What’s so authentic about Bernie Sanders?

[Playinghardball]

The commentariat is all atwitter about Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, self-described “democratic socialist,” running for president. The flyaway hair; the Nooh Yawk accent; the blunt talk; he’s so “authentic.”

But I’ve always managed to keep my enthusiasm for Sanders under control. It’s all very well to prattle about the wonders of socialism, to praise Scandinavia’s state-funded child care, and to yammer — yet again — about breaking up the banks in the most capitalist nation on earth. But that’s not authenticity. That’s just bushwa.

Before becoming a representative and a senator, Sanders was the popular mayor of Burlington, Vt., for eight years. So what did he socialize? What privately held entity did he transform to public ownership? Isn’t that the definition of socialism? I put this question to his spokesman, Michael Briggs, who provided a list of accomplishments: affordable housing, a child-care center, a Little League program.

The late Boston Mayor Tom Menino could have made those same claims, and he didn’t run around pretending to be a socialist.

As for breaking up the banks (Sanders filed some dead-on-arrival legislation to this effect last week), the Democratic Party had its shot six years ago and blew it. Barack Obama surged into the White House on the heels of a devastating recession, with a clear mandate for economic change. Instead, his appointees played patty-cake with the banks, as if they were drawing paychecks from George W. Bush. If Democrats really cared about breaking up banks, Elizabeth Warren might be running for president.

More: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/05/14/what-authentic-about-bernie-sanders/MiNx3PHdEsjzHsJjg62OOO/story.html

[immoderate]

1. File under: Things a real jerk might say.

--imm

[catnhatnh]

2. A smarmy hit piece written by a guy in over his head...

...for instance in the second paragraph he writes (sic) "That's just bushwa.". Now there's a bunch of folk, myself included, that have trouble writing "bourgeois". But at least I know the definition:

bour·geois
bo͝orˈZHwä,ˈbo͝orZHwä/Submit
adjective
1.
of or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.
"a rich, bored, bourgeois family"
synonyms: middle-class, propertied;

The guy has just written that it is middle-class to break up banks and appreciate Scandinavian type social programs. I don't disagree with this-I just don't think that's what he intended to say...

[daleanime]

4. +1

[catnhatnh]

8. Well...

Bushwa
Corruption/slang version of "Bourgeoisie" from the 1930's/40's era, most commonly heard in Populist, Socialist, and Union talk.

See Wikipedia for more on "Bourgeoisie"

The common pronunciation of Bourgeoisie" as
" boo - zhwah" should be self-explanatory for this.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. So... he's *pretending* to be a socialist . Because there's political advantage to that?

Wha?!?

I thought the rap on Sanders was that he could never be elected because he WAS a socialist.

You guys better get together and get your stories straight.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. +1 n/t

[cali]

5. lol. there are valid criticisms of Bernie Sanders and then there

are ridiculous ones like this one, claiming on very thin evidence that he's a phony. (in all fairness, the author does stumble on one valid criticism; Sander's support for the F-35)

Sanders has been consistent to almost a tiring degree. And yes, he's been effective. If there's one thing that is clear, it's that he's authentic- that I can attest to personally. He believes in what he espouses and the evidence for that is overwhelming. I've posted a lot of that evidence. It's here on DU for anyone to find.

But I kinda like the fact that some DUers are posting this stuff. It shows me that they take him seriously enough that they're willing to dig madly for made up crazy shit.

Hint: criticize him on his record on gun control, on his support for the F-35. Talk about his age as an impediment or that his identification as a Democratic-Socialist is enough to make a lot of people not even listen to him, or even that he's from Vermont- a tiny unrepresentative Northeastern State.

This just makes whoever posts it look really......

[bunnies]

6. The Boston Fucking Globe.

Nice source. I suggest Tucker Carlson next.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. He does support worker co-ops:

Creating Worker Co-Ops

We need to develop new economic models to increase job creation and productivity. Instead of giving huge tax breaks to corporations which ship our jobs to China and other low-wage countries, we need to provide assistance to workers who want to purchase their own businesses by establishing worker-owned cooperatives. Study after study shows that when workers have an ownership stake in the businesses they work for, productivity goes up, absenteeism goes down and employees are much more satisfied with their jobs.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/creating-worker-co-ops/

Sanders Unveils Employee Ownership Legislation

BURLINGTON, Vt., June 2 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was joined this morning by representatives of Vermont-based, worker-owned businesses and an employee-ownership expert at a news conference to announce legislation to help workers who want to form their own businesses or worker-owned cooperatives.

Sanders said employee ownership increases employment, productivity, sales and wages. The federal government, however, has not done enough for employee ownership to realize its full potential.

“At a time when corporate America is outsourcing millions of decent-paying jobs overseas and with the economy continuing to struggle to create jobs that pay a livable wage, we need to expand economic models that help the middle-class,” Sanders said. “I strongly believe that employee ownership is one of those models.”

Under one bill in Sanders' package, the U.S. Department of Labor would provide funding to states to establish and expand employee ownership centers. These centers would provide training and technical support for programs promoting employee ownership and participation throughout the country. This legislation is modeled on the success of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center which has done an excellent job in educating workers, retiring business owners, and others about the benefits of worker ownership.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-unveils-employee-ownership-legislation

Which is about as socialist as you're likely to succeed with in the current USA. It looks like the bills got sent to languish forever in a committee, but that's Republicans for you.

[Maedhros]

12. This bit shows how little the author is paying attention:

So what did he socialize? What privately held entity did he transform to public ownership? Isn’t that the definition of socialism?

"Democratic Socialism" and "Socialism" are not interchangeable.

Read a fucking book, Alex Beam.