Bernie Sanders on why elites are in for a shock: “The discontent of the American people is far, far

[WillyT]

Bernie Sanders on why elites are in for a shock: “The discontent of the American people is far, far greater”
The chattering class doesn't see it yet, but America is ripe for a political revolution, Sanders tells The Nation
Sophia Tesfaye - Salon
Monday, Jul 6, 2015 12:59 PM PST

<snip>

In a new wide-ranging interview with The Nation, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) swears off campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, promises to visit red states like Alabama during his campaign, and finally tackles the issue of police brutality.

Sanders quickly pointed to the level of black teen unemployment to explain his campaign’s rise, and argued that amid soaring inequality, “the discontent of the American people is far, far greater than the pundits understand.” And Sanders finally addressed growing calls for his campaign to address police brutality and issues of race relations, acknowledging “that is a major issue that has to be dealt with. And we will deal with it, period.”

Sanders recalled his long history working on civil rights, “I got arrested in trying to desegregate Chicago’s school system,” but was quick to push back on the notion that his campaign has failed to address issues like race relations in favor of more populist economic rhetoric. “I do not separate the civil-rights issue from the fact that 50 percent of African-American young people are either unemployed or underemployed. ” Invoking Dr. Martin Luther King, Sanders said, “The issue that Dr. King raised all the time was: This is great if we want to desegregate restaurants or hotels, but what does it matter if people can’t afford to go to them? That’s still the issue today.”

And the Independent senator confronted the stigma surrounding his affiliation as a democratic socialist: “Do they think I’m afraid of the word? I’m not afraid of the word,” Sanders insisted before ticking off a list of “accomplishments” in Scandinavian countries like Denmark that have adopted a democratic-socialist approach, including tuition-free college, universal health care, and guaranteed paid maternity and paternity leave to argue that most Americans would support such measures:

I happen to believe that, if the American people understood the significant accomplishments that have taken place under social-democratic governments, democratic-socialist governments, labor governments throughout Europe, they would be shocked to know about those accomplishments. One of the goals of this campaign is to advance that understanding.

Sanders also proposed a bipartisan debate schedule, including a one-on-one debate with Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

“The Republicans get away with murder because what they do and what they want is not seen, is not understood by the American people, because it’s not talked about,” Sanders exclaimed. His solution? Include Republicans in the Democratic primary debates, “I think the more that we can confront Republicans about their ideology of tax breaks for the billionaires and cuts to every program that is a benefit to the American people, and can expose them for their subservience to the billionaire class—I think that wins for us every single time … when we do that, the Republican agenda will be exposed for the disaster it is.”

<snip>

More: http://www.salon.com/2015/07/06/bernie_sanders_on_why_elites_are_in_for_a_shock_the_discontent_of_the_american_people_is_far_far_greater/

[PatrickforO]

1. He's sure putting out the issues!

He's been a people's advocate for over half a century. He marched with the heroes for civil rights, and he understands how income inequality permeates every social problem. I'm feeling the Bern!

[99th_Monkey]

2. K&R - Get thee to the Greatest Page.

It keeps building and building, and I'm loving the trajectory ...

I posted OP LINK BELOW earlier, noting that Team Clinton is now officially "worried"
about Berniemania, which is a major milestone, like #4...

milestone 1: Bernie who?

milestone 2: oh yah, you mean that obscure SOCIALIST wannabe?

milestone 3: we are not worried about Sanders. Ha-ha ... He can never win.

milestone 4: OK, we are worried.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=427672

[WillyT]

3. Definitely Got BernMentum...

[Enthusiast]

13. ...

[avebury]

4. K&R! nt

[pscot]

5. K&R

[lovemydog]

6. Oh, I'd love to see him debate

one on one with Scott Walker. Accept the challenge, Walker. Or are you chicken. Bwwwaaaack, bwaaaaaack.

I'm delighted Bernie is broadening understanding of how democratic socialist policies can benefit the large majority in our country. Coupled with the freedoms we enjoy in terms of free speech and anti-discrimination, it could and should really flourish in this country at every level - local, city, state and federal.

[dgauss]

17. I'd love to see that as well.

But Walker would have to be an idiot to accept something like that.

Then again, he's really not very smart...

[davidpdx]

22. I want to see that, but if he does the party will lock him out of every debate

I think the debates are going to be important in terms of him showing he can speak to the substantive issues.

[sgtbenobo]

27. Bring back the League of Women Voters!

The Presidential Debate Commission is a cabal!

http://lwv.org/

[bvar22]

38. I agree!

The last Presidential "debate" we had in this country was moderated by the League of Women Voters.

Control of the presidential debates has been a ground of struggle for more than two decades. The role was filled by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters (LWV) civic organization in 1976, 1980 and 1984.

In 1987, the LWV withdrew from debate sponsorship, in protest of the major party candidates attempting to dictate nearly every aspect of how the debates were conducted. On October 2, 1988, the LWV's 14 trustees voted unanimously to pull out of the debates, and on October 3 they issued a press release:

"The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_debates

worth repeating:
"The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."

[DiverDave]

7. I worry about what the 'Guys behind the power' will do

They took out JFK, they took out RFK and for good measure MLK.
They will try and take out anyone that gets in their way.

Stay outta small planes Bernie, we desperately need you.

Great piece in The Nation.

[Gumboot]

20. You made me think of this fella...

... and what could have been.




I think Bernie needs private security now, before anyone can get to him.

[pocoloco]

30. Unspeakable

[Myrina]

34. That's not their MO anymore ...

... now they just rely on their media whores to do this:


[link:

|

[Babel_17]

8. What I crossposted in the other thread

Just checked to see if that Nation article was being discussed here

http://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-speaks/

Off Topic but before I saw that I was reading an older Eric Alterman article (also at The Nation), and boy does he nail it.

http://www.thenation.com/article/what-we-really-learned-jeb-bushs-tongue-tied-response-questions-about-iraq/

[WillyT]

10. Thank You For That !!!

[secondwind]

9. K&R FOR BERNIE SANDERS!! GO BERNIE!

[Babel_17]

11. On campaigning in less wealthy, Red, states

Brilliant.

Talking to less well off Red Staters about their economic problems will drive the Republican establishment to be beside themselves. Their voters will want to hear why their candidates think he's wrong, and they'll want to hear it in person. What a marvel that will be, when the microphones and cameras are given to struggling Red State voters who just had Senator Sanders talk with them.

[dgauss]

16. Go South Bernie!

There are people there that have been BS'd by Republican politicians and ignored by Democratic politicians for too long. There are sensible people there ready to hear this.

[nxylas]

28. There are people who will spout the usual BS lines

"This is AMERICA! Anyone can make it if they are willing to work hard". By and large, they're the same people who believe, in Tina Fey's words, that Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs to church. And in both cases, they sound less and less convincing as time goes on.

[Bohunk68]

35. I thought that that might mean the GLBT community would then ride

unicorns to Happy Hour. Non-GLBT would get dinosaurs, and the GLBT community would get Skittles-pooping, rainbow-maned, unicorns, each one male, of course. So, let's see, first, G-d floods this scene, taking away the dinosaurs and unicorns. Ruing what has been done, the unicorns are replaced with rainbows. The dinosaurs get replaced by Republics. IF we all work hard, otherwise, it is a damn trudge.

Beyond that, GOOOOOOOOO BERRRRRRNNNIE!!! A candidate I can believe in. At last, at last. Again.

[jeff47]

12. Wait wait wait...CONFRONT the Republicans about their ideology?!

That would be a terrible idea! We should instead be arguing how we are marginally better!

[Enthusiast]

14. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[blackspade]

15. That last paragraph is gold.

[hifiguy]

18. Millions will come to realize that Bernie

speaks for them once they hear what he has to say.

[Victor_c3]

19. For so long the term "European" has been used as a derogatory term in politics

I'm happy to see him make that point. If people understood how nice things are in European countries when compared to the U.S. They'd be shocked.

Germany is an example I'm very familiar with as I lived in that "European Hell-Hole" for nearly 5 years. It's amazing what they have done in that country. They do destructive things to businesses like force, by our standards, extreme environmental protections and various workers rights benefits and they are still a major manufacturing county. After China, Germany is the second largest exporter in the world of manufactured goods.

Based on "common knowledge" in U.S. Politics, regulations should stifle business. That clearly is not the case in Germany. You can have it both ways - take care of your people and the environment and have one hell of a strong economy.

[fbc]

21. Great interview - worth the read

[rhett o rick]

23. What kind of a weak-assed Bernie Bounce is that?

This is more like it:

[WillyT]

24. LOL !!!

I'm tired man...

[rhett o rick]

25. Well ok then.

[TDale313]

26. K&R

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

29. Great idea!

“The Republicans get away with murder because what they do and what they want is not seen, is not understood by the American people, because it’s not talked about,” Sanders exclaimed. His solution? Include Republicans in the Democratic primary debates, “I think the more that we can confront Republicans about their ideology of tax breaks for the billionaires and cuts to every program that is a benefit to the American people, and can expose them for their subservience to the billionaire class—I think that wins for us every single time … when we do that, the Republican agenda will be exposed for the disaster it is.”

[jwirr]

32. The DNC does not want to confront the Rs headon because they are centrists and unfortunately

think that it will hurt their own candidates. By going to the southern states Bernie can confront the ideas even if he cannot debate the candidates. Go Bernie Go.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

31. The "chattering class" all have six or seven figure incomes.

[Myrina]

33. Cannot recommend this enough.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. Bravo for sure

amid soaring inequality, “the discontent of the American people is far, far greater than the pundits understand.”

Oh yes!

[MrMickeysMom]

37. I'd love to see that one on one debate with Scott-bot Walker...

The Kochs would have to employ a team of ear phone specialists that couldn't be revealed…