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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumClintonism the Future? NYT’s Political Science Fiction
Clintonism the Future? NYTs Political Science Fiction
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/26/clintonism-future-nyts-political-science-fiction
These voting patterns reflect not just a personal attraction to Sanders, but a profound ideological shift among young adults. When Americans aged 18-26 were asked by GOP pollster Frank Luntz (Intercept, 2/24/16), Which type of political system do you think is the most compassionate?, 58 percent said socialism. Sixty-six percent said corporate America embodies everything that is wrong about America. Accordingly, 31 percent said that Bernie Sanders was the political figure they like and respect the mosta figure that rose to 40 percent among the younger half of respondents, aged 18-21. (The corresponding numbers were 11 percent and just 3 percent for Hillary Clinton.)
The pro-Sanders left objects to the solicitude of the Democratic Party for Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the sources of much of its funding. But it is safe to assume that most progressives, when confronted with conservative candidates, will prefer incremental, finance-friendly Clintonism over the right-wing alternative
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Did you catch that? Most progressives will choose incremental, finance-friendly Clintonismbecause the only other choice will be the right. Theyll choose Clintonism, in other words, because they wont be given any other choice.
There is no doubt that thats how the Democratic establishmentand the Gateses and the Googles who stand behind itwill try to move forward, once (they hope) the Bernie Sanders campaign of 2016 is just a bad memory. Sanders, in this view, is a one-of-a-kind candidate, leading youth astray through sheer star power. (Part of the explanation for the appeal of Bernie Sanders, Lind writes, is that Mrs. Clinton is less charismatic a candidate than Barack Obama or her husband was.) Once he exits the stage, Democratic voters will get what they get and they wont get upset.
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Clintonism the Future? NYT’s Political Science Fiction (Original Post)
eridani
Apr 2016
OP
Broward
(1,976 posts)1. A right-wing hellscape is in the offing no matter which side wins now.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)2. RIP USA
All hail the fascist Oligarchs.
I am outa here asafp.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)3. They made Socrates drink hemlock for misguiding the young...
they haven't yet done that to Sanders...
But, it really pisses off the members of the establishment, who worked hard to get their piece of the action, and who after all the work they went thru after all the sacrificing of their morals and dignity that brought them to a pragmatic world view that brought them wealth and power must once again face some old fart speaking about philosophical dreams that radicalize the youth and threaten their empire.
Locrian
(4,522 posts)4. optimistic
As weve seen, though, this theory is based on ignoring everything we know about the demographics and attitudes of Democratic voters, particularly young Democratic voters. This suggests that corralling them up again for a Clintonist future is going to be more difficult than Lind and his colleagues in corporate media want to believe.
Sanders and the rest of his millions of supporters aren't going anywhere. I see this as the beginning, not the end.
The fact that a candidate with ZERO mainstream recognition, zero mainstream funding, attacks and marginalizing by the media, dirty tricks, etc was able to very nearly pull it off ..... well, that's not bad I'd say. Nobody thought this would be easy - to think that all it took was one person to "fix" it and we'd be back on track is wishful (hopeful) thinking.
But I think it's just beginning, and people are realizing their strength, as well as vulnerabilities - and realizing that this is a war, not just one battle. It took a long time for civil rights, women voting right, etc. And we don't have a lot of time with the way were headed economically, climate, etc. But I think an "event" has occurred, maybe the "spark" has lit the fuse.
noretreatnosurrender
(1,890 posts)5. Great post
I too see this as the beginning not the end.
longship
(40,416 posts)6. A great and thoughtful response.
I will support all such positive posts that I see.
Way to go, my friend.