The stunning victories of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primaries marks the first time both parties have been so upended at the same moment. The 69-year-old casino mogul and 74-year-old socialist have changed everything. And the question now is what does it mean both for the nomination and the country. Take the…
Any day now the corporatist, establishment Democrats in congress are going to rip into Bernie tooth and toenail.
It will take the average minimum wage worker 6 1/2 years to make $250 thousand dollars.
It took Hillary 60 minutes to make $250 thousand dollars by delivering a single speech to Goldman Sachs.
The only category of voters Hillary won over in New Hampshire were wealthy, old people.
She lost women by 11 points.
So far establishment Democrats–the corporatists–in congress aren’t getting the message.
There’s something historic happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear …
I thought Hillary gave an excellent concession speech. The problem with it, and I think this is reflected in the campaign, appears to be her division of voters into identity politics blocs. It seems to me that a lot of people who are in those blocs are not satisfied with simple recognition of their interests, while their support has been used by neoliberal Democrats to erode union rights, workplace protections, pensions, support for the poor and disadvantaged. Think: Rahm Emmanuel courting the black vote with endorsements by corrupt black misleadership class clergy, while closing schools in black neighborhoods and making sweetheart real estate deals with multinationals. It looks a lot like the Clinton campaign people have spent too much time in the DC establishment bubble, don’t understand what just happened or why, and are never going to be willing to outflank Sanders on the left on economic issues.
While Saunders hammers over and over on the financial issues, Hillary–in her concession speech, as well as at other times–hammers mostly on “equality” and “identity” issues. This is a distraction and it is becoming more and more obvious to all that it is a distraction from the real issue: economic inequality.
Though neither Sanders nor Clinton adequately address the other elephant in the room–the military/security/prison complex, and all that complex’s assorted wars (terror, drugs, etc.)–, one candidate, at least, is fully addressing–without being tainted by big money–the foundation issue that concerns most Americans.
And young Americans understand very clearly who that person is.