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kentuck

(110,950 posts)
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 08:46 AM Oct 2015

I do not think Bernie is doing enough to define the "socialist" label.


In my opinion, more Americans identify with the Donald Trump definition of "socialist/communist" than they do with Bernie's definition. That is unfortunate but America is not an educated or politically sophisticated society.

What can he do to further clarify his "Democratic Socialism"?

In my opinion, he needs to expand his explanation to include, not only the survival of our democracy, but the very idea of maintaining our freedom.

Capitalism works very well side-by-side with tyrannical and authoritative governments, such as China. It is an "economic" system that has little to do with democracy, except for the idea that every person has the right to exploit greed to his highest personal benefit. Democracy is a "political" system that bestows equal rights upon all our citizens, not just those at the very top with the most wealth.

Yes, there are a lot of people that understand where Bernie is coming from with his arguments about "wealth inequality" and our need to "invest in our infrastructure", but they are in a minority.

In my opinion, he needs to tackle the present state of "capitalism" head on. Not only are we losing our democracy to the capitalists, we are also losing our jobs and our freedom. "Democratic Socialism" is a system of government, political and economic, that seeks a more fair distribution of wealth for our citizens and improves the lives of all our citizens, not just those at the very top.

Unless he can succeed in defining this label more thoroughly, I think it is going to be very difficult for him to compete for the Presidency. Just my opinion.

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72DejaVu

(1,545 posts)
2. I can see it now
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 09:02 AM
Oct 2015

GOP commercial showing Bernie referring to himself as a socialist, then cutting to clips of the most stereotypically leftist supporters they can find talking about "revolution".


It's bullshit, it sucks, and it will work.

sufrommich

(22,871 posts)
4. They also wouldn't use Denmark as an example of
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 09:06 AM
Oct 2015

democratic socialism,every commercial would include lots of references to Venezuela and every other failed socialist state. I don't doubt that the GOP would love to run against Sanders.

DemocratSinceBirth

(99,705 posts)
6. I did post grad work in Poli Sci and this word is so bandied about it has lost all its meaning.
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 11:18 AM
Oct 2015

I think I am going to the library to check out and re-read Karl Marx's "Socialism-Utopian and Scientific'".

DanTex

(20,709 posts)
7. Yup. Whatever it "really means" or used to mean is irrelevant at this point. It's just
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 11:22 AM
Oct 2015

a word now. But unfortunately for Bernie, it's a word that most Americans don't like.

 

JaneyVee

(19,877 posts)
8. He will spend his entire candidacy trying to re-explain it over and over again.
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 11:25 AM
Oct 2015

He admitted yesterday that more than the 1% will need to be taxed.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
10. I agree with you, but I don't think it would matter much.
Sat Oct 17, 2015, 11:48 AM
Oct 2015

He can define as much as he likes, but the number of people who hear and understand his definition will be limited. You called it in your first paragraph. Most people are not politically sophisticated or well educated in political terms. Even if they heard an explanation, which is unlikely for the vast majority of voters, it wouldn't necessarily matter.

Bottom line is that for the general election, more votes are influenced by sound bites and political ads than anything else. It's guaranteed that the Republican will flood the TV market with ads showing Bernie Sanders saying, "No. I am a democratic socialist." The impact of that will be large.

Frankly, I do not think it would be possible for Sanders to win the general election, which is why I'm supporting Clinton in the primaries. My primary goal is getting a Democrat elected as President. I don't think Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee, either. It will end up being a Republican who represents a much broader spectrum of voters. It's not going to be a landslide election for Democrats, I believe.

Bernie's a Socialist! That's the theme of the entire GOP campaign if he's the nominee. It's all they need to defeat him in the general election. That's my opinion. Yours might differ.

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