My thanks to Illinibeatle who posted a fine diary about Super Tuesday. Positive lessons (if you especially are a Bernie backer) can be gleaned from that story. Bernie can win from Jacobin Magazine gives a very analytic viewpoint of the uniqueness of this year’s presidential election and its impact on the historical political past of the last 60+ years.
Factors enumerated countless times in DK and elsewhere have been elucidated about this unusual opportunity we as voters (not just as Democrats) are presented with now. It may be many years before another candidate arises such as Bernie Sanders who has a 50 year record of walking the walk, not just talking the talk.
1. Incredible consistency in support of civil rights
2. Populism in its best sense: we, not me.
3. Programs espoused that the majority of Americans of all political persuasions enthusiastically support:
A. equal pay for Women
B. protection for freedom of choice
C. Medicare-for-all
D. Reform of a broken criminal justice system
E. Tax fairness for Americans, redistributing wealth away from the 1%, including by eliminating some of the loopholes rich people use to advantage themselves, while placing societal burdens on the rest of us for the support of those people who have been made to suffer (e.g. Walmart employees receiving food stamps etc. because they do not earn a living wage from their full-time employment).
F. Ensuring that a person working full-time makes a living wage, not merely a barely subsistent wage.
G. Ending the cycle of endless wars. We are not the world’s policeman, nor should we be. This is NOT the same as being a doormat for other countries’ (or political groups like ISIS) whose actions would truly hurt us, at home.
H. Ending disastrous trade policies which lower America’s standard of living (except for the very rich) while costing our workforce millions of well-paying jobs.
I. Investment on infrastructure upon which our daily lives are so dependent and which allows us to transport goods safely all across our country. This not only includes Flint, Michigan’s outdated, dangerous water supply (unfortunately too many other communities still harbor unsafe lead piping in their municipal water supply) but the crumbling roads, bridges, rail networks etc.
J. Transforming our economy from a net user of fossil fuels to one supporting clean, non-polluting energy sources, which by virtue of newly developed accessibility, will become not only cheaper, but cheaper than the current options.
4. Supporting hope for the future, instead of “no, we can’t” world view view.
5. Change now, not waiting for “incremental” alterations (which basically means torpid, not full-hearted endorsement of radical change—change that most of us want NOW.