2016 Postmortem
Showing Original Post only (View all)"Five to One, Baby ...." [View all]
I am 100% pleased with Bernie Sanderss showing today in Nevada. Obviously, I would have been happier if he had won the contest by a few percentage points. And Id get out of this chair, and dance an Irish jig if he had won by more than 10%. But he did not. So, on one hand, I congratulate the Clinton supporters; on the other hand, in the context of a political insurgency, I know that we have done much better today than necessary, in terms of continuing this struggle.
An insurgency is, of course, a fight against the an established form of government. While throughout my entire adult life, as a registered member of the Democratic Party, I have voted for the Democratic candidate in literally every presidential election. Yet, in these same years, I have witnessed our partys leadership move so far to the right, that many Democratic politicians today that they would have been accurately viewed as conservative republicans in the past.
I believe that the insurgency, which is represented by Bernie Sanders today, is the healthy response to the class warfare that the 1% has systematically engaged in over the past fifty years. In this sense, I am reminded of Minister Malcolm Xs saying that the difference between some Democrats and republicans is the difference between a fox and a wolf. The fox smiles to your face, but attacks you from behind; while the wolf always makes it clear that he is your enemy.
I appreciate that many good people on this forum are happy that Hillary Clinton won todays contest. I know that they are sincere in their belief that Hillary is the better candidate. That they support her does not surprise, nor bother me. We look at pretty much the same facts and circumstances, and come to different conclusions. I like and respect them as much as I did before the 2016 primaries began, last year.
I understand why they assume that todays results would be discouraging for Bernies supporters. Indeed, these results would signify defeat for an establishment candidate. But that is a very different metric, than the one used to measure victory for an insurgency. And since by definition, an insurgency always begins as a minority effort, relatively few people understand the on-going goal of the insurgents efforts.
As a non-violent, pro-constitutional democracy insurgents, we do not need to win every time we engage the opposition. Rather, state-by-state, we are changing the publics perception of the contest . Its not the same as whats happening in the republican primary, for their rebel is a billionaire who requires that his followers NOT think. Our insurgency is rooted in people thinking for themselves.
A clear sign of our success is found when the opposition increases its attacks. In every instance, we should be using each attack as an opportunity to engage in a conversation, both with our opposition, and with the greater public. In order to achieve positive results, we need to remain positive. For we are engaged in a historical struggle, part of a long tradition in this country.
Its related to the great insurgent movements including Gandhis in India, and Kings in the USA. It is in the tradition that the democratically-inspired among the Founding Fathers encouraged. And it ties in with Jim Morrison singing, Five to one, Baby, one in five.
Peace,
H2O Man