Finally, it happened.
Yes, all of those growing, ridiculous comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis finally caught up to the absurdity of those claims, and now, for the very first time, I saw someone on Facebook (a Facebook friend of a Facebook friend, if you will) actually seem to compare Bernie Sanders with Hitler.
That's right, a progressive, Jewish Democratic socialist who was officially an Independent prior to this presidential election now apparently draws comparisons to perhaps the most notorious real life villain in history.
Are we nuts collectively? How did we get to this point?
Of course, it would not do to make too much of it, because it is one person making a stupid comparison with absolutely no basis in fact, so let's not give it more attention than it deserves, even though it shocked me coming from anyone, frankly.
Sanders is still continuing his campaign, although there are different opinions on how he is doing. If you look at the fact that he has 3% support maybe around one year ago, and now he is a serious contender and challenging Hillary Clinton in every state, and still winning primaries, than he is doing very well, and having an impact. But if you listen to the mainstream media, he already has lost, and his campaign is hopeless, and should basically have conceded already.
Hillary Clinton presently has a big lead in the Democratic presidential race in terms of the delegate count, and especially when it comes to the Superdelegates.
Here's the thing, though: there is no reason to despair, no reason to give up. Yes, Hillary has officially won quite a few states - particularly in the Deep South. However, these are states that no Democrat would be likely to win in the general election, anyway.
What Hillary also has is tremendous support when it comes to having big banks and corporations sponsor her, as well as the support of the official party leadership on the Democratic side.
Yet, there are a lot of detractors of Hillary Clinton, and there are numerous reasons for this. First and foremost, people simply do not trust her. That is true for people who identify both with Democrats and Republicans. People understand that she has a history of changing her position, of finding very good reasons for voting for things that many people felt disappointed by, and she always seems to have very good arguments for other things that she does. That includes taking a lot of money from big banks and Wall Street corporations that have given her a ton of contributions and speakers fees, and she acts angry if and when a political opponent such as Bernie Sanders blasts this for the hypocrisy that it is. She has changed her mind often enough, and it too often coincides not with what was best for America, but with what was politically profitable, and more and more in recent years, people are questioning this kind of "leadership."
Another reason is that Hillary simply is not all that exciting. She might call herself a progressive right now, but late last year, she defined herself as a moderate. There is an interview floating around now where she describes her own political philosophy as grounded in conservatism, although she made the distinction between what she called "real conservatism," and that which passes for conservatism these days in the GOP. Back when she was still a teenager, she was a self-described "Goldwater girl" and proud of that fact even now, while Bernie Sanders was marching and getting arrested for greater fairness and an end to official racism in the country.
Perhaps we cannot make too much of what these two were doing when they were very young. Hillary, despite still proudly referring to herself as a "Goldwater girl," was still too young to vote at the time that she supported the very conservative Goldwater. Still, there is a trace of the people that they became in those actions and their activism for different causes all of those years ago, and to me, it is hard not to see that these were early but accurate indicators that they were already becoming the people that they have become today.
We have someone who has remained remarkably consistent with his political viewpoints, and instead of running and hiding when someone tries to label him a "socialist" or a "Communist," he actually tries to engage these people, to challenge their prejudices, and to inform them of what he actually believes in and represents. On the other side, we have someone who has, at different times, described her political philosophy as conservative, as moderate, or as progressive. It just depends on when you ask her, what political winds are blowing at the moment, and what audience she is hoping to appeal to.
On one side, we have a man who has remained a tireless advocate for the average American, and who has a clear understanding of how things have grown as bad as they have for a growing number of Americans. He points to actions and legislation of the past, and has consistently opposed these measures both before and after they passed. He seeks to restore the greater balance that existed in the past. On the other side, we have someone who changes her opinions and her arguments depending on how politically profitable it is, and will say and do anything to remain on top politically. She says a lot of things, although her actions often seem to contradict her words. She is promising a progressive agenda at the moment, yet there are clues that she will continue to waffle, to flip flop. She is all for every major trade deal that has left the American worker behind, and compromised job security here at home. She takes those millions from the big corporations, then turns around and claims that she is going to get tough on them. Can we believe her? History suggests that we probably cannot, although she certainly has her supporters.
One of the great things that remains here in America is that we still get to choose. Yes, we still have a choice, and the choice is yours. Despite the millions spent on the Hillary political machine, despite the millions spent on the Jeb political machine before her, both campaigns are faltering, precisely because they represent a certain political establishment that people have come to distrust. And by voting against them, voters are showing that, as much as American democracy has eroded, at it's core, it can still work. Ultimately, despite the illusion that these events are set in stone, we still have a choice.
To me, the choice seems all too clear.
Bernie Sanders Had a Phenomenal Night — Here’s WhyTom Cahill | March 16, 2016Yes, all of those growing, ridiculous comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis finally caught up to the absurdity of those claims, and now, for the very first time, I saw someone on Facebook (a Facebook friend of a Facebook friend, if you will) actually seem to compare Bernie Sanders with Hitler.
That's right, a progressive, Jewish Democratic socialist who was officially an Independent prior to this presidential election now apparently draws comparisons to perhaps the most notorious real life villain in history.
Are we nuts collectively? How did we get to this point?
Of course, it would not do to make too much of it, because it is one person making a stupid comparison with absolutely no basis in fact, so let's not give it more attention than it deserves, even though it shocked me coming from anyone, frankly.
Sanders is still continuing his campaign, although there are different opinions on how he is doing. If you look at the fact that he has 3% support maybe around one year ago, and now he is a serious contender and challenging Hillary Clinton in every state, and still winning primaries, than he is doing very well, and having an impact. But if you listen to the mainstream media, he already has lost, and his campaign is hopeless, and should basically have conceded already.
Hillary Clinton presently has a big lead in the Democratic presidential race in terms of the delegate count, and especially when it comes to the Superdelegates.
Here's the thing, though: there is no reason to despair, no reason to give up. Yes, Hillary has officially won quite a few states - particularly in the Deep South. However, these are states that no Democrat would be likely to win in the general election, anyway.
What Hillary also has is tremendous support when it comes to having big banks and corporations sponsor her, as well as the support of the official party leadership on the Democratic side.
Yet, there are a lot of detractors of Hillary Clinton, and there are numerous reasons for this. First and foremost, people simply do not trust her. That is true for people who identify both with Democrats and Republicans. People understand that she has a history of changing her position, of finding very good reasons for voting for things that many people felt disappointed by, and she always seems to have very good arguments for other things that she does. That includes taking a lot of money from big banks and Wall Street corporations that have given her a ton of contributions and speakers fees, and she acts angry if and when a political opponent such as Bernie Sanders blasts this for the hypocrisy that it is. She has changed her mind often enough, and it too often coincides not with what was best for America, but with what was politically profitable, and more and more in recent years, people are questioning this kind of "leadership."
Another reason is that Hillary simply is not all that exciting. She might call herself a progressive right now, but late last year, she defined herself as a moderate. There is an interview floating around now where she describes her own political philosophy as grounded in conservatism, although she made the distinction between what she called "real conservatism," and that which passes for conservatism these days in the GOP. Back when she was still a teenager, she was a self-described "Goldwater girl" and proud of that fact even now, while Bernie Sanders was marching and getting arrested for greater fairness and an end to official racism in the country.
Perhaps we cannot make too much of what these two were doing when they were very young. Hillary, despite still proudly referring to herself as a "Goldwater girl," was still too young to vote at the time that she supported the very conservative Goldwater. Still, there is a trace of the people that they became in those actions and their activism for different causes all of those years ago, and to me, it is hard not to see that these were early but accurate indicators that they were already becoming the people that they have become today.
We have someone who has remained remarkably consistent with his political viewpoints, and instead of running and hiding when someone tries to label him a "socialist" or a "Communist," he actually tries to engage these people, to challenge their prejudices, and to inform them of what he actually believes in and represents. On the other side, we have someone who has, at different times, described her political philosophy as conservative, as moderate, or as progressive. It just depends on when you ask her, what political winds are blowing at the moment, and what audience she is hoping to appeal to.
On one side, we have a man who has remained a tireless advocate for the average American, and who has a clear understanding of how things have grown as bad as they have for a growing number of Americans. He points to actions and legislation of the past, and has consistently opposed these measures both before and after they passed. He seeks to restore the greater balance that existed in the past. On the other side, we have someone who changes her opinions and her arguments depending on how politically profitable it is, and will say and do anything to remain on top politically. She says a lot of things, although her actions often seem to contradict her words. She is promising a progressive agenda at the moment, yet there are clues that she will continue to waffle, to flip flop. She is all for every major trade deal that has left the American worker behind, and compromised job security here at home. She takes those millions from the big corporations, then turns around and claims that she is going to get tough on them. Can we believe her? History suggests that we probably cannot, although she certainly has her supporters.
One of the great things that remains here in America is that we still get to choose. Yes, we still have a choice, and the choice is yours. Despite the millions spent on the Hillary political machine, despite the millions spent on the Jeb political machine before her, both campaigns are faltering, precisely because they represent a certain political establishment that people have come to distrust. And by voting against them, voters are showing that, as much as American democracy has eroded, at it's core, it can still work. Ultimately, despite the illusion that these events are set in stone, we still have a choice.
To me, the choice seems all too clear.
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