Matt Taibbi: Democrats Will Learn All the Wrong Lessons From Brush With Bernie

[davidthegnome]

24. It's early yet.

It may be (and I hope this to be the case) that the campaign run by Sanders, the strength of the progressive movement right now... and other things, have pushed Clinton to the left not just for the length of her campaign, but in a way that will remain steadfast throughout her (hopeful) future Presidency.

Another thing though... is that I think we all tend to underestimate the strength and the numbers of not just conservatives... but of ultra-right lunatics. Trump's nomination - which the media was instrumental in helping him secure... has been a victory for all of them. For people like David Duke in particular, it's almost like it's Christmas time. A hateful bigot has been nominated to lead one of our two major parties in the general. It is possible that this man could be our next President. Right wing militia groups will support him, along with the NRA, armed fringe groups, various sorts of cultists, religious extremists and others will come out of the woodwork, I expect, in numbers never before seen or expected. This is a moment in which the most ignorant, cruel, racist, bigoted... and hateful among us may manage to choose the direction this Country will ultimately move in.

All these people dreaming of the rapture, the end of days... great wars fought in the name of God... all of these people who would love nothing more than to watch everything burn for what they believe is some kind of holy calling.

I don't think we can afford to underestimate Trump. It is entirely possible that he will become the face of... the leader of the Republican party of tomorrow. There's a lot of angry people in this Country, a lot of resentment.... a great deal of ignorance... and a poorly funded educational system. Someone (Winston Churchill, I think) once said that the best argument against democracy was a five minute conversation with the average voter.

I guess it depends on whether or not we have reached a point where the average voter is someone who will vote for Trump. At this time, the polls predicting the likely outcome of the general don't mean much - it's too early. However, the fact that his showing is so strong - that he crushed of the other republican candidates... is disturbing.

There is also... as we are all well aware, quite a rift within our own party. I suspect that some progressives and liberals, some who previously supported Sanders, will cast their vote for a third party instead. I can only hope that there are not that many of them.

None of this changes the potential problems pointed out by Taibbi, but it does, I think, reveal some of the consequences of what the party has become. It is grudgingly shaking hands with the populist platform for the moment... but many of us suspect that there is a nasty surprise in that other hand - hidden behind it's back. The difference with a candidate like Sanders is that (in my opinion) he genuinely embraced that platform and even helped bring it about in the first place.

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward in any event. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and voting for Clinton... but not without genuine concern over a possible Trump Presidency... or should Clinton win, another eight years of corporate empowerment. I think she has a chance here... to win - and to genuinely follow the right path to do so. I think she can take the message that Bernie brought and make it her own. If she chooses wisely for her VP, if she holds to the principles she has claimed, to the policies she has promoted... she could be one of the greatest Presidents in US history, even the greatest, if she has the courage to lead the way on matters of clean energy, climate change - and so on.

We'll see. At this point... who the hell knows what's going to happen next. I am disappointed and saddened by Bernie's loss, but I'm far from giving up.