Calm down, establishment Democrats. Bernie Sanders might be the safest choice.

“Moderate” candidates won’t be electable if they can’t speak to middle- and working-class frustrations.

By Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich is a former U.S. Secretary of Labor, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley and author of the forthcoming, "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It."

Feb. 26, 2020 at 6:28 a.m. EST

Excerpts:


As wealth and power have moved to the top and the middle class has shrunk, more Americans feel politically disempowered and economically insecure. Today's main divide isn’t left versus right. It’s establishment versus anti-establishment.

The frustrations today are larger than they were four years ago. Even though corporate profits and executive pay have soared, the typical worker’s pay has barely risen, jobs are less secure, and health care less affordable.

The best way for Democrats to defeat Trump’s fake populism is with the real thing, coupled with an agenda of systemic reform. This is what Sanders offers. For that reason, he has the best chance of generating the energy and enthusiasm needed to regain the White House.

In a general election, Republicans would surely do everything they can to tag Sanders with the “socialist” label. But that hasn’t hurt him so far, partly because it doesn’t come with the stigma it once did.

Instead of hand-wringing about Sanders’s electability, maybe establishment Democrats should worry that a “moderate” Democrat might be nominated instead.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/26/calm-down-establishment-democrats-bernie-sanders-might-be-safest-choice/