Editorials & Other Articles

Jefferson23

(30,099 posts) Sun Oct 5, 2014, 11:01 AM Oct 2014

Bernie Sanders: Longterm Democratic strategy is “pathetic”

Senator Bernie Sanders sits down with Salon to talk inequality, the GOP, and whether or not he'll run for president

Bernie Sanders is a legendary political independent from Vermont. Over the years, he has served as mayor of Burlington, the largest city in that state; as a member of the House of Representatives; and (currently) as a United States Senator. We met last week in his office in one of the Senate office buildings in Washington, D.C., and discussed the Clinton years, the way to beat the Right, and whether or not he should run for president in 2016. Needless to say, his take on the current political situation is not exactly the kind of thing you usually hear when you walk the marble halls of the nation’s capital.

This conversation has been lightly edited.

I’ve followed what you have been saying for a long time. You and I are both concerned about the big change of our time, which is the concentration of wealth in this country, deindustrialization, the slow decline of the middle class.

The not-so-slow decline of the middle class.

Why is it so hard for Americans to talk about this? When the president talks about this, he uses this term “inequality,” and it sounds scientific, but it doesn’t speak to people. For many years, you were the only person on Capitol Hill talking about this at all. Why aren’t people furious about it?

People are furious about it.

http://www.salon.com/2014/09/28/we_need_a_political_revolution_bernie_sanders_on_americas_broken_political_system/

11 replies

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Bernie Sanders: Longterm Democratic strategy is “pathetic” (Original Post) Jefferson23 Oct 2014 OP

The only strategy the Democratic party has is... vi5 Oct 2014 #1

It's totally depressing, all right. Democrats in power act like the beaten hostages of Nay Oct 2014 #2

+1 Scuba Oct 2014 #7

Thomas Frank said their strategy is wait for demographics to give them unassailable majority yurbud Oct 2014 #9

That's where the 1% draw the line. You can have as much freedom as you like as long as Doctor_J Oct 2014 #10

And they will always have access to abortion, drugs, etc yurbud Oct 2014 #11

Worth reading! CrispyQ Oct 2014 #3

The 1% would NEVER allow Washington DC to do it. That might dent the 1%'s bottom line, blkmusclmachine Oct 2014 #6

The Democratic strategy gives me nightmares. nt adirondacker Oct 2014 #4

I'm positive the DEMS are in bed with the GOP and the 1% to destroy the middle class in this country blkmusclmachine Oct 2014 #5

There's certainly no obvious reasons to doubt it. Scuba Oct 2014 #8

vi5

(13,305 posts)

1. The only strategy the Democratic party has is...

Reply to Jefferson23 (Original post)

Sun Oct 5, 2014, 11:08 AM

Oct 2014

"We're not as batshit crazy as the other guys, so please ignore our rightward drift and give us money and votes but please don't ask for anything in return."

A winning approach if ever there was one.

I try not to think about it too much because when I actually sit back and process how low the party I've loved and been a member of since 8 year old me wrote a letter to President Carter in 1977 has sunk it just depresses the shit out of me.

Nay

(12,051 posts)

2. It's totally depressing, all right. Democrats in power act like the beaten hostages of

Reply to vi5 (Reply #1)

Sun Oct 5, 2014, 11:55 AM

Oct 2014

the Republicans -- we will never get anywhere if that continues.

As I've said many times -- I'm glad I'm old.

Scuba

(53,475 posts)

7. +1

Reply to vi5 (Reply #1)

Mon Oct 6, 2014, 08:28 AM

Oct 2014

yurbud

(39,405 posts)

9. Thomas Frank said their strategy is wait for demographics to give them unassailable majority

Reply to vi5 (Reply #1)

Mon Oct 6, 2014, 10:57 AM

Oct 2014

based on conversations with pols in Washington.

The problem is, by the time the Republicans are gone, the Democrats will have BECOME them minus the bible thumping, race baiting, gay bashing, and other cultural issues.

We will be free to be gay, black, atheists, but we'll be living in a cardboard box under a bridge.

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)

10. That's where the 1% draw the line. You can have as much freedom as you like as long as

Reply to yurbud (Reply #9)

Mon Oct 6, 2014, 11:27 AM

Oct 2014

it doesn't take money out of their pockets.

The only reason the hyper rich favor anti-choice and other social initiatives is because it brings drooling Limbeciles to the polls to vote for candidates who will in turn pass anti-tax, anti-regulation, pro-corporation laws.

yurbud

(39,405 posts)

11. And they will always have access to abortion, drugs, etc

Reply to Doctor_J (Reply #10)

Mon Oct 6, 2014, 12:01 PM

Oct 2014

Themselves

CrispyQ

(36,527 posts)

3. Worth reading!

Reply to Jefferson23 (Original post)

Sun Oct 5, 2014, 04:24 PM

Oct 2014

I’ll tell you what you do. If you did the following things, it wouldn’t solve all the problems, but you’d have a profound impact on income and wealth inequality:

First of all, you raise the minimum wage to a living wage so that the people who are working 40 hours a week are not living in poverty.

Number two, and maybe most importantly, you put Americans back to work. Real unemployment today is not 6.1 percent, it is 12 percent. Youth unemployment is 20 percent. If we invest a trillion dollars in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, you can create 13 million decent paying jobs, and I think we need to do that.

Thirdly, you stop companies from throwing American workers out on the street and moving to China or Vietnam or Mexico by creating a trade system that works for working people and not just corporate America.

You do those things. Then you institute tax reform which asks the wealthy and large corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. You make college affordable and deal with the issue of student debt. Those things will go a long way, and we have legislation that would make significantly more progressive the estate tax. So if you do those things, I think you’d have gone a good way, I think, to rebuilding the middle class in this country and asking the wealthy to start paying their fair share.