that – perhaps the loudest of all of Reagan’s racist dog whistles.
Does this mean that Bernie is going after the low hanging fruits?
So if he ended up running in 16 would he be:
I get that the whole premise is it would be a message campaign to pull the Democratic nominee to the left which would be a good thing.
If he truly ran as an independent, than he could be the spoiler like Nader was.
Is he any better known the Kucinich? Would he be taken seriously by the MSM so that his voice is actually hear?
If he does too well, would the powers that be make sure something truly horrible happens to him?
Sanders strikes me as a much more honest, transparent, non-scheming pol as compared to the deceitful Nader, who pledged not to campaign down the stretch in close states, then went ahead and did just that, while later denying that he did. I’d be very surprised if Bernie tried to do that, and the Nader example would or should be sufficient to prevent that in the unlikely event Bernie wanted to duplicate the infamous Ralph.
Sanders also has gravitas, something Dennis K never had, nor does Bernie evoke the giggle factor, which the unfortunate Kucinich brought with his New Agey beliefs and friends like Shirley MacLaine and of course the ufo’s. Plus Sanders doesn’t have any personality quirks that would be revealed to his detriment during a debate, unlike the occasionally odd-acting, weirdly-emoting Kucinich.
He’s also not another RFK — not enough appeal to people of color. He has a touch of Gene McCarthy in his fairly narrow appeal to liberal-left coastal elite types, though unlike Gene is far more capable of getting the vote of some working-class and poor.
Right now I’m cautiously optimistic that a Sanders indy candidacy would be conducted responsibly, so as not to throw the election to the truly horrible GOP candidate, whoever that turns out to be.
Sanders is the opposite of Nader. Evidently the 2 VT senators and the VT rep have a Q&A with VT public radio- often? every week when Congress is in session? – I heard it a few weeks back when driving through VT right around the time of the shutdown. It was evidently a regular program, possibly weekly. All three were thoughtful, fascinating really. much to say that would interest everyone on this site. Anyway it’s great that Sanders is doing this, it will definitely impact political discussion constructively.
The program was a Friday Vermont-edition,
http://digital.vpr.net/programs/vermont-edition
Sen Sanders has also done a weekly, Friday radio chat, with listener call-ins, with Thom Hartmann, for a number of years. They cover whatever is hot in the news that week.
He’s also someone who doesn’t just show up every 4 yrs when the presidential election cycle heats up, as with Ralph. And, holding an important office in govt, Sanders doesn’t seem inclined to want to act recklessly with the instruments of democracy, again unlike Nader whose political purity tests for Gore — adhere to them or else — were always going to be impossible to meet.
Yes, the discussion was about the day to day workings of the Senate and issues from the week. fascinating discussion, both he and Leahy brought many insights to the discussion and showed a profound grasp of current issues.
re: Nader. alot was written ca. 2000 about how much of his project is self-enrichment despite his persona of simplicity.
He’s running in the primary, not as an independent candidate.
not primary per se, but “primary period” for now. it’s not about being a spoiler it’s about bringing issues into the discussion
If he were to be truly “taken seriously by the MSM,” he would be the left’s version of Ron Paul in 2012. Non-personed, Bet on it.
Naaaahhhh…they don’t have to do that sort of thing anymore. Not to highly visible people, anyway. Media assassination is so much less…messy, don’tcha know. Somewhere easily accessed in corporate-owned executive MediaLand there must exist an “ARRRRGH!!!” memo pointing out how effective the non-personing of Howard Dean was when he was running against John Kerry.
Nice.
Welcome to The United Staes of Omertica.
Thief.
it’s what’s for dinner.
AG
I think you’re mixing your metaphors with Omertica there. Points for “theif” though.
Not really. The “state of Omertà “…the oath of Omertà …is an oath of silence about criminal dealings. (Originally more of an oath of silence about actions taken against a criminally vicious set of conquerers, actually.)
From Wikipedia
The overwhelming silence of American government, media and corporate authorities regarding any area of action that could truly be considered “criminal” is a sort of upside down Omertà. And it works, too. From the JFK assassination right on through the latest hottest-thing-ever news, this policy has succeeded in so confusing the American people that they have…much like the governmental forces against which this code of silence was originally used in Sicily and elsewhere…essentially given up trying to learn anything about what the powers-that-be are actually up to.
Thus, “The United States of Omertica.”
Thieves learn from thieves, and everything evolves.
Including evil.
Bet on it.
AG
Well what I was trying to get across, is if you do media assassination, there’s no actual NEED for a code of silence since people just assume the person is a loon–thus no need for omerta.
For example. We know a torture was routinely committed, Cheney and Bush were loud and proud, Obama legitimized it by not even attempting to prosecute. We have had a lot of documentation on these horrors but nothing was done.
Omertica would require the people actually be able to do something to the elites.
The “silence” is about the media fix, MNP. The one thing that they cannot say is the truth of the matter. yes they brag about certain things, but only after concerted silence regarding the underlying reasons for those things. If the American people were to be informed about the scope of murder that has been committed in their name so that they could be bought off by cheap gas, if they truly understood the depth of criminality that is in place in this government and most of all if they realized that what is in place now is only one step from what is happening now to a total “minoritization” of any and all middle class and under citizens, they would throw the bums out.
People really should read in depth what Ross Perot said in one debate with Clinton and Bush I.
I repeat:
We are well on our way to that vision now. Meanwhile most Americans are happily preparing for
Cheap…errrr, ahhhh…Black…Friday.Bought off once again.
And of course…they do.
Every time.
Who’s gonna tell them to look if they don’t know a crime is even being committed?
Omertà in action.
Bet on it.
Taken further…the countries to which U.S. jobs have been shipped are by and large countries that would not need to work at such low wages if American militarily-enforced economic imperialist policies had not laid waste to their countries and societies in order to be able to take away their resources at bottom dollar. U.S. mainstream media do not cover this angle either, nor do they cover the cost to the U.S. as it fights a never-ending war against those from whom they have taken so much.
It’s a feedback system, MNP. Each part of it…each theft, each murder, each lie, each looking away…produces more of the same actions than it solves. You either stop the system before the explosion or the feedback eventually breaks it own machine.
Bet on it.
AG