Time has come for Progressives to look beyond Bernie Sanders
How much cold-hearted games can he play to get his way? In the case of Bernie, not enough
Love for the movement and Amo Bernie
“America’s Dad Bernie” as Kyle Kulinski calls him is not a hero for his charisma. His platform motivates people and his care for others makes him lovable. Be it the mother who purchased much needed insulin for her son at a 10 times cheaper price just across the border in Canada. Be it the guy from town hall who felt like dying with growing medical debt but Bernie talked to him and helped him. Be it Paula Jean Swearengin from West Virginia who was crying with him, telling him about the deaths of her relatives due to coal related complexities or Be the thousands of other people who shared their concerns, stories, memories and their vulnerabilities with him via hundreds of town halls he did. He listened, he cared, and he talked with his heart. It made people shed a tear of concern when he had a sudden heart problem and a tear of joy when he was standing with AOC in NY for his comeback rally. He always talked in speeches like a broken record, stuck on one song. Policy, policy and policy. Medicare for All, Living wage, Money out of politics, Green New deal and so on and so forth. It was the song which never got old. It resonated with young and old people of America and they flooded for his support. In this generation of internet and social media, people could easily find old videos of him and see that his policies, his values and his “looks” have not changed in the last 40 years. He was no partner in the Clinton triangulation. He warned about NAFTA, He did not fall for the Iraq war and was still able to work with American war hero but a war monger late Sen John McCain to get benefits for millions of veterans. He wasn’t afraid to stand against the whole democratic establishment machine in 2016 and managed to win 22 states without making a single personal attack on Hillary. Smears, Media Black-out, daily negative articles, misinformation did not phase Bernie. He always, can, take it. He soaks it in and still gives a 50 minutes speech about his policy positions and while doing all this, never forgets to NOT comb his hair. That’s America’s Dad Bernie or Amo Bernie
Disappointment with Bernie
We were all waiting for him to declare his run for presidential bid. This time he created an infrastructure beforehand, figured out the operation, hired talented people from different walks of life. People who come from different identities but had as similar progressive vision as him. They worked tirelessly for him. He was able to connect with a lot of people. The response to the movement placed him as a leading fundraiser for many quarters in 2019. He had the largest number of volunteers. Everyone in the establishment media either ignored or belittled him and the movement. They called him socialist and the movement a “socialist nightmare”. “how are we going to pay for it?” was the question of the season. He apparently made some rich people’s skin crawl. There were countless efforts (legit as well as cheeky) to overcome Bernie’s run. His supporters were slotted in as “Bernie Bros”. They were told, they are “mean” to point out flaws in other candidates. They are “mean” to defend their candidate. They are “mean” to show their disdain if someone else smears Bernie or the movement. But everyone in the movement knew this was coming. It won’t be a smooth ride. There will be obstacles along the way. But the movement was paying off. Bernie’s rise was freighting establishment democrats. Debates questions were formed around his platform. He was one of the leaders in every poll. He was/is the candidate to beat. He won the popular vote in the first three primaries. He started off the race on a high. All the hard work done by his team, volunteers and Bernie himself, seemed to be paying off.
And then the fateful Monday came, a Monday before super Tuesday saw the race take its decisive turn with an unprecedented move by establishment democrats to gather behind Biden. The scattered establishment field was no longer available. Everybody backed Biden. It was an unexpected blow for the progressive campaign. Bernie lost most of the states on super Tuesday. But it was not over yet. It was easier to strategize now because the target to beat was clear. Biden, “The gaffe machine”. Bernie probably made a mistake to not make any moves on Monday to combat the news cycle. But mistakes can happen. You move on. “Now, your opponent is clear. Go hard on him. Have your energy drink, put on your boxing gloves, corner your opponent and hit him hard, let them bring those punches. C’mon Bernie. Let’s get this done. Let’s shred through his record. His comments and moves for social security, NAFTA, Iraq war, Anita Hill, Resistance to desegregation, work on homophobic bills, bankruptcy bill, lies about civil rights movement, lies about getting arrested while meeting Nelson Mandela etc.… There is so much to pick from.”
The whole Bernie base waited for Bernie to sucker punch Biden (not literally only figuratively, before anyone gets any ideas) out of this race via his ads, media interviews and debates. Many of them might have dreamed about Bernie telling Biden on the face, “You are a liar and you don’t deserve to be a president”, but that is far from reality as we know it.
In the actual world, Bernie keeps calling Joe as a friend and a decent person. He might be a good friend of Bernie, but he is also a proponent of various bills which have had a long-lasting horrible impact on millions of citizens of this country. Especially his crime bill, which has made the misery of a generation of black and colored minority citizens of the USA. Biden’s record needed to be checked with severe scrutiny. Mainstream media and politicians were not going to do it. It was Bernie and his campaign’s responsibility to make people aware of it. Make every effort to enlighten citizens with facts of Biden’s records and history. Bernie’s friendship is not bigger than the presidency of this country or the fate of the millions of people in the US and worldwide, getting affected by it.
Bernie either fails to understand the seriousness of the situation or lacks the will to punch the killer blow. Bernie hasn’t pushed Biden on anything other than social security. He has consistently said that Biden can win against Trump when he should be making the case that he himself is more electable. He has also lost any bargaining power with democratic establishment when he agreed to support Biden with no conditions if Biden has plurality. He has consistently made an effort to be civil with everyone and not change his ways when a bit of incivility and aggression is in order as the whole campaign is on the line. His refusal to attack his opponent has disillusioned his supporters and has only helped Biden. Current global epidemic of the corona virus has again put Bernie’s policies on the map. Everyone now knows the importance of single payer healthcare, A government’s role in providing people relief in such as well as everyday basic problems. Even few republican politicians have come to accept some of the socialist rhetoric and policies which Bernie has supported all his life. In this whole episode, the democratic establishment and especially the front runner Biden have failed to provide any solid solutions to the problems at hand. Recent bill, which passed in senate 96–0 is again a major giveaway to large corporations. Bernie can say he led the way to get protection for gig economy workers but still he has not dared to directly criticize anyone from democratic party for their involvement in the workings and details of the emergency rescue package.
The disappointment of Bernie is not about his policy or his character. It’s about, no matter how distinct he, his inspirations and his honesty are, how much rogue can he go from his colleagues to push for his agenda? How much of Washington friendship investment is he willing to sacrifice to gain power and press for his policies? How much cold-hearted games can he play to get his way? In the case of Bernie, not enough. Considering where he brought progressive movement from 2016 to 2020, it feels silly to think this way but given the resistance he has faced throughout the last 4 -5 years, he still has never considered to truly challenge the establishment in ways that are difficult to control. He still wants to win with rules set by the powerful. Rules that are set to tilt the scale towards establishment. Rules that can be changed any time to favor them. He has never expressed anything in public to challenge this arrangement. He has never tried to denounce the democratic party or its ways. He has never threatened to use his influence against the democratic party. US needs a politician like him who can change the course of a nation, but Bernie’s lack of combative nature has stopped progressive movement just before the finish-line and establishment democrats are dragging it back a few meters.
Anyone new?
Is there anyone who will take this movement forward? anyone else to look forward to? There are lot of names coming to the mind as potential ones. But it can’t be one person. There must be many like Bernie who can inspire the progressive movement. Most popular group is “The Squad”. Congresswomen AOC, Ayanna Presley, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, A group of young, inexperienced women politicians who came from nowhere and won the establishment challenge against all odds. AOC has been the biggest proponent of the “Green New Deal”. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are working on many great progressive bills like lunch debt shaming, credit barrier removal etc. Congressman Ro Khanna has also been impressive. He was refusing corporate PAC money from a district full of Silicon Valley billionaires before Bernie made it popular in 2016 and has been the strong opposition voice against US foreign policy and never-ending wars. Nina Turner, the senator from Ohio is one of the most charismatic and influential speakers of this generation of politicians and has been one of the backbones of Bernie’s movement and progressive agenda. Along with these few, there are many young and old people whom Bernie has inspired. But, all the examples above, again, have favored working within democratic party framework. They have chosen to play by the same rules we discussed some time back. Progressive movement can go only a step further with 40 years worth of democratic neoliberal power working against them every step of the way. In future, if any one of these lands in the same situation as what Bernie is facing today, they will most probably take the same route as Bernie.
Beyond Democrats (and Republicans)
Bernie’s is the pinnacle of the success, progressive movement has seen in recent times. So close to becoming the leader of the free world, almost there but would probably miss out. There are some progressives in the house who will always contribute to the progressive cause, but it will always be within the confines of the 2 party system and when you have that, progressives would always get the short end of the stick. Progressive policies are really popular in the USA, but people have trust issues with the electability of the people who represent those policies. Progressives lack the adamancy and ruthlessness of the tea party movement. 2 parties have made sure that it is fundamentally impossible to create a third party. But with a population of 330 million or so, it is naive to think that these 2 parties can completely represent views and needs of the people. Union members (not just leaders) need to think; if a two party system serving their cause. Blue-collar workers need to unite to create an alternative force to push major parties in their direction. Members of the 2 major parties should be afraid to lose their power if they don’t take care of the needs of the blue-collar workers. New leaders should look for running independent or third party to create a viable alternative political universe. Local legislatures should be represented by more than 2 major parties. Young left leaning leaders should be ready to take the risk of running against the 2 parties if they think these parties are not representatives of their views.
Albeit a current predicament of Bernie’s presidential campaign, his hard work has taken progressive, movement to unthinkable heights. People are not just accepting but demanding the policies he has put forward, to be implemented. He will do so much more but Progressives also need to look for options beyond the 2 party system. They need to find their own place instead of trying to adjust in the framework that’s currently trying to kill progressive movement by hook or by crook.
Originally published in Medium on March 31, 2020.