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2016 Postmortem

2016-02-22T19:16:51+00:00

Let's face it folks - the United States as a stable, prosperous, forward-moving country has been sliding deeper into the abyss of irrelevance and mediocrity for a long time. Ever since the "Reagan revolution" of the 80's and the four years of George H. W. Bush, corporate power has expanded exponentially, the rights of unions and the working class have been steadily eroded, war and foreign intervention has become so commonplace that no one protests anymore, and rich and wealthy have almost complete control over every aspect of our existence. These are all things that Reagan and the first Bush put the pedal to the metal on in the 80's, but it was president Bill Clinton who solidified the Republican political paradigm in this country and moved the country as a whole rightward. Clinton's embrace of corporatism and the Democratic Party's tacit acceptance of the dominance of wealth and the rule of the rich over everyone magnified the damage started by Reagan and Bush, and left many in the Democratic Party feeling left out and homeless. The establishment Democrats should have taken note of the dissatisfaction of the left after the success of Ralph Nader in the 2000 election - the left of the Party (or the base) wasn't happy with Republican-lite and were willing to cast a vote outside of the Democratic Party, even at the risk of a Republican presidency. The establishment didn't listen and failed to respond to what they saw happening. They responded by running corporatist candidates like John Kerry after Al Gore's defeat, failing to acknowledge the concerns of the base then whining that the left of the party was to blame for Gore's loss. Their reaction was to find someone (Obama) who could talk the talk the base wanted to hear, but who was ultimately in the right-leaning, pro-corporate camp. Their response was to ramp up the deception then follow business as usual. Well you know what? Many of us aren't falling for that anymore and it should be known that there are consequences to ignoring and shunning the base of your political party. We see the same scenario laying out now. The corporate, right-wing Democrats have once again fallen solidly in line behind a candidate who is going to protect corporate power and law-breakers, a candidate who is committed to military aggression at the behest of the military industrial complex and the many corporations who rely on military thuggery to secure new profit centers around the world, one who pays lip service to gay rights, immigration reform, the environment and other progressive causes only because it is better for business and money makers (being seen as homophobic or racist is bad PR for corporations, and this is the only reason the corporatist candidate is paying lip service to these issues). Once again, the establishment Democrats have chosen a candidate who fails in inspire and excite a large chunk of their party, and they are actively and openly trying to squash the inspiration generated by Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton will never be able to inspire the many who have gotten into politics since Bernie's arrival to continue on that path because she proudly represents what many of us think is wrong with America. Establishment Democrats can almost be heard licking their collective lips at the prospects that the many people who've given money to Bernie will eventually be brought onto the Hillary wagon, but again, like in 2000, they are failing to see what is happening. If Hillary ends up being the nominee, many of Bernie's supporters (like myself) will simply give up on this election cycle and the prospects of bringing about real changes to our society. Yeah, the Republicans are really bad, but I'm not convinced that what Hillary has to offer will fundamentally alter the downward trajectory this country is on. Yeah, the Supreme Court is up for grabs, but the worst that could happen is a Republican president placing a Scalia clone on the bench again. Bernie has brought a lot of young, idealistic people into the political process, but many of these people aren't political "newbies" - many are very politically astute and have a good understanding of the workings of power and government. They also understand that the "let's all come together and vote for Hillary" mantra that we'll hear is a non-starter. Maybe this country deserves to slide even further into the abyss under a Clinton or Trump/Rubio/Cruz presidency before many people will wake up and realize that none of these people have our best interests at heart.

Post removed Mon Feb 22, 2016, 03:16 PM Feb 2016

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3 replies

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Post removed (Original Post) Post removed Feb 2016 OP

Too damned tue Vincardog Feb 2016 #1

Sad truth! onecaliberal Feb 2016 #2

Well said - and unfortunate Ferd Berfel Feb 2016 #3

Vincardog

(20,234 posts)

1. Too damned tue

Reply to Post removed (Original post)

Mon Feb 22, 2016, 03:23 PM

Feb 2016

onecaliberal

(33,000 posts)

2. Sad truth!

Reply to Post removed (Original post)

Mon Feb 22, 2016, 03:26 PM

Feb 2016

Ferd Berfel

(3,687 posts)

3. Well said - and unfortunate

Reply to Post removed (Original post)

Mon Feb 22, 2016, 03:29 PM

Feb 2016

I've been thinking along similar lines - unfortunately.

In any case I think by the time next year, DWS will be gone, and regardless of who they put in charge and what they attempt to do to patch it back together. the DNC will be irrelevant to all but the most right-wing corporatist Democrats. THe rest of us will have to find somewhere else to land.