Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Today We Are All Corrupt Neoliberal Sellouts

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Our long national nightmare is over
Just to note in passing that after all virulent, spittle-flecked rhetoric, after all the accusations and innuendo, after all the threats and tantrums and willful intransigence over the basic functions of a political party's nominating process, today Bernie Sanders announced that he is With Her.

The Sanders campaign devoted no little effort in the attempt to amplify and focus the incoherent right-wing Clinton Derangement Syndrome narrative among the more liberal denizens of the Democratic party - and had a disappointingly large affect on the political conversation. For months the Democratic primaries were argued, not in terms of what Sanders might be able to accomplish, or how a Sanders presidency might compare favorably to a Clinton term, but rather about the alleged corruption, criminality and neoliberal warhawk tendencies of the Clinton dynasty. From a strictly practical sense, this was probably a reasonable choice. Bernie ran a dumpster fire of a campaign, insisting on labeling himself a socialist, turning every question into an argument about inequality in America, and refusing to even offer the slightest suggestion of how he might make his liberal fever-dream of a policy agenda a reality. It was a campaign straight out of the underpants gnomes playbook, and even his supporters quickly learned not to talk about him at all - leaving them with nothing to say except to shriek in increasingly over-the-top terms how terrible Hillary was and how we'd all be doomed if she won the nomination.

So yeah, there's a little twitch of a smile of schadenfreude today. It's pretty amusing that all the Sanders supporters who swore they would NEVER vote for Hillary Clinton are now more radical Sanders voters than...well, than Sanders. And even with just the explicit statement about the Democratic position on capital punishment, yeah, the party's policy platform is a pretty good statement of values. But it never mattered a bit. Clinton could have told him to take a long walk on a short pier. With the Republican self-immolation candidate Donald Trump as the opposition, the Democrats never needed their far left wing to elect her - they suddenly find themselves with a far-right wing instead. But she took the smart path (note - this should not come as a surprise to anyone) and added the vast majority of the Sanders voters to what is becoming an overwhelming political coalition. We can even start looking beyond her inauguration on January 20 of next year, and begin to think about the looming constitutional crisis over the Supreme Court. Because that could be the next phase in the collapse of the barking mad American political right.
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3 comments:

  1. Good punchline. The Constitution, again in crisis!! (Would they dare try to impeach Justice Ginsburg for her recent remarks?)

    Haven't thought that far ahead, but it makes perfect sense. Not to be optimistic about demographic trends & so forth, but right-wing activist Supremes are the last line of defense against progress, & they know it.

    The G.O.P. post-inauguration statements may not be much more than whinnying "Neigh! Neigh!" & stamping their hooves defiantly.

    But hey, B.S. really pushed the all-important Dem. platform as far left as it's ever been. That'll show 'em!

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    1. And President Clinton II is free to ignore it when it makes sense...

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    2. Where have all the RW SCOTUS gone, long time passing,

      They left after voters felt the Bern,

      but voted Clinton anyway, so

      when will we ever learn--

      Oh wait--this was actually a good thing. Also, she wants an amendment against Citizens United to pass in the (mostly likely democratic-lead) senate (on her coattails). Um--yes, this is very liberal?

      I am here for this--and I don't understand people who want to go "Yeah but Jill Stein?" Who is that?

      The little I have seen on Twitter tells me she has issues and no topics, causes and no policies, a party and no party favors. She can stick it.

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