I grew up in Iowa, though I don’t live there anymore. Being back for a visit I was able to go with my parents to a town meeting that Bernie held in Clinton, Iowa today. Dad has been to at least a half dozen Bernie events previously, and mom a couple of times.
I didn’t go because I needed convincing, as I am solidly in Bernie’s corner. I was interested in hearing him speak live, and also to get a first hand view of the perceived excitement surrounding his campaign here in the Hawkeye state.
Mr. Sanders walked into the packed room at the Masonic Center right on schedule at 330pm, and spoke for about 65 minutes. He appeared very relaxed, calm, and confident. He was funny! I didn’t really expect that. He touched on all of his main themes, and broke no new ground so far as I can tell. He took no shots at Mrs. Clinton, though he did mention that Goldman Sachs makes large contributions to other candidates and pays some of them speaking fees. But he did not mention Mrs. Clinton as he made that statement. He did take some shots at GOP candidates collectively, and at Mr. Trump in particular.
My point here, however, is that I found him to be very pragmatic. I have read, right here at Daily Kos of all places, that he has been promising pie-in-the-sky and belching sparkly unicorn dust all over his naiive and gullible audiences. I witnessed nothing of the sort. Rather, he told the audience that the real battle begins the day he takes office. Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeah, President Obama said something to the effect of “make me do it.”
Candidate Sanders took his audience on a brief journey through American history and cited numerous examples of significant policy changes that were at times thought to be impossible. He said repeatedly that positive change in this country has always come from the bottom up, not the top down. He reminded us that women have not always had the right to vote in this country, but that women and their male allies fought to gain this right for women, and that it was not a benevolent gift from some power brokers at the top. He reminded us that collective bargaining was also not a benevolent gift from an enlightened ownership class, but was gained by people who fought and were beaten and jailed and sometimes even killed. He reminded Iowans that they helped put an African American in the oval office, something thought to be impossible not long ago. He asked the audience if anyone in the room room would have believed, just 10 years ago, that gay Americans would be able to be married to each other in 50 states in the year 2015. He said that this profoundly positive change occurred only because millions of gay Americans, and their straight allies, fought for it.
And so it would be with his agenda. It can only be enacted if millions of Americans rise up from the grass roots and demand it. He was very explicitly clear that there would be no waving of any magic wands, no easy victories, no positive change without struggle and sacrifice. The audience seemed to understand this, though admittedly there is no way to know what people really know or believe.
So when I read here at Daily Kos, or anywhere for that matter, that Mr. Sanders is promising Pie In The Sky and his supporters believe that he can wave that magic wand and make tuition free and healthcare universal, it pisses me right the fuck off. It’s a bullshit mischaracterization of the candidate and his supporters.
Sunday, Jan 24, 2016 · 8:42:49 AM +00:00 · misterwade
Souvarine has shared this link in the comments to a Washington Post article about Clinton and Sanders events in Clinton, Iowa on Saturday. It’s a short but good read www.washingtonpost.com/...