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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHow the Brewing Revolt of Working Americans Is Driving Sanders' Rise
How the Brewing Revolt of Working Americans Is Driving Sanders' Rise (and Fueling Trump's Dangerous Success)Steven Rosenfeld
AlterNet
Sanders, as many people who have watched his rise know, speaks to a range of Americans who feel left behind or abandoned in an age of deepening economic inequality and predatory corporate greed. His agenda is built on reviving governments ability to help people with basics and live with more dignity, whether its ending college debt, accessing health care, fortifying retirements or other necessities. The wealthy can afford to pay more in taxes for a fairer, more balanced, more secure society, Sanders says, while acknowledging that this wont come to pass unless an unprecedented number of Americans vote and oust the right wingers in Congress who just want to serve the rich and ignore everyone else.
Sanders message is not just echoing in the countrys lefty epicenters and midwestern university towns. As the Washington Spectators Rick Perlstein has written, recently covering Sanders in Texas and Indiana, his message is also appealing to red staters who are used to voting for conservativesif they vote at all. He begins his latest report by talking about a construction sales executive he sat next to on the plane to Texas to cover a Sanders rally who praised Sanders middle of the road messages, adding, I like what Ive heard.
Moving on with the Sanders campaign to Indianas rust belt, Perlstein noticed that many supporterswhite and blackalso were motivated for the first time in many years to get involved. At a house party on a night when the campaign was hoping for 30,000 participants nationwide and 100,000 came out, Perlstein reported how many people introduced themselves by saying they played by the rules but couldnt get a decent job and were drowning in education-reletd debt. That prompted standing ovations and the recognition that they werent alone. The next day in another northwestern Indiana town, he met an African-American retiree who just opened a storefront campaign office for Sanders and praised him for following up with Black Lives Matter activistsafter floundering at the NetRoots Nation conference. Im okay with that, she said. Hes learning.
It's rare when presidential campaigns spark such grassroots excitement and when it does its often dismissed by the cynics in the media. Something is happening here, Perlstein wrote, "something that reminds us that our existing models for predicting winners and losers in politics need always be subject to revision.
Sanders message is not just echoing in the countrys lefty epicenters and midwestern university towns. As the Washington Spectators Rick Perlstein has written, recently covering Sanders in Texas and Indiana, his message is also appealing to red staters who are used to voting for conservativesif they vote at all. He begins his latest report by talking about a construction sales executive he sat next to on the plane to Texas to cover a Sanders rally who praised Sanders middle of the road messages, adding, I like what Ive heard.
Moving on with the Sanders campaign to Indianas rust belt, Perlstein noticed that many supporterswhite and blackalso were motivated for the first time in many years to get involved. At a house party on a night when the campaign was hoping for 30,000 participants nationwide and 100,000 came out, Perlstein reported how many people introduced themselves by saying they played by the rules but couldnt get a decent job and were drowning in education-reletd debt. That prompted standing ovations and the recognition that they werent alone. The next day in another northwestern Indiana town, he met an African-American retiree who just opened a storefront campaign office for Sanders and praised him for following up with Black Lives Matter activistsafter floundering at the NetRoots Nation conference. Im okay with that, she said. Hes learning.
It's rare when presidential campaigns spark such grassroots excitement and when it does its often dismissed by the cynics in the media. Something is happening here, Perlstein wrote, "something that reminds us that our existing models for predicting winners and losers in politics need always be subject to revision.
I agree on the Sanders part, but I get really uncomfortable when Trump is not only lumped in with Sanders, but when Mr. Trump's appeal is explained as "populist". I think Mr. Trump derives the core of his support from a very ugly and racist section of the electorate.
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How the Brewing Revolt of Working Americans Is Driving Sanders' Rise (Original Post)
portlander23
Oct 2015
OP
The problem with investing so heavily in a candidate is that it forces you to be so invested in
Ed Suspicious
Oct 2015
#7
Robert Reich described Bernie as a democratic populist while trump is an authoritarian populist. He
Ed Suspicious
Oct 2015
#6
jeff47
(26,549 posts)1. Populism isn't always positive.
There's a whole lot of ugly in some populist movements in history. They can have a lot of nationalism, racism and anti-immigrant sentiment.
We can expect right-wing populism to have some pretty nasty overtones. All the more reason to get moving on a left-wing populism that doesn't.
brooklynite
(94,481 posts)2. Sanders isn't rising...he flattened out in mid-September
leftupnorth
(886 posts)3. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)7. The problem with investing so heavily in a candidate is that it forces you to be so invested in
the success of that candidate even when a better candidate is out there.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)9. As Alex Trebek might say,
"That's it, exactly"
artislife
(9,497 posts)10. Are they still polling
their definition of likely voters?
That explains the polls, then
Uncle Joe
(58,336 posts)4. Kicked and recommended.
Thanks for the thread, portlander.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)5. The media is trying to give "populist" a bad name.
Ed Suspicious
(8,879 posts)6. Robert Reich described Bernie as a democratic populist while trump is an authoritarian populist. He
talked about authoritarian populism being more prevalent in Europe.
Skittles
(153,138 posts)8. I really detest any comparisons of Sanders and Trump
really, there is no comparison - it's like saying CNN is the anti-Fox News
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)11. K&R!