Liberals No Longer Amused by Bernie Sanders’ Presidential Campaign

[newthinking]

Liberals No Longer Amused by Bernie Sanders’ Presidential Campaign
by Kevin Gosztola

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/21/liberals-no-longer-amused-bernie-sanders-presidential-campaign


[font size=1]"It is one thing to vote for Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, who are more than happy to serve the moneyed elite, if you actually believe in what she stands for as a presidential candidate," writes Gosztola. "But it is quite another thing to delude people into voting for her simply because it is your view that Bernie Sanders’ vision is difficult to make a reality." (Photo: Charlie Leight, Getty Images)[/font]

The objective of the week for liberals appears to be to make clear Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is some kind of pariah. Despite how his candidacy has transformed into a phenomenon over the past months, establishment liberals maintain the U.S. senator from Vermont should not be considered a “serious” candidate. They believe it would be a huge mistake if a Democrat with unapologetic socialist leanings won the nomination, especially over Hillary Clinton.

But these cases against Sanders are really arguments against citizens voting their conscience. The uncertainty and dismissiveness toward Sanders serves to silence any critics of the corporate-driven politics entrenched in the Democratic Party. It suggests a fear that Democrats might actually stand against corporate power for a change.

"What [the liberal establishemt] argument really amounts to is an argument that Democratic Party politicians and the operatives who run their campaigns would be uncomfortable with talking openly about socialism because that would alienate the corporate interests they have cozied up to in order to win elections."

The New York Times reports “alarmed Hillary Clinton supporters” are warning Sanders “would be an electoral disaster who would frighten swing voters and send Democrats in tight congressional and governor’s races to defeat.” Supporters cast Sanders as “unelectable” and attempt to present him as the Republicans’ favored nominee because super political action committees run by operatives like Karl Rove would supposedly prefer to see the Republican nominee run against Sanders.

Continued at CommonDreams.org
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/21/liberals-no-longer-amused-bernie-sanders-presidential-campaign

[deathrind]

1. There are many examples...

In history where long standing doctrines thought to be unchanging...did change. Christianity is just one example. Nothing Beenie has said is out of the realm of possibility it would just take an awful lot of work and coast to coast, border to border involvement by Americans.

[Hortensis]

9. :) And a lot of time to evolve.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. Oh, ffs,

Why oh WHY do they insist on confusing liberals with ConservaDems (20 years ago, they were called Republicans)? Bernie supporters are liberals/progressives. The "No We Can't" crew are Democrats. Two ENTIRELY different animals.

And ANOTHER "new" poster pumping in propaganda. My Ignore button has been busy the last day or two.

[newthinking]

4. I think he means "Liberal elite".

CommonDreams is solidly progressive so I knew he falls on the progressive side. But I thought overall he made good points.

[Paka]

8. I think he really means...

...faux liberal elite.

[Ken Burch]

12. The types Phil Ochs warned about back in 1966:

Oh, sure, once I was young and impulsive,
I wore every conceivable pin.
Even went to socialist meetings,
Learned all the old union hymns.
Ah, but I've grown older and wiser
AND THAT'S WHY I'M TURNING YOU IN!!!
So Love Me, Love Me, Love Me,
I'm a Liberal.

[Paka]

16. That brought back sweet memory's.

[Hortensis]

10. Ridiculous. We elected Obama on "Yes, We Can!"

And a lot has been accomplished against the very determined opposition of GOP majorities in the House and Senate and the very determined opposition of over a third of the U.S. electorate at least.

[safeinOhio]

3. Don't you mean

Neo-liberals?

[newthinking]

5. That is what I got from it

Neo-liberals, liberal elites, "free market" liberals? - in other words socially liberal but economically or militarily more toward the right...

[2pooped2pop]

6. LIBERALS never were amused by Bernie

But excited and encouraged. Those who were amused were Hillary fans before they became worried that deja vu was going to humiliate her again.

[PDittie]

7. The difference between 'progressive' and 'politically correct liberal'...

http://prairieweather.typepad.com/big_blue_stem/2016/01/progressive-doesnt-mean-politically-correct-liberal.html

[raouldukelives]

11. The very act of supporting Wall St denies one the moniker of liberal.

Like abolitionist slave owners. An income derived from the suffering of others kinda overrides any other self-affixed labels.

The main reason the will of "We" is ignored and dismissed is only at the behest of and the benefit of the few invested against it.

If that is a liberal, it is no wonder conservatives have had to become so crazy. Only to distance themselves.

[JRLeft]

13. The democratic party is corrupted and it needs to be sanitized.

[LondonReign2]

14. The author has confused Third Wayers with Liberals

[LWolf]

15. Bernie's campaign

has blown the covers off of the disingenuous propaganda efforts from the neo-liberal wing of the party trying to present themselves as good for the 99%.

The people are taking the party, and the country, back, and the neo-liberals are mobilizing to fight for their supremacy.

They are throwing democratic and Democratic principles to the wind, and using anything and everything they can to attack him.

It's not working. The standard propaganda used to get people into line to vote against their best interests simply isn't carrying the weight it has in the past.