And why the world will be stuck with Trump for another four years…
As a Canadian I follow American politics as closely as I follow our own. The decisions made South of the border, like it or not, have a profound affect on us. I have watched with keen interest as Bernie Sanders ramped up his campaign and I guess you could say I am a “Bernie Bro”. I know the term was coined as a form of condescension but it became a badge of honor.
Some detractors have commented that Bernie is a radical and his ideas are too socialist for America but as a Canadian, there isn’t anything he has said that we would consider radical. I imagine Tommy Douglas was considered the same when he pushed for universal healthcare but now it is a source of pride for most Canadians, and one of the key standout differences between us and the US. I find it interesting that to most Europeans he would be considered middle of the road as far as policies go.
Some people think that Biden is a better candidate and will be able to get more done than Sanders could. The problem with that idea is that their assuming Biden will win. They’re putting the cart before the horse and assuming that Biden will beat Trump. He will not. Trump is a master at spin and while many people see through his bullshit, he’s not talking for you, he’s talking to the “Trumpets”.
This map from the New York Times shows each county and which candidate had the most donors. Bernie is blue and dominates most of the country. In the areas representing Buttigieg, O’Rourke, Klobuchar, Bullock, Warren, Biden, and others, Bernie is number two. If you think of each donation as a vote, he is clearly the candidate the people wanted. Bernie has three times the number of donors Biden does. At the time the map was made, he had raised $36 million while Biden had raised only $22 million.
The people wanted Bernie because he represented a change for the benefit of ordinary people, not the elites. He’s not the one the corporations want. He didn’t receive large corporate donations like many of his colleagues did.
In fact, the markets rose when he announced he was dropping out of the race. Shares of insurance companies such as Anthem, Humana, and Cigna rose significantly 5% to 10% specifically. Why? Because they all know that Biden isn’t going to win, and even if he did he wouldn’t do anything to disrupt the status quo. Unfortunately the status quo for many Americans is: no healthcare, no social services, no safety nets.
So why does this result in Biden and the democrats losing to Trump? Because people are tired of being cheated by their own party. They wanted Bernie in 2016 and the DNC chose Hillary. Look how well that worked out. They wanted Bernie again in 2020 and this time they’ve chosen Biden.
Blue at any cost isn’t going to change anything. “Anybody but Trump” isn’t good enough. People wanted someone who would bring about change and they got the same old corporate puppetry. I predict that those “Bernie Bros” would rather stay home than support a system that keeps cheating them.