From the moment he announced, it was obvious what newly christened Democrat Bernie Sanders would become: The Great Progressive Hope who would fight to slay Wall Street’s champions and reclaim the party for some long ago or long imagined liberal greatness. And it was obvious how his campaign would end, as it is now wrapping up, with Bernie begrudgingly conceding that he cannot win against Hillary’s oligarchy backing and the rigged process of establishment SuperDelegates designed to make sure no self-proclaimed democratic socialist-type ever wins the nomination.
It’s the Democrat’s political equivalent of the Bill Murray movie classic Groundhog Day, except the progressive candidate never wins the girlfriend, er, nomination, in the end. Instead, the Sanders, Deans, Browns, and Jacksons, the progressive champions of their election cycle, only change themselves from watchdogs and guard dogs to lap dogs, ensuring that cynical and outraged progressives follow their champion-cum-Pied Piper to become advocates for defeating the Republicans in November.
This is the death spiral the Feel the Bern movement, the 2 million who have forked over time and money, has now entered. The Democratic apparatchiks who run Bernie’s campaign are preparing their masses for the inevitable, pulling them into the ceremony that, not unlike a religious grieving event, prepares them for death and eventual resurrection, post-convention, to transform them into a saintly rationalizing army of supporters for, in this case, Hillary.
All this I predicted (as could any objective fool) the day of Bernie’s announcement. Yes, it has been heartening to see the extent of his support as he attacks the banks and the Democratic establishment. But, of course, it is all for naught. In four months Hillary’s army will command Bernie’s list of 2 million, and Bernie and his loyal Democratic minions will be weaving memes of how the Party will soon be in the hands of the FeelTheBern rebellion. Not this year, not next, but soon, brothers and sisters, soon, the revolution will occur!
As frustrated nationalist populism tears apart the Republican Party, the coopting power of the Democrats ensures that there will be no similar rebellion from the true believing Progressives in the Democratic Party.
Bernie is an old man. He has lived a fine and worthy public life, but unfortunately he will fade into the sunset without taking the brave step of leading his supporters into finally forming a viable left party in the United States. That would be a true legacy and accomplishment. Even the right wing oligarchs of the Republican Party have realized that the shared monopoly both corporate parties wield over the political process makes a viable third party almost impossible.
Yet, for all the noble tirades of the Progressives from Bill Moyers to Bernie Sanders about the power of money and how it must be removed from the process, it is the process itself that is the problem. Two parties, both pro Wall Street and pro military-industrial complex, control the political system. A majority of voters opted out of this farce democracy long ago, so only a minority votes for these parties. Big money has ensured ever tighter domination by the super rich, but even with the dream of meaningful finance reform, the shared monopoly that corporate oligarchs control with their phony two-party system is the real problem.
So thanks Bernie, you ran a good race, and now you can hop onto Hillary’s pant suit and become the latest kept progressive champion, the Pied Piper, trying to convince the left and progressives that real change is possible within the Democratic Party. And the tragedy is that 95% of your supporters, the Feel the Bern Movement, will follow you down that Blue Brick Road past the intoxicating poppies on to celebrate the great achievement that electing Hillary shall be deemed.
And so the same damned movie script plays out again, and the bipartisan oligarchy wins again, as brilliantly planned. Just ask Charles Koch if he can live with Hillary, because he already has said he can. A neoliberal neocon in the White House may not be the Koch Brothers’s favorite choice, but they and their money can live with it very well!
John Stauber is an organizer, investigative writer, public speaker, and author of six books. He founded the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) in 1993 to create the only public interest and journalism organization dedicated to exposing organized corporate and government propaganda and its impacts on democracy, public information and democratic social change.[1]
Note to Commenters
Due to severe hacking attacks in the recent past that brought our site down for up to 11 days with considerable loss of circulation, we exercise extreme caution in the comments we publish, as the comment box has been one of the main arteries to inject malicious code. Because of that comments may not appear immediately, but rest assured that if you are a legitimate commenter your opinion will be published within 24 hours. If your comment fails to appear, and you wish to reach us directly, send us a mail at: editor@greanvillepost.com
We apologize for this inconvenience.
=SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NOTHING TO LOSE, EVERYTHING TO GAIN.=
free • safe • invaluable
Nauseated by the
vile corporate media?
Had enough of their lies, escapism,
omissions and relentless manipulation?
Send a donation to
The Greanville Post–or
But be sure to support YOUR media.
If you don’t, who will?
2 comments
Well hello dolly or the power of rote thinking.
The electorate in the US is sadly influenced by propaganda from all sides protecting the status quo. The vested interests should be congratulated on maintaining it, would Clinton be elected (if reality was observed it should rather be an appointment of Blankfein to the presidency). But like in the case of the pseudo-black president who valiantly served those interests, but was elected twice with a majority of black USA-ers because he personified a symbolic emancipation, so is Clinton being touted as the solution to women’s rights.
How very disenchanted her female supporters will be when it becomes clear that she also serves the powers-that-be in total negation of her promises, showing her true face behind the mask of a grinning persona (anyone somewhat familiar with body language perceives her intense dread of the intense pressures lying in wait for her presidency). In a decaying commercial empire the forces of deadly competition between factions of the exploitative banking and manufacturing classes will crush all chances for the emancipation of another group except the reigning one. As both the present president and the Clintons know, it is a question of subservience to the power block and not loyalty to the masses that has made their ascendance possible. It is tragic that so many USA-ers are deluded into thinking that these figures represent anything other than their own self interest and that of their masters. Should there be the traditional television “debates” (synonym for repeating establishment non-verities) between Trump and Clinton, then the similarities with the Kennedy / Nixon ones are remarkable, Trump exploiting his television acting experience versus anxiety by Clinton. It is all in the acting of sincerity as Twain pointed out: “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure”. And the arrogance of ignorance is truly infinite.
Hilary is no feminist… When the going on the campaign trail gets tough she calls in her husband to protect his little woman from those who don’t buy into her scheming, lies and ties. She takes her cue from the wealthy male establishment and the men she is politically beholden to…
A woman who must rely on botox to attain power is buying in to the male image of women… A woman like Jane Goodall does not need botox to become an authority figure and a great leader. She understands the power of woman…
It is tragic that the male dominated hilary establishment has managed to derail Bernie… His humanity, honesty and dedication giving rights to all the disenfranchised is more in accord with feminism than hilary’s dominate, exploit and destroy orientation.