The Berniedook

Bernie is not our first choice this year.

He was our first choice four years ago, in part because he generated optimism, in part because Hillary is an untrustworthy leader (Iraq, not emails) and bad politician. You want Hillary as a Cabinet secretary, not the boss.

Bernie hasn’t worn well in the time since, so this year he’s only our second choice. And y’know, we could live with Cranky Mike if we had to, but it’s looking like we don’t, so good for us, but really, you understand what we’re facing, right? Throw up anybody who isn’t a petty treasonous tyrant, and we’re game.

All of which is to say, we don’t get the sudden freakout over Bernie Sanders.

We get some of it, of course. We certainly get Captains of Finance quaking in their expensive boots. We get folks who think that after Democrats tossed up one center-right Democrat to defeat, the best they can do is toss up another. (It’s a ridiculous fear, but we get it.)

We don’t get Never Trump Republicans quickly switching to Never Trump But when considering Bernie as the alternative. We don’t get people ridiculing Bernie for advocating a program like Medicare for All because it’ll never pass a Republican Senate, when failure is exactly what they want. (Wouldn’t a neutered leader be safe in office?) We don’t get people who know better — a lot better — calling him a Red-Scare Socialist, when they know damn well he’s one of those nice European types.

We don’t get how visceral they are about it. We haven’t seen this much deep hatred against a white male politician since, well, Bill Clinton.

It’s not like they’re afraid Bernie Sanders will lose. They’re afraid he’ll win.

Bernie threatens them.

Who does Bernie threaten? Well, follow the squealing. Look who’s taking it personally that he called out the “Democratic establishment”, as if running against The Establishment isn’t a time-honored Democratic tradition, starting with calling out LBJ for killing kids. Look whose feathers are getting ruffled, and ask what those birdbrains have done for us lately.

And look at Nevada, the first non-mayonnaise primary this year:

He prevailed among those with college degrees and those without; those living in union and nonunion households; and in every age group except those over 65. He won more than half of Hispanic caucus-goers — almost four times as much support as his nearest rival, former vice president Joe Biden — and even narrowly prevailed among those who identified as moderate or conservative. Despite attacks on his health proposal by the powerful Culinary Union, he won in caucus sites filled with union members.

That sounds like what the pundit crowd would call the makings of a winning coalition, if they weren’t preoccupied soiling their britches over who’s leading it.

That’s also what we would call gold-standard populism, if the word hadn’t been twisted out of its meaning recently. (Trump is not a populist, he’s a con artist. Big difference.)

But here we are, and maybe Super Tuesday will Change Everything Again, but for now, shit, we’re enjoying the freakout. Raise all the concerns you’d like, but if there’s one thing Bernie’s not, it’s a Threat to the Republic. We all know what that looks like.

9 Comments

I don’t know that Bernie could win, but my biggest problem with him is his supporters and his failure to reign them in. The Bernies Bros display toxic masculinity and attack women in online forums to a positively Trumpian degree. I got to see quite a lot of it as a Harris supporter, and I see the same thing happening now to those who back Warren. If he wants to win suburban women, he’d better do something about it. I’ll vote for him if I have to, but I truly doubt he can win.

@Mistress Cynica: Yeah, that’s why he hasn’t worn well, and why I’m not personally enthusiastic for him. The optimism is gone from the 2016 campaign, and the self-righteousness of the Bros is grating. (Being a dude, haven’t seen the misogyny.) He really hasn’t built a movement; he’s just running again, is all.

But could he win? Sure he could. Could he lose? Of course. But the electability argument applies to all of them, especially Biden, who has pitched nothing to voters other than Not Trump. (Bloomberg is pitching Not Trump But Wealthier.)

But that’s all been standard chatter for months. The vehemence of the opposition to Sanders is sudden, striking, and, I think, telling.

@nojo: The oligarchs that own the corporate media are squealing with fear of Sanders and Warren ‘cuz their taxes might go up 2%, which would be WORSE THAN ONE MILLION HOLOCAUSTS.

The more they squeal and lie and scream SOSHALIZM, the more I’m convinced we’re on the right track.

Is it just me, or has our ongoing political crisis/racist terrorist attack completely consumed the news? It seems like there used to be anything else to distract from our troubles, but now we don’t dare even open the Arts tab. No wonder drug and alcohol usage has gone through the roof.

@¡Andrew!: It’s stifling, is what it is. And it’s frustrating because the news gets it so fucking wrong, so we end up fighting the news, too. It’s a two-front war living through this.

@nojo: Yep, this is an insidious propaganda war against the American people. It’s simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, and online platforms that once promised to deliver an unprecedented level of human connection have been weaponized to deliver a personal attack straight from your own phone. At least it’s convenient : )

Even the Real Estate section, formerly an opiate for houseaholics such as myself, no longer offers any solace, since the kind of house that I want to design and build now costs $3 million as we’re being eaten alive by the inflation that central banks claim doesn’t exist.

BTW, I’ve found my Japanese dream house, for when the !@#$ really hits the fan.

A weird aspect of the government’s total lack of credibility is that it’s so hard to tell whether the My Sharona virus is a real threat or a Chinese hoax or some new social hysteria.

One idly wonders which shit-4-brains Liberty U drop out/Baptist minister/rapist youth pastor Pussolini will put in charge of confronting the crisis.

Guess we’re about to find out who’s been maxing out their purchases of equities on margin.

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