The Uncharted Territory of Bernie Sanders and the Movement Behind Him

[Uncle Joe]

The Bernie Sanders campaign is beholden to no one in high places, has no affiliated elites to please or negotiate with, and has helped unleash new working-class militancy in America. The question now is, how can we sustain this extraordinary left turn in American public life to transform society?

(snip)

Sanders and the movement behind him are not a mere repetition of the New Deal coalition, however. Times have changed. The Green New Deal is the most obvious example of a program designed to address a critical problem that didn’t exist a century ago. Other programmatic elements of the campaign tackle issues that the New Deal either avoided (racial justice) or only hinted at (universal health care) or, like climate change, were invisible to the naked eye (precarious labor, mass immigration, childcare, college education). Some of what the Sanders movement proposes is reminiscent of New Deal reforms but goes beyond them, as for example the call for joint labor-management control of industry.

(snip)

History is not a morality play. The point in recording the New Deal’s insider beginnings is not to create a rap sheet to taint its accomplishments. But it must be noted that, unlike FDR, if Bernie Sanders becomes president, he will do so not only as an outsider but as the leader of a mass movement.

(snip)

The Sanders campaign is unlike any of its rivals. This has much more to do with its poetry in motion, its elan, the way it summons the enthusiasm of millions living in domestic exile, its electrifying appeal to the solidarity of strangers, than its programmatic specifics (foundational as they most certainly are). This is what gives the campaign the feel of a mass movement. Other campaigns have their enthusiasts, gather large crowds, compile vast mailing lists, and on rare occasions helicopter into “bad neighborhoods,” places campaigns typically fear to tread. But they bear the imprint of the conventional. None would dream of describing themselves as a mass movement. The notion that they might need to invoke one to achieve their goals is unthinkable for political creatures bred within the prevailing order — in a word, to insiders.

(snip)

At this writing the powers that be are marshalling all their capacities to drive the movement under. They may succeed. The question then will be how to sustain this extraordinary left turn in American public life.


https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/03/bernie-sanders-campaign-fdr-new-deal

[TexasTowelie]

1. Jacobin?

[still_one]

12. +++

[NurseJackie]

20. I know, right?

Joe/Kamala or Biden/Harris 2020!!
Jump on the Biden Bandwagon & abandon the revolution!!

[William769]

2. What movement?

[relayerbob]

3. Easy answer - Join the team!!!!

[msongs]

4. oh the evil powers that be. does that include the bernie army choosing to sit out elections lol nt

[Demsrule86]

5. Jacoibinmag no less...well Sanders may very well cause the reelection of Donald Trump if he stays in

and continues his assault on our nominee...he should concede. I despise him and have interest in anything he supports.

[Uncle Joe]

7. That's an inconvenient truth Faux pas.

[Faux pas]

14. Sad huh?

[msongs]

16. the inconvenient truth is that bernie's revolution is losing big time. nt

[BComplex]

22. It's actually not. Biden may be winning the primary because everyone is freaked out.

But this movement is deadly serious, and many people are hoping for this type of change in our country. However, the powers that be are definitely not in favor of it.

[LanternWaste]

24. The data supports Biden, it does not support your diaphanous premise.

A vague, diaphanous bumper stickers alleging "many people are hoping for..." holds no real credibility. It's merely an allegation.

(use of objective evidence/data to support a premise is rational thought. Alleging a thing without objective evidence/data to support it, by definition irrational-- in other words, just another bumper sticker)

[BComplex]

25. No. It's reality on the ground.

It's reality in huge rallies all over the country.

[LanternWaste]

29. Anecdotes are not data.

Crowd size does not equate to anything other than crowd size.

Don't dismiss rational thought simply because it interferes with your narrative...

[BComplex]

31. You're walking a fine line telling me I'm dismissing "rational thought"

That kind of nasty statement is not permitted under DU rules. I'm not going to report it, but I hope you make a note that a discussion does not have to get personal to be valid.

However, I am basing my assessment on a great many news stories on the rallies that Bernie has held, where they showed the crowd size (which I saw with my own eyes), and the millions of supporters who donated to his campaign, and because of the news stories that have shared that many of the trump voters wanted the kind of "revolution" from trump that Bernie has been talking about, but they never got from trump. It's been all over the news for a couple of years...AOC has talked about it, MSNBC, CNN have all talked about it, so it has nothing whatsoever to do with me "dismissing rational thought". This is a phenomena that is going on in real time, and ignoring it, or dissing those who are talking about it, will not make it disappear overnight.

[TwilightZone]

36. Rational thought means understanding simple math.

Nothing you listed means anything if Sanders can't get the votes. It's been pretty well established by now by actual data, actual votes, and actual delegate totals -- and not irrelevant stuff like TV appearances -- that Biden is winning, and winning easily. He's on track to end up with 2400 delegates, more than 400 more than a simple majority.

Here's some more simple math: 99+% to 0.1% -- https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-primary-forecast/

[TwilightZone]

32. Now, if they'd just show up to vote...

Sanders would be doing better.

[hack89]

34. But not reality in the polling stations

there is only one reality that means anything and that is political power through ballots. Sanders can't do that regardless of the rallies. Why?

[GulfCoast66]

37. The only powers that be are the voters.

Face it few Democratic voters want anything to do with a self avowed socialist. Even on DU which is way left of the average democratic voter he is not popular.

Add in a curmudgeon and not a Democrat. And really, if the movement was as big and serious as you suggest I would think they would bother to actually vote.

[BComplex]

38. OMG! Do you really think nobody on DU is for Bernie?

The problem is, anytime anyone says anything even a little bit good about Bernie, we have this ARMY of Biden extremists who absolutely POUNCE AND DENOUNCE everything that is said. It has actually turned many people toward Bernie on this site (as per private emails) because people are so sick and tired of being bullied.

Just look at this thread. Who are you guys? You're an army of really hard hitting posters whose posts are extreme in the negative about anything Bernie.

Anytime someone posts a thread saying anything nice about Bernie or his beliefs, here come 20 or 25 Biden supporters trashing everything that is said. Nobody can start a thread without this being the result.

Many people have already quit posting on DU because of it.

[GulfCoast66]

39. Did you even read my post?

I was responding to the crux of the argument that “the powers that be” are the reason Biden is winning. Which frankly is trump level conspiracy shit. Another way of blaming it on the Establishment. Biden is winning because more Democratic voters are actually casting their ballot for him. A provable, factual statement.

Then I gave a couple of reasons why.

1. He is a self titled socialist. Democratic Socialist. Adjective/noun, if I remember my 40 year old grammar classes. The one describes the other. He calls himself a socialist. I did not criticize him for that and did not even criticize socialism. I just stated a majority of Democratic voters do not identify with the term. A fact also supported by votes up till now.

Finally, I never even insinuated that no one on DU supports Bernie. I read the site daily so am acutely aware he has supporters. But even on DU, which is way more liberal than the average Democratic voter, Bernie is not supported by a majority.

Unless you take offense to my description of him as a curmudgeon, I in no way insulted Bernie nor his supporters, many of whom I respect.

I think Bernie’s message is helpful for the party. I don’t think his continuing to campaign is.

[BeckyDem]

8. I know. lol

[Turin_C3PO]

9. Because without unity,

Trump gets re-elected. That’s why. Bernie has no shot at the nomination. It’s time to unite behind the presumptive nominee and get to work on getting Trump out of office.

[dubyadiprecession]

13. I sure hope Bernie does the right thing this time.

If Bernie doesn’t do well tonight, he needs to quit and back Joe for the nomination. Dragging it out last time didn’t help anyone, but trump.

[TwilightZone]

35. Not really.

There is always a subset of voters who won't vote because their candidate didn't win the nomination. It happens every cycle. We just have to account for it and ignore the ones who are intent on disruption and won't show up regardless.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. History may not be a morality play

but it's good to know that satire is still satire!

[George II]

11. Five years into the "Revolution" and "movement" and it's still uncharted territory?

Blame that on the skipper.

[Laelth]

15. That's a beautifully-written piece. n/t

-Laelth

[Uncle Joe]

21. I thought so as well Laelth.

[MineralMan]

17. "poetry in motion, its elan" Despite all that, he's losing, isn't he?

So much for the "movement..."

After the convention, we'll be reading articles in Jacobin about "What Might Have Been a Revolution..."

Feh!

[NCProgressive]

18. Oh brother

At this writing the powers that be are marshalling all their capacities to drive the movement under. They may succeed. The question then will be how to sustain this extraordinary left turn in American public life.

"What powers that be" would those be? The voters who are voting with an overwhelming majority for Joe Biden?

I suggest such OPs be not posted here anymore because they are divisive and the sow the seeds that somehow Biden's victory was illegitimate and brought about by a mythical "powers that be" -- it is no different from Trump supporters railing about "the deep state."

A more honorable way would be to say, "Sorry, people didn't buy our wares and we lost" - not come up with conspiracy theories.

[Mr.Bill]

19. You can call yourself a revolutionary,

you can call it a movement, and many other terms can apply.

But if you've spent 30 years in Congress, you can't call yourself an outsider.

And if you are trying to appeal to people who want an outsider running things, forget it. Those people elected theirs in 2016.

[Walleye]

23. No. The Democratic Party is the mass movement.

[Hoyt]

26. There's enough crud going on without having to listen/read to more from Sanders.

[samnsara]

27. joe needs to just campaign as if its the general.....we have a madmad to defeat..

[brush]

28. FDR was smart enough to not run on New Deal programs.

[NNadir]

30. Well a tour through fantasyland is definitely uncharted.

I think though the world community under the circumstances has had more than enough of senile politicians repeating their delusions of self importance out loud.

[hack89]

33. It can summon enthusiasm but not votes

hence it's failure to dare.