Ash writes: "The abundant animosity directed at Bernie Sanders by the Democratic Party establishment seems conveniently out of touch with his track record."
January 2018. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Bernie Sanders address reporters on Capitol Hill to discuss the government shutdown. (photo: Drew Angerer/Getty)
Let's Talk About Bernie Sanders the Democratic Team Player
02 February 20
he abundant animosity directed at Bernie Sanders by the Democratic Party establishment seems conveniently out of touch with his track record.
Sure, Bernie Sanders is an Independent who defines himself as a Socialist. But his interaction with the Democrats has been almost categorically cooperative and supportive. Sanders gets behind nearly every important Democratic initiative. A noteworthy point of departure was Sanders’s opposition to both the joint resolution to authorize the use of force against Iraq in 2002 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Other than that, the Democrats have been able to consistently count on Sanders to be onboard.
That was key to Sanders’s success as a Democratic presidential candidate. People love Progressive policies, but they hate and fear spoilers. Although Sanders is often blamed for derailing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid, the record does not bear that out. True to his word, Sanders publicly endorsed Clinton immediately after the DNC convention and encouraged his supporters to do the same. That built a significant degree of credibility among Progressive Democrats – they could support Sanders secure in the understanding that doing so would not implicitly pave the way for the right-wing candidate. Sanders has proven it.
Sanders is a reformer. Not everyone wants to be reformed. Those with an aversion to being reformed include Republicans and Democrats. For that he is hated … and he welcomes their hatred. The voters, however, love it. One thing large majorities of voters across the political spectrum want is change, and specifically, a curtailing of policies that are viewed as corrupt.
Cable news is making a very big deal of any sign of conflict between Sanders and any other candidate, but Bernie is not biting and not going negative. He’s not attacking any of his rivals.
Bernie is running as a Democrat. Bernie is onboard as a Democrat now as he was in 2016. It is about reform and change but in a consistently constructive way. It’s building confidence in him.
Marc Ash is the founder and former Executive Director of Truthout, and is now founder and Editor of Reader Supported News.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
|
THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community. |
