His message will reach millions, helping to reinforce the realization that the rules have been rigged against them.
Sanders has already released a 12-point Economic Agenda for America. [3] He has been a leader in what is increasingly a consensus agenda for Democrats: an increase in the minimum wage, paid sick days, paid vacation, pay equity, affordable child care.
But Sanders’ agenda is far bolder. It addresses the structures that are geared to generate extreme inequality.The national conversation is shifting. First Occupy introduced the concept of the 1%. Then Thomas Piketty called attention to inequality. Now Bernie Sanders is speaking with a populist voice that other politicians can't easily dismiss as the ravings of "socialist" since what he is saying is getting traction.
Moreover, some analysts see Sander's run as a proxy run by Elizabeth Warren, too, even though she is undeclared and says she is not interested in the job.
The result is that the Overton window is being to shift to the left.
AlterNet
Why Bernie Sanders' Presidential Bid Is the Real Deal
Robert Borosage | Campaign for America's Future
AlterNet
Why Bernie Sanders' Presidential Bid Is the Real Deal
Robert Borosage | Campaign for America's Future
10 comments:
I am not seeing it myself.
Polls show Bernie getting 12% - 16% of the Democratic vote. In the unlikely event that Bernie begins to pose a serious threat to Hillary, he will be swiftboated.
Once the primary is over, Bernie and Warren will endorse Hillary, and Hillary will pivot to the so-called center to woo independents and moderate Republicans.
Chances are that a Republican will win in 2016. But in the unlikely event that Hillary wins, she'll forget her campaign promises and kowtow to the corporations, and we'll continue to embrace neoliberalism.
Bernie is not a serious contender yet and probably never will be. But Bernie and Liz are affecting the debate. HRC has already already hat she has a problem on the her left that she has to pay attention to.
Yes, but how much is the "debate" worth?
Which should we take more seriously, campaign rhetoric, or a long track record?
Dan Lynch,
I understand that nothing is set in stone in politics, and November 2016 is still a long ways away. But to say at this point that Hillary's chances of winning are "unlikely", when she is leading in virtually every polling permutation against every GOP candidate, is an incredibly pessimistic view unsupported by fact.
I do agree with the rest of your post regarding how she will cynically and calculatingly position herself to the right moving from the primary to the general.
@Daniel, my thinking is that there's going to be a recession between now and the election. Because there is a Democrat in the White House, the recession will hurt D's more than R's. When the economy is bad, people vote for change.
The Republican Congress will not approve a stimulus package to deal with the recession, nor will Obama put up a serious fight for stimulus since he doesn't have to run for re-election and he wants to be remembered as the President who reduced the deficit.
There is little enthusiasm for Hillary so left-leaning voters will stay home. The right hates Hillary with a passion so they'll turn out to vote against her, no matter which sociopath is on the Republican ticket
2016 could easily be a Republican sweep. Even if Hillary wins, R's will likely maintain control of at least one branch of Congress so the best we can hope for is the equivalent of Obama's 3rd term.
I'm glad Bernie is running, but at the end of the day I don't see how it will change anything.
I'm glad Bernie is running, but at the end of the day I don't see how it will change anything.
While political shifts can happen suddenly through elections, usually the ground is prepared gradually. We've seen a shift in the national debate reflected in the media way from deficit hawker toward inequality and loss of social mobility within and across generations.
There has been a strong populist push in the GOP that the Establishment has had to take into account, pushing the party rightward. That has not really manifest on the Democratic side.
That seems to be shifting owing to the growing influence of Bernie and LIz. If this continues to build, it is a big deal.
@Dan L
Ok. I see where you coming from, factoring events that haven't happened into your decision; though I concede I certainly could see a potential recession playing out in Congress much like how you hypothesize!
I'm not yet sold on the idea that being "Not Hillary" could propel a Republican to the WH anymore than being "Not Obama" helped Republicans in '12. Both O and Hillary have better approval ratings today than George Bush was sporting during his final years in office.
Speaking of Bush, I do remember him working with a Democratic Congress to get a stimulus bill passed; I wonder what that same bill would have looked like if the Republicans had held Congress in '06?
Bruce Dixon takes a cynical view of Bernie's campaign:
"The function of the sheepdog candidate is to give left activists and voters a reason, however illusory, to believe there's a place of influence for them inside the Democratic party. .... Bernie aims to tie up activist energies and resources till the summer of 2016 when the only remaining choice will be the usual lesser of two evils."
Even I am not that cynical (yet).
Yes, Bernie is diverting resources away from the Green party, but the Greens have no chance either.
Daniel it was a bottom up 165b tax rebate in 08...
No different if gop congress imo you have to sell it as 'tax cut' or rebate on GOP side then they go for it..
Nothing has stopped O from doing something similar except Dem deficit demagoguery and now the Dem "equality" bandwagon...
We'll get nothing major other than the recent DoD budget increase before the election next year imo...
More 'muddle thru'...
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