Sanders vs Trump - Hope vs Fear

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Facebook Page

23 November 15

t�s instructive to compare Bernie�s rally in Savannah, Georgia last night with Donald Trump�s rally in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday. Two southern states, two populist aspirants for the presidency, two immense crowds. But the two events and the two candidates couldn�t have been further apart. Trump channels the anxieties of Americans into fear and hate. Bernie channels them into hope and tolerance. Trump told the white, middle-aged crowd he�d seal America�s borders against Mexicans and Muslims. Bernie told a diverse, young crowd he�d make public universities tuition-free and reduce incarceration. At Trump rallies, black protesters are kicked and beaten by Trump�s white supporters. At Bernie�s rallies, protesters are respected and heard. (Yesterday, Trump said of the treatment one black protester got in Birmingham, �maybe he should have been roughed up�. This is not the way Bernie Sanders handled his problem, I will tell you, but I have a lot of fans and they were not happy about it. And this was a very obnoxious guy, a troublemaker, looking to make trouble.�)

Trump's right-wing populism poses a clear and present danger to this nation. Bernie's left-wing populism offers the only practical way forward. Rarely in American history has the choice been this stark.

What do you think?