Bernie Sanders' Old-Time Religion

[LWolf]

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is this summer's campaign phenomenon. Consider the crowds he is drawing. In Madison, Wisconsin, he recently attracted a crowd of nearly 10,000 raucous, enthusiastic supporters. This on a beautiful summer's evening when many Wisconsinites are at the lake or on vacation. And in Iowa, he drew 2,500 equally fervent supporters in one of the biggest campaign events to date in that early-caucus state.

Why? Why such success, and why so soon? I will suggest that Bernie Sanders has tapped into something very deep in the American psyche: the realization that America is at its greatest, and at its best, when it is standing for progressive values.

So why is Bernie Sanders so popular? I will submit that perhaps it is because many see this progressive legacy to be at grave risk. The Republican nominee for vice president in 2012, Paul Ryan, sought to convert Medicare into a voucher system as part of his Orwellian "Path to Prosperity" budget. And what about voting rights? In state after state, Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted so-called "voter identification laws" on the pretext that there is a crisis of ineligible voters casting ballots. There is no crisis. It is entirely imaginary, trumped-up. The real purpose behind these statutes, according to civil-rights organizations and the ACLU, is nothing less than voter suppression.

There is a breeze stirring this summer. American progressives perceive that the accomplishments of the last century are in jeopardy. At the same time, aspirations are high. Idealism and faith in our common abilities, after all, are what built the United States into a great nation. Will Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination for president? It is far too early to say. Will he reignite a movement for greater social, racial, and economic justice in America? Perhaps he already has.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-reid-jr/bernie-sanders-old-time-r_b_7739164.html

[ladjf]

1. Excellent post. All Americans should read it. nt

[LWolf]

2. The loss of all the social and economic progress made

is happening. Everybody should care, and everybody should be willing to stand up, push back, and put an end to those losses.

Then start pushing forward again.

[ladjf]

3. That would be wonderful. My cynicism says "not likely". nt

[LWolf]

5. The only way forward,

the only real hope, is to get people to move through cynicism and persevere.

[ladjf]

7. I agree with you logic. nt

[Kurovski]

4. K&R(NT)

[madfloridian]

6. What really hurts is our country's public school tradition...

has been harmed by not just the GOP, but our own party. The policies Bush wanted to put into place were not allowed by the Democrats. But when Obama took office they were pushed even harder than Bush had pushed them.

That's when our country is most at risk, when both parties are on the same page and it's the wrong one.