It's not of broad general interest, though. Most people in the United States haven't a clue about who Noam Chomsky is. I do, and most DUers do, but we're weird, politically informed people.

Chomsky's endorsement will affect approximately zero undecided people at this point.

I'm not even from there and have been reading Chomsky for years. I don't understand why anyone would believe undecided people there don't read him also and wouldn't give a lot of attention to who he supports.

I've also read many of his other writings. People who are active on the progressive end of the political spectrum follow what he writes. But for the bulk of voters, he is a complete unknown. He's an academic sort of guy, pretty wordy, and not all that interesting to read unless you have an interest in what he's writing and speaking about.

Elections aren't won by minor constituencies. Most voters do not care one whit about anything Noam Chomsky says. They've never heard of him. That's simply a fact.

What kept him so damn long?

many of whom have been holding back, many more of whom are employed by universities with access to young minds, so it could have a quantifiable effect on the horse race.

What I like about Bernie supporters is the combination of intelligence with morality. Intelligence without morality is the corporate outlook on this country's future.

Political supporters are a self-selected group, and, other things being equal (education levels, etc.), one can tell quite a bit about about a person by whom they support. I am grateful and also proud that my political choices coincide with my values, including my love for this country and its supporters. The emphasis on the horse race aspect of political campaigns to the exclusion of all else also says something about a person.

I wonder what gives him certainty. Maybe it's just the notion that Americans are so comfortable they don't care enough for a good movement.

All I know is we're converging on several major pivot points at one time which when they come to fruition will be overwhelming.

in the 60-80s where an election did not fix the problems as seen by poc and war. In the end those movements got the right to vote and the war on poverty and the end of the draft.

But even then they did not go far enough. I am not sure that any sustained movement has ever gone far enough.

The French revolution used the the reign of terror to end rule by the nobility but I am not sure they replaced it with anything - they ended up with an emperor that had war after war conquering all of Europe and trying to conquer Russia. They reached their goal only to find out that was not the answer either.

The Communist takeover of Russia resulted in just another form of strict control of the people.

As to our movement today - do we have a united goal or are we just interested in electing our own leader and then walking away to watch him accomplish it? We did that with President Obama.

I suspect Mr Chomsky knows we are the same group who voted for JFK, George McGovern, Bill Clinton and now Bernie Sanders as well as supported other progressive leaders. But we have not seen our role as anything past election day. And some of us here may see that is needed but do you think that is the average voter?

I watched The Christmas Carol with my great grandchildren yesterday. I always help them see the bigger picture when we watch something like that. What they understood was about the ghosts - scary. I helped them see it from the side of the poor and sick - I showed them the greed. Every so often our world comes to the place of greed - in England in Dickens time, in the US in the 1929 and again now. And always it requires a movement that will keep fighting until things get better. Not just elect a leader to do it. FDR said "Make me do it."

There is a reason why many of us call ourselves FDR Democrats and McGovern supporters and anti-war and for civil rights. Because the movements are still here but they must be willing to stick around until the goal is met at least to the satisfaction for the times. We will never get it perfect because times change.

I remember 35 cents per gallon of gas. Now we're double the size, and even fracking just peaked last year. I'm just saying that Noam might be making a statement excluding some important variables. It's very complicated a slow. I remember studying the ideal gas law in high school. We had to put in effort, or face consequences. There might have been a parent at home all of the time. I know when Reagan was elected, I dropped out. I became cynical. After all, being progressive takes effort. It goes against being fed by others.

I just think Chomsky's comment is a warning. But I was actually expecting a different take. He often mentions the success of OWS. Bernie is no different. He's national, he has identified problems, and engineered solutions. If the notion of socialized markets stays in the daily consciousness, it could be a factor in where we decide to take this country.

And for us it will be these never ending wars, the police issues including incarceration, climate change, food shortages, clear water shortages, oil depletion, lose of more of our rights. All those things will serve to keep us in the movement not just to the election.

That's the street cred I'm looking for as representative of the people.

Chomsky is spot on. We must pull the Dem party back to the left. Bernie is our only chance.

He sounds like one of those rich Latte drinking, living in a fancy house Volvo driving white old men to me.

These impractical types. Anti-war, anti-corporate .... unAmerican. Never get anywhere.

Go Hillary!! ^H

(Yes, do.)

Chomsky goes on to say that the Bernie campaign "ought to be directed to sustaining a popular movement using the election as an incentive and then go on" -- and he thinks the movement will die once the election is over. But Bernie is very attuned to the concerns that Chomsky raises, which is why his face clouds over a bit when he repeatedly tells his cheering throngs that he cannot do it alone, we need a movement.

Even as president he cannot do it alone, a fact that Hillary supporters like to throw in our faces with glee and satisfaction.

I dearly hope, and in fact would expect, that Bernie is in touch with people who have the will, the energy, the know-how and the wisdom to take the energy that he has awakened and direct it into a strong, dedicated movement.

And I see a little of that happening. People who have been part of the movement for many years are behind Bernie. They are hoping that we can get new recruits, as well as a good president from this. The last statement that Noam makes is priceless.