2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIn a political and media world filled with propaganda and manipulation one thing is certain -
the corporations and billionaires and their owned media do not support Bernie Sanders.
What's not so certain:
What's the plan for Trump? The corporate media has built him up with MILLIONS in free advertising. The took down Ben Carson (though they now try to blame foreign policy which is laughable). They could have attacked Trump but they haven't which begs the question - what purpose does he serve? Will he be the nominee or has he been used to manipulate the primary for the chosen establishment candidate.
Time will tell.
ErisDiscordia
(443 posts)and I have no answer. I don't know why any of the GOP candidates are running...they have no visible means of (popular) support. The Oligarchs attached to some have been pointed out, but those are the ones doing the worst.
This is a primary season for the record books. may the 99% win.
bklyncowgirl
(7,960 posts)The candidates who are suitable to the powers that be are Bush, Kasich and Rubio on the Republican side and Clinton on the Democratic side. If the voters reject these then an independent run by Mike Bloomberg may be in the offing.
My theory is that Trump is being used to take out Cruz, a candidate who the GOP establishment and the corporations who back them fear will destroy the party. Once the vile Teddy boy is done for the demise of the Donald will be immanent and Bush, Rubio or Kasich (Christie less likely due to the fact that if he shows up again in New Jersey he's likely to be met with irate citizens carrying tar and feathers--and mops) will sweep the big moderate states which go late in the primary season and that plus the superdelegates will put their guy on top.
Trump could go third party but I can't see Trump, with his anti-free trade views being acceptable to the PTB. Billionaires can be brought down--remember Ross Perot. Trump would be easy, so easy by comparison--or maybe not. There are a lot of pissed off people out there.
On the democratic side, I think the powers that be were thoroughly blindsided by the Sanders surge. They are in a panic, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Sanders with the collusion of the media who had until now happily touted him as a loveable, avuncular longshot, hurling invective his way. It is something the Democrats are very good at--ask Howard Dean. Republicans may secretly view their Tea Party and Evangelical base with contempt but they treat them with kid gloves. The Democratic establishment makes no secret of its contempt for its economic populist base--with the exception of ethnic minorities of course. Unless Democrats stick with Sanders through the shitstorm that is just beginning, the PTB will win. If Sanders somehow pulls it off, if Hillary falls in Iowa and New Hampshire to a populist surge expect someone to come out of the woodwork to challenge Sanders. Kerry, perhaps, he's done this before, or maybe Al Gore if he can still be trusted to do what the PTB wants and if Sanders wins the establishment will be perfectly comfortable with the mainstream republicans or Bloomberg.
Sanders, unlike Trump has pledged not to go third party. It would be nearly impossible for him to do so at any rate. Democrats were badly burned when Ralph Nader pulled votes away from Al Gore in 2000. He has to win the nomination or go home.
I do think that sanders could attract Trump voters away from a mainstream Republican in the unlikely chance that he is the Democratic nominee.
Skwmom
(12,685 posts)VulgarPoet
(2,872 posts)I know for good goddamn fact Clinton's establishment.
bklyncowgirl
(7,960 posts)he'd be a more valid candidate and more of a threat to Sanders.
I'm thinking he's way too liberal for the PTB crowd to rally behind as an alternative to Hillary even though he's no iconoclast like Sanders. He may be playing the John Edwards role in this campaign--siphon votes off from the insurgent like Edwards did against Dean and Obama.
Mind you I'm not suggesting that O'Malley shares Edwards obvious moral shortcomings. He seems like a good guy--just the wrong guy this year.