In this dismal 2016 presidential season, we finally have a candidate to be proud of, someone to represent our ideals, someone to be truly excited about. What enthuses me most about Bernie Sanders (beyond his integrity) is his commitment to run directly, explicitly against the plutocrats. It seems to me that the root cause of nearly all ills in our very ill society is the utter dominance (close to complete ownership) of the political and economic systems by giant corporations and their largest shareholders. Even the top 1% are outside this group; it’s the top 1% of that 1% we’re talking about. Embodied by the Koch Brothers, those who control everything seek only to increase their control, while minimizing the size of their own club.
There is another Democrat in the race for 2016 who has spent a political career sticking a finger in the wind to determine what daily role to play, who is currently pretending to oppose this dominant elite. Don’t be confused: that is all triangulation and no passion, calculation without commitment. Hillary Clinton is the opposite of authentic – she is all artifice all the time.
Bernie Sanders is the real deal. He will speak – nay, shout – the truth from now until (at least) until a year from now.
“So,” those seeking to catch this blogger for inconsistency will ask, “What about your telling us recently that we will have to vote for the Pretender in November 2016″? That was your blogger as political analyst predicting what is (still) a likely outcome of the primary season. But now is not the time to vote or campaign based on fear. This is the time to support and vote for our ideals. We need Bernie Sanders. Sure, it would be a dream come true for him to win the White House. But even if that doesn’t come to pass, only he can save us from a campaign season of pretension and reaction. Only Sanders can and will keep bringing the true state of the nation to the forefront of the so-called debate. Without Bernie Sanders, there will be no debate at all.
I toyed with endorsing former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley for president. O’Malley is a good man and a solid progressive. But he lacks the fire that Bernie Sanders has. Further he was the mayor who introduced abusive policing to Baltimore, which has borne it’s ugly fruit over the past two weeks. This doesn’t permanently count O’Malley out for me (I could turn to him if he ends up appearing to have a better shot than Sanders at beating Clinton), but he is not my first choice. Bernie Sanders is.
I sent Bernie Sanders my contribution today. Are you ready to join the campaign?
©2015 Keith Berner