BY FLORIDA BILL A year ago only the most avid political groupies were aware of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Now an ersatz Bernie is a star on Saturday Night Live, his scowling face is on the news nightly and he is beginning to make former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton look very worried as he does better than anybody expected in early Presidential primaries.
His opponent Clinton is well known. She has distinguished herself as one of the great political liars, which is saying something. She has fudged and dodged the truth for 40 years and continues to offer artificial sincerity and scripted pledges that she, as President and Commander-in-Chief, will bring peace and harmony to a troubled America in the same style and effectiveness as her mentor, Barack Obama.
But who is this, white-haired, combative Sanders who offers more "free stuff" as President than even Clinton. As an "independent" congressman from Vermont, he sponsored no legislation of significance, and now has crawled out from under his well-paid rock. You will know him immediately from his caustic demeanor, denouncing Wall Street and wealthy Americans, and calling for a new America modeled after Denmark.
The 74-year-old Sanders was elected as a senator from Vermont in 2002, and for 11 years prior to that, had served as a representative in Congress from that state. Technically, he is an Independent with no affiliation with any political party, the only such senator with that label in the 100-member body. However, he caucuses with and votes with Democrats and decries Republicans and grimaces at the word "conservative."
In his candidacy seeking the nomination as the Democratic party standard bearer in next November's election, Sanders proudly proclaims himself to be a "Democratic Socialist" and promises if elected to work toward the elimination of capitalism and the introduction of socialism which will endow all Americans with free college and health care and other benefits. His programs are estimated to cost around 20 trillion dollars (20,000 billions), to be underwritten by massive tax increases on all Americans, but which will fall most heavily upon the wealthy. In some cases, tax rates could hit 90 per cent, he acknowledges.
Sanders' socialism is considered by many critics as a milder form of communism. Generally speaking, socialists and communists are pretty well cut from the same cloth, except that the Socialist is probably more accepting of religion. Both systems vehemently oppose capitalism and endorse a society in which government holds all the cards and supervises everything and redistributes the wealth with lots of free stuff for everyone as the path to "Shangri-La.
Normally, Americans recoil at the sound of the word socialism and communism. But sculpted in the beauty of the Sanders description of "free stuff" for everyone, not just the rich, Sanders is making his presence known.
As primary voting is commencing, Sanders finished in a statistical tie with Clinton in the caucuses in Iowa. In the New Hampshire primary, he won decisively, but he was a loser in Nevada. He has made a mark with his style of oration in which he continually jams both arms up and down and cups his hands, looking much like a white-haired symphony leader without a baton. He has become a favorite foil for TV's Saturday Night Live, increasing his popularity with young voters who applaud his socialistic views and the promise of eliminating any school debt which they may have incurred, and the idea of qualifying for a government subsidy.
And yes, as part of being president, Sanders will become Commander-in-Chief as set forth in the constitution. Given his background and core values, that can cause trepidation among voters and be a real sore tooth for veterans who love their country and are willing to fight for it. Fighting for America is something that Sanders refused to do, and America's servicemen have a very long memory.
Sanders was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. He attended James Madison High school where he was a captain of the track team. He attended Brooklyn college for a year and then transferred to the University of Chicago where in 1964 he was graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sanders sought status as a conscientious objector, maintaining that he was a pacifist opposing any and all wars. In that era, some young men, such as Muhammad Ali, claimed exemption from wearing the uniform of their country on religious grounds. But Sanders dodged the service not for religious beliefs, but because he objected to war, any war. As a student in Chicago and following graduation, he busied himself organizing and participating in anti war protests and was arrested on one occasion.
He was an organizer of the Congress of Racial equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Student Peace Union. According to some critics, this was his all-consuming activity. He never exhibited respect for historical icons like Patrick Henry or for military heroes like Generals MacArthur and Eisenhower and for an America which had defended itself and Europe against tyranny in two world wars.
But rather, he praised figures who were critical of America's capitalistic ways, and professors and intellectuals who viewed socialism as the utopia for humanity. He reserved special admiration, it was said, for the great pacifist physicist Albert Einstein and literary genius and anti-war author Aldous Huxley who wrote Brave New World. War, for young Bernie, could never be justified, and there is concern, even among Democrats, that this pacifist attitude would guide his hand as America's Commander-in-Chief.
He began his political career in Vermont as a member of the Liberty Union Party, an outgrowth of the anti-war movement, and he ran unsuccessfully on anti war credentials for Vermont governor in 1972 and 1976; and also twice for U.S senator. He was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 and reelected three more times, serving through 1989. He was elected a U.S. representative in 1991. In 1988, always a fan of communist governments, Mayor Sanders and his new wife, Jane, honeymooned in the Soviet Union.
As a federal legislator in 1991, Sanders voted against the Gulf war although a bipartisan Congress and a unified America strongly supported the coalition which pushed back Saddam Hussein from invading and occupying the neighboring country of Kuwait. In 2002, he voted against the Iraq war and he explains today that the negative vote reflected "good judgment," rather than his pacifist views.
On today's campaign trail in his pursuit of the presidency, he pledges himself to dismantling wall street and the big banks and doing away with the greed and fraud which thrives there; and that he will push for a society of fairness for everyone. He promises to bring an end to a system in which society and its operations are beholden to the upper one per cent which possesses the wealth and exerts unlimited control over everyone else.
He continues to assert that free college, like high school, and free and unlimited health care is the right of all Americans, not just meant for the privileged few. Sanders acknowledges that the cost of this largess is very high, but it can be done by lifting taxes and by closing loopholes and eliminating waste. Persuading Congress to support his programs, he says, will require a "political revolution" in which "tens of millions of Americans" will cry out loudly and clearly with a demand for change, and it will be this strong unified voice which will force sitting legislators to adopt socialism for America.
There are many primary elections to be held before the democratic convention in which delegates will select their candidate as standard bearer.
Despite all of Sanders support and his edge in debates, most pundits are of the opinion that Americans will never elect a socialist or a communist as President. National polls report that Clinton who has received 25 million dollars from super packs and wall street billionaires, continues to lead Sanders; and analysts are predicting that Clinton who calls for free health care for all, even for millions of undocumented aliens, will become her party's nominee unless her candidacy is knocked off track by the FBI which is investigating her use of a personal email server for possible criminal violations.
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He began his political career in Vermont as a member of the Liberty Union Party, an outgrowth of the anti-war movement, and he ran unsuccessfully on anti war credentials for Vermont governor in 1972 and 1976; and also twice for U.S senator. He was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 and reelected three more times, serving through 1989. He was elected a U.S. representative in 1991. In 1988, always a fan of communist governments, Mayor Sanders and his new wife, Jane, honeymooned in the Soviet Union.
As a federal legislator in 1991, Sanders voted against the Gulf war although a bipartisan Congress and a unified America strongly supported the coalition which pushed back Saddam Hussein from invading and occupying the neighboring country of Kuwait. In 2002, he voted against the Iraq war and he explains today that the negative vote reflected "good judgment," rather than his pacifist views.
On today's campaign trail in his pursuit of the presidency, he pledges himself to dismantling wall street and the big banks and doing away with the greed and fraud which thrives there; and that he will push for a society of fairness for everyone. He promises to bring an end to a system in which society and its operations are beholden to the upper one per cent which possesses the wealth and exerts unlimited control over everyone else.
He continues to assert that free college, like high school, and free and unlimited health care is the right of all Americans, not just meant for the privileged few. Sanders acknowledges that the cost of this largess is very high, but it can be done by lifting taxes and by closing loopholes and eliminating waste. Persuading Congress to support his programs, he says, will require a "political revolution" in which "tens of millions of Americans" will cry out loudly and clearly with a demand for change, and it will be this strong unified voice which will force sitting legislators to adopt socialism for America.
There are many primary elections to be held before the democratic convention in which delegates will select their candidate as standard bearer.
Despite all of Sanders support and his edge in debates, most pundits are of the opinion that Americans will never elect a socialist or a communist as President. National polls report that Clinton who has received 25 million dollars from super packs and wall street billionaires, continues to lead Sanders; and analysts are predicting that Clinton who calls for free health care for all, even for millions of undocumented aliens, will become her party's nominee unless her candidacy is knocked off track by the FBI which is investigating her use of a personal email server for possible criminal violations.
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What bothers me most about Bernie Sanders is the easy acceptance of socialism by his many followers. I classify them into three groups: the ignorant, the "educated" and the hardcore Marxists. Bernie himself fits into the third category (with his admired Barack Obama somewhere between second and third).
ReplyDeleteThe ignorant have no idea what socialism is, can't define it, can't define how it differs from capitalism which they can't define either, and worse they couldn't care less. They have little or no understanding of government, history and economics, and rather than use the multimedia resources right in the palms of their hands to study and educate themselves, they're too busy tweeting, twittering, narcissistically facebooking or following the latest idiocies of Justin Bieber than taking the time to study and think. This group is easily led by demagogues who will do the thinking for them. (The same can be said of some Donald Trump devotees.) They applaud slogans like "free education" and "free health care" which they're told are their "rights" to be paid for by "the government," from whom all rights flow. They've never read the Declaration of Independence, where our founding fathers defined the origin of human rights.
The "educated" are those university and college students who mouth socialism because that's what they're taught by their professors, the frustrated "flower children" and communist or socialist "revolutionaries" of the sixties whose careers peaked with anti-war marches and Woodstock concerts. These "intellectuals" relive their glory days by inculcating their "politically correct" ideals into their students and join them at Bernie rallies. Like all liberals, these academics attack rather than debate and crush freedom of speech or opinion in anyone who disagrees with them. Many of the Woodstock generation are in government today, Hillary Clinton the most prominent. Their students included Barack Obama, Unlike the ignorant, the "educated" have read the Declaration of Independence, but they reject the origin of human rights declared therein. They too believe that human rights are dispensed by governments
There's nothing new about socialism in the US, originally imported with some German immigrants during the 19th century. Marxists of various stripes have been active in American politics for 150 year since founding of the New York Communist Club in 1867 to the Socialist Labor Party in 1877, Socialist Party in 1897, International Workers of the World (the Wobblies) in 1905 and the Communist Labor Party in 1919, which took its marching orders from the Bolshevik Soviet Union. The only difference between communism and socialism is the means to the end: Both believe in state control of capital and thereby of labor, but communists through bloody revolution and socialists by more or less peaceful methods. Bernie Sanders positions himself as a democratic socialist, which means he wants to reduce the United States to the status of a Western European socialist state, much like Denmark with its 5.7 million people. Bernie is merely the latest incarnation in a long line of socialist intellectuals and communist agitators ranging from Eugene Debs and Earl Browder to Henry Wallace and Obama colleague Bill SAyers. Sanders' ideals may be 19th century, but his appeal is frighteningly real.