A comment on a Bernie Sanders post grabbed me, despite all my cynicism. [View all]

[Playinghardball]

I'm a typically progressive millennial who's at the higher end of the generational cutpoint-- I was around and watching during the Bush years, and know what it means when the 'decline' of America is referenced as a recent event.

I also felt the same disappointment that the Bernie Sanders-esque excitement that surrounded Obama in 2008 turned out to be....well, less exciting. That's not to say that Obama is a bad president, but merely that his presidency was not revolutionary in a policy sense.

We didn't jail any bankers, or dismantle the prison-industrial complex, or really make any big fundamental changes to our oligarchy. But we did get a competent leader.

But I'm too jaded to Feel The Bern the way I was excited by 2008 Obama. But sometimes a piece of writing comes along, and puts things in perspective.

and it was on Facebook, hardly the location of inspiration and politic. but there it was. Upon reading it, I felt for the first time the urge to share something simply because it needed to be shared. It's not substantively different than what many Sanders supporters already say, but it resonated with me.

comment found here--

A POLITICAL TIP FROM AUSTRALIA: The Republicans, Fox and Rupert Murdoch want Hillary to win the nomination so that they can crucify her in the Presidentials. (So much history, so much scandal, so many unanswered questions, so much to criticise,) They DO NOT want to face Bernie in the Presidentials because they know, when Bernie talks, people listen - REALLY listen. They know that Bernie will annihilate them in the Presidentals. He can't be bought, he can't be intimidated, he can't be tamed by corporate America and he can't be silenced. He has all the momentum now and is gaining momentum exponentially. There are people following him from all over the world, and millions more will follow him in the lead up to him taking the White House. Bernie is a once-in-a-generation WORLD leader. Be prepared for FOX and Murdoch to wage a vicious campaign depicting him as a radical who will destroy your country. Murdoch destroyed our Australian Democratic Prime-Minister and Treasurer even though they guided us through the Global Financial Crisis with a triple-A credit rating from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, we avoided a recession (GFC? What GFC?) and our Treasurer Wayne Swan was awarded "World's Best Treasurer" at a ceremony in Washington in 2011. At the same time Murdoch waged a media war in Australia and tore them down with a relentless "ECONOMIC IRRESPONSIBILITY" campaign. SERIOUS! Be prepared to fight and spread the word. I cannot emphasise how destructive they will be. Rupert Murdoch will NOT want Bernie to get to the Presidentials, because someone like Bernie - who is not at all enamoured by obscene wealth - scares Rupert Murdoch to death. Rupert Murdoch - the man who relinquished his Australian citizenship to become an American, for the sole purpose of making BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. So please do everything that you can to help him win. Bernie fights for you, please fight for him. Please repost on your timelines. With you, in the struggle, Aleta Langdon. Australia."

having seen articles in the past that are in line with what this comment linked above says about australia, and knowing how true it is that our major party candidates are 'bought', this hit home. It's often said the Presidency is only a figurehead-- well, if that's the case, then it's curious how so many powerful white old Republicans are raising hundreds of millions to lay claim to a 'symbolic' seat.

It's not that Sanders knows a lot that Clinton doesn't--it's his willingness to frame these issues as nefarious actions taken against us, the people. Republicans rally their base ALL the time by naming names and naming enemies.

Sanders isn't afraid to call out the bad guys, nor is he connected to their money pipelines. Cynicism is when you accept the money from those who create our status quo. Bernie hasn't sold out. I remember being a big russ feingold fan back in the day. I think bernie is even better. Our guy Howard Dean got dismantled for yelling on stage-- but I saw Jeb Bush do the same last month and nary a media outlet grilled him for it.

The Democrats need Sanders. and on his FB page, you see comments from folks in sweden , australia, and across the English-speaking world admiring his courage. Clinton will borrow some of his talking points, but that's politics as usual. Bernie believes in this, and doesn't have connections to the neoliberal regime that the Clintons do( I respect both Bill and Hillary for what they have done, but still).

I guess I'm feeling the Bern. apparently he was here in Alabama this past sunday. He's willing, as a lower-dollar guy, to come to the deep south. He's not just pandering to big dollar donors. That's what it was like in the early days of Obama's candidacy. A feeling that we had a guy listening to us, not just carefully playing the political game.

edit: it's cool to get so many responses. the most important points written in this diary were not written by me, but a woman in australia. Bernie has got us all feeling some type of way! good stuff yall.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/15/1402366/-A-comment-on-a-Bernie-Sanders-post-grabbed-me-despite-all-my-cynicism#