Bernie seems to have worn out his media welcome. Will he still stay in the Democratic race through to the end?
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It’s Friday, so I had to have a bit of fun with the title. Onwards.
If media outlets and the various tells that give them away are to be believed, Bernie Sanders has officially worn out his welcome.
There’s this piece at Mother Jones, “The Decline and Fall of Bernie Sanders,” wherein Kevin Drum laments the bitter turn Sanders seems to have taken.
Has he?
Or to put it more accurately, is Sanders really more bitter now than he was upon the cusp of his campaign? Because I seem to recall an elderly gentleman who always had two fists up, ready to fight a corrupt system. Whether Wall Street or the Democratic nominating process.
And in bigger news, there’s “I Felt the Bern But the Bros Are Extinguishing the Flames” by Sally Kohn over at CNN. Kohn discusses how during her endorsement of Sanders in New York, a number of people booed her speech when she sent some mild praise the way of Hillary Clinton. She also references the violent-ridden social media reaction from Sanders supporters when/if he is criticized.
I’m sure it doesn’t hold much of a candle to the #TrumpTrain trollers, but no doubt there does exist a BernieBro cohort who are rabidly against Sanders criticism.
Then there is the recent headline news of Venezuela’s economic and political crisis, a country that embraced Hugo Chavez’s ultra-left vision, then furthered it under current president, Nicolas Maduro. Two years ago, I had the good fortune to live briefly in Colombia, and will never forget speaking with a Venezuelan woman who had temporarily moved to Bogota.
Venezuela was unsafe, she told me. Chavez’s policies were ruinous. Now we see just how bad: a New York Times article opens with the heartbreaking report of several unnecessary death of newborns in a hospital, due to power outages. Just another day, just another tragedy. Read with the understanding that “Socialism” is very much responsible.
Of course, Venezuela’s decline has been in the works for years now. One wonders at the timing; where was this Socialism hit-piece six months ago?
All this comes after the Nevada convention, wherein certain Sanders delegates expressed their anger through yelling over the convention chairwoman, later making threats against her. From Time, “Sanders supporters threw chairs, started fights, and booed officials.”
Obviously, this is unacceptable. Also deeply disturbing, as Kohn pointed out, is that this type of anger manifestation is par for the course with Donald Trump fans. One proto-violent presidential candidate is more than enough; could we even survive two?
Additionally, I find it hard to believe that the vitriol leveled against Hillary Clinton is entirely to do with her ethical and/or professional deficiencies. For the record, I would never vote for Clinton… at least, I do not think I could be convinced to vote for someone who clearly sees herself as above the law, above reproach, but not above demonizing other women if they happen to, you know, have been seduced (or assaulted?) by her husband.
But I wonder if a man had behaved in a similar fashion, but had the same experience (private law practice, senator, Secretary of State) if he would be seen as so wholly unacceptable.
I don’t know.
Whatever the case, it appears the Democratic Party’s media friends have figured out that if they don’t shut Sanders down, he could hurt an already weak candidate in fending off the upcoming General Election attacks of the Republicans.
Party Unity, people. It ain’t always pretty.
But at least it’s an option for Democrats. If the #NeverTrump movement stays alive, the GOP could remain permanently split through December.
And that may be even more important to an HRC victory than Sanders’ surrender.
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Source: 30dB.com – Bernie Sanders
The main stream media may be turning on Bernie but social media is as solid as ever. Bernie’s trending around 50% positive even with the last week of Bernie bashing. Compare that to Hillary and Trump who have been both trending downwards over the last month into the high 30’s and low 40’s percent positive. — Howard K. 30db
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Photo:Flickr/DonkeyHotey