Time for Bernie

Photo courtesy of Jenni Siri

"The major issue is how do we create an economy that works for all of our people rather than a small number of billionaires, and the second issue directly related is the fact that as a result of the disastrous Supreme Court decision on Citizens United, we now have a political situation where billionaires are literally able to buy elections and candidates. Let’s not kid ourselves. That is the reality right now."

Bernie Sanders

Consider this: The last Vermonter to live in the White House was Calvin Coolidge. He left office on March 4, 1929. There hasn't been another one since. It's about time we elect another resident of the Green Mountain State to the presidency. This time, though, let's be bold and send the anti-Coolidge to Washington! I've got just the guy for the job, too!

Finally! An honest-to-goodness, capital "P" Progressive to prove to the rest of the world that Hillary Clinton is not a foregone conclusion - and that maybe the Democrats have a little more imagination than seemed to be the case only forty-eight hours ago.

Most Americans have no idea who Bernie Sanders is. That is bound to change in the next month or so.  Bernie is a "public servant", a term that has been perverted over the years: Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell are not - and never have been - "public servants" Bernie is the real thing. For a third of a century, first as the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, then as a congressman, then as a senator, Bernie's agenda has been The People's agenda. He is the first candidate since Harry Truman who is not at all beholden to the interests of corporate America. His announced intentions to seek the presidency is a rare stroke of jolly good luck for all of us.

A not very telegenic Brooklyn-born Jew as the nominee of the Democratic party? I know that the Republicans must be salivating at the very idea. They shouldn't. For every day that goes by, it's increasingly apparent to people that "the party of Abraham Lincoln" has devolved into an organized criminal enterprise. He'll never gain much ground with the folks in the deep south, but the rest of the country should not be written off. All you need to do is listen to what the man has to say, and what he stands for. Bernie has called for a political revolution in America. Finally, a politician with the courage to say it! I think we might very well find ourselves at the dawn of a new era of good old days. Wouldn't THAT be cool!

"What Wall Street and credit and companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do, who make predatory loans. While the bankers wear three-piece suits and don't break the knee caps of those who can't pay back, they still are destroying people's lives."

Hillary & Elizabeth
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To those of you who might admonish me with the words, "But Degan, it's time for a woman to serve!" I would only respond by saying that I agree; we're long overdue for a woman chief-executive - two centuries overdue to be exact - but not Hillary Clinton. I was hoping that Elizabeth Warren might throw her hat into the ring but apparently that's not going to happen. She says she's not interested and she means it. Other than Bernie and Sherrod Brown of Ohio (and maybe one or two others) she's the only senator who has stood up (and stood out) as a true, unapologetic "LIBERAL", never trying to flee from the term the GOP has managed to turn into an expletive during the last three decades. I would have happily supported a Warren candidacy - giddily even! Since that's never going to happen (at least not in 2016) we need to confront the grim reality that a Hillary candidacy has the very real potential to self-destruct, or that a second Clinton administration within the confines of a single generation could blowup in our faces. As I've said too many times to count, with Democrats like her, who the hell needs Republicans? Seriously.

"Balancing the budget on the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children and the poor - is not only immoral, it is bad economic policy. It is something that must be vigorously opposed. "

Although not a Democrat (his independence being all the more reason to admire him) Bernie Sanders, more than any other Democrat in Washington today, has not forgotten the political legacy that has been bequeathed to generations of progressives by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Should registered Democrats across the country be naive enough to hand the nomination to Hillary Clinton, we'll have no other choice than to cast our ballots for her on Election Day 2016, she being the lesser of two very distinct evils. The only bright spot, as far as I'm concerned, is the undeniable fact that as unpalatable as she is as a candidate, she is so much preferable to anything the Republicans are bound to puke up that a vote for her would be the only choice of anyone entering the voting booth with a bare grasp of the issues facing America today. I'll tell you this, though: If I'm forced to make that choice, I'll be holding my nose.

 "Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and everywhere, whose policies are destroying America."

They'll accuse Bernie of waging class warfare. That's exactly what he's doing - and he ain't taking any prisoners, pardner.

It can't be emphasized enough that we should not make the mistake of assuming that a somewhat  gruff, Jewish guy is unelectable. That's what people were thinking (if not saying out loud) eight years ago when a black politician from Chicago - NOT KENYA! - announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. It's a different world than the one our parents grew up in. This country very soon will no longer be run by elderly white Protestant guys with beer bellies and bad breath. Bernie Sanders' time has come. Join me while we make some history.

 "Of course the Republicans have long wanted to privatize Social security and destroy it. But Social Security has been the most valuable social program in the history of the United States."

Yeah, it's time for Bernie alright. High time.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY 

SUGGESTED READING:

Gail Collins has an excellent piece in this morning's New York Times on the candidacy of Bernie Sanders:

Bernie Sanders Yells His Mind

As always, she's right on target and as witty as they come.

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

George Harrison's 1978 LP, which was simply called "George Harrison", is not widely remembered today; none of the tracks on it come easily to mind for most people - not even a lot of fanatics of the Fabs. Although critically well received, it didn't sell particularly well at the time of its release. A year later you could pick it up in the cut-out bin for under two bucks. I've never been able to understand this because, for my money anyway, it's his best record - better than All Things Must Pass even. In fact, it's his masterpiece. Every track on it is an absolute gem. Here's a link to listen to it in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nwTVLIIJYI

One more Bernie quote for the road:

"If you ask me my view on the environment, on women's rights, on gay rights - I am a liberal. I don't have a problem with that at all. Some of my best friends are liberal."

Gotta love the dude. Ya just gotta!