Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Soap Box Bernie


Bernie* is continuing to bang the gong and clang the cymbal on progressive issues on social media.  In this morning's Facebook Feed, Bernie* pronounced that the Covid 19 virus had laid bare the defects in our for-profit health care system, showing -- now more than ever -- why Medicare-for-All was necessary.........

I really don't understand the point of this. By withdrawing from the race, by foregoing the threat of abstention or running a third party ticket, Bernie gave up any all leverage he had to bring about "our" agenda.

Does Bernie really think the pandemic was needed to make people see the need for medicare for all? Rubbish. Through January polls showed that a substantial majority of all ordinary, working Americans favored Medicare for all. THEY didn't need a pandemic to make them see the necessity.

Does Bernie really think the Flawless Obama, or Nancy (La Mousse) Pelosi, Furious Hillary, the New York Slime or any Centrist Democrat didn't understand the imperfections of the for-profit health excuse industry? Of course not. They just don't give a damn. Corporate profit is what they are about and the system works great for that purpose.

It pains me to say this but Soap Box Bernie is just talking himself into irrelevance. He got his NYT op ed. By summer the media will have forgotten him and progressive reform will be buried under a heap of commissions.

The Democratic Party is just a tool. The tool remains in the hand of corporate puppets. So it's back to square one. Either progressives gain control of the tool or find another one. To that end, the progressive movement needs a leader, someone who will not just talk but talk, act and win political control over something with tangible political consequence.  Bernie* is no longer the leader of anything because there is nothing for him to take control of, neither the party, nor the presidency.   As such he is just another voice in the din.


©2020

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