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BootinUp

(46,928 posts)
Wed May 25, 2016, 06:23 PM May 2016

The Truth About the Sanders Movement

Paul Krugman's Conscience of a Liberal Blog


The Truth About the Sanders Movement
May 23, 2016 6:17 pm May 23, 2016 6:17 pm

In short, it’s complicated – not all bad, by any means, but not the pure uprising of idealists the more enthusiastic supporters imagine.

The political scientists Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels have an illuminating discussion of Sanders support. The key graf that will probably have Berniebros boiling is this:

Yet commentators who have been ready and willing to attribute Donald Trump’s success to anger, authoritarianism, or racism rather than policy issues have taken little note of the extent to which Mr. Sanders’s support is concentrated not among liberal ideologues but among disaffected white men.

The point is not to demonize, but, if you like, to de-angelize. Like any political movement (including the Democratic Party, which is, yes, a coalition of interest groups) Sandersism has been an assemblage of people with a variety of motives, not all of them pretty. Here’s a short list based on my own encounters:

1.Genuine idealists: For sure, quite a few Sanders supporters dream of a better society, and for whatever reason – maybe just because they’re very young – are ready to dismiss practical arguments about why all their dreams can’t be accomplished in a day.

2.Romantics: This kind of idealism shades over into something that’s less about changing society than about the fun and ego gratification of being part of The Movement. (Those of us who were students in the 60s and early 70s very much recognize the type.) For a while there – especially for those who didn’t understand delegate math – it felt like a wonderful joy ride, the scrappy young on the march about to overthrow the villainous old. But there’s a thin line between love and hate: when reality began to set in, all too many romantics reacted by descending into bitterness, with angry claims that they were being cheated.

3.Purists: A somewhat different strand in the movement, also familiar to those of us of a certain age, consists of those for whom political activism is less about achieving things and more about striking a personal pose. They are the pure, the unsullied, who reject the corruptions of this world and all those even slightly tainted – which means anyone who actually has gotten anything done. Quite a few Sanders surrogates were Naderites in 2000; the results of that venture don’t bother them, because it was never really about results, only about affirming personal identity.

Continued at NYT

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The Truth About the Sanders Movement (Original Post) BootinUp May 2016 OP
This bravenak May 2016 #1
It's so sickeningly obvious. Cha May 2016 #7
#4 plagues DU! yallerdawg May 2016 #2
K & R SunSeeker May 2016 #3
pretty much realmirage May 2016 #4
Pure gold! Stuckinthebush May 2016 #5
Interesting article. brer cat May 2016 #6
Yay, Paul Krugman! I love the way he's been holding sanders accountable in the Cha May 2016 #8
Krugman has been right on with his Sanders critiques so far SharonClark May 2016 #9
Just read the comments after the article Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin May 2016 #10
This is a good article. LisaM May 2016 #11
Sanders' platform depended on a revolution that flopped Gothmog May 2016 #12
They would take issue with "flopped" BootinUp May 2016 #13
Number 3 is the killer. Big time Number23 May 2016 #14
Damn that's accurate. I love Paul Krugman. A lot. Hekate May 2016 #15
What a great summary of what we've had to deal with lo these many months! nt anotherproletariat May 2016 #16
Sanders real supporters jimw81 May 2016 #17
Good article. Thanks for posting. Arkansas Granny May 2016 #18
 

bravenak

(34,648 posts)
1. This
Wed May 25, 2016, 06:27 PM
May 2016
been ready and willing to attribute Donald Trump’s success to anger, authoritarianism, or racism rather than policy issues have taken little note of the extent to which Mr. Sanders’s support is concentrated not among liberal ideologues but among disaffected white men.

yallerdawg

(16,104 posts)
2. #4 plagues DU!
Wed May 25, 2016, 06:29 PM
May 2016
4.CDS victims: Quite a few Sanders supporters are mainly Clinton-haters, deep in the grip of Clinton Derangement Syndrome; they know that Hillary is corrupt and evil, because that’s what they hear all the time; they don’t realize that the reason it’s what they hear all the time is that right-wing billionaires have spent more than two decades promoting that message. Sanders has gotten a number of votes from conservative Democrats who are voting against her, not for him, and for sure there are liberal supporters who have absorbed the same message, even if they don’t watch Fox News.

Stuckinthebush

(10,816 posts)
5. Pure gold!
Wed May 25, 2016, 06:53 PM
May 2016

I dare someone - a scrappy soul - to post this over there with a poll. The tithe of the post could be:

"Which one are you?"

Provide the link then have the poll choices by number. Priceless!

brer cat

(24,402 posts)
6. Interesting article.
Wed May 25, 2016, 07:26 PM
May 2016

The Achen and Bartels piece referenced in the OP, points out that the Sanders supporters were less likely than Hillary supporters to favor the policies he has offered including higher minimum wage and increasing government spending on health care. It seems there is less of an ideological commitment than an adoption of campaign labels.

Cha

(295,927 posts)
8. Yay, Paul Krugman! I love the way he's been holding sanders accountable in the
Wed May 25, 2016, 07:59 PM
May 2016

NYT!

Bet he's not done yet.

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,111 posts)
10. Just read the comments after the article
Wed May 25, 2016, 10:34 PM
May 2016

Most attack Krugman instead of discussing what was said. Yeah because insulting someone always wins you an argument.

Number23

(24,544 posts)
14. Number 3 is the killer. Big time
Thu May 26, 2016, 02:20 AM
May 2016
3.Purists: A somewhat different strand in the movement, also familiar to those of us of a certain age, consists of those for whom political activism is less about achieving things and more about striking a personal pose. They are the pure, the unsullied, who reject the corruptions of this world and all those even slightly tainted – which means anyone who actually has gotten anything done. Quite a few Sanders surrogates were Naderites in 2000; the results of that venture don’t bother them, because it was never really about results, only about affirming personal identity.


NAILED it.

jimw81

(111 posts)
17. Sanders real supporters
Thu May 26, 2016, 04:57 AM
May 2016

Are from the Occupy wall St movement and far left regressives. Plenty of members of the movement openly admitted on Twitter. That's why you have West and Zogby trying to mess with Dems position on topics like Israel.

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