Bernie Who?

Bernie Sanders is a counter-culture, anti-hero, masked as a grumpy, elderly flavor of the week for privileged, young white romantics. He grudgingly suspended his campaign last week after his latest (and final) presidential aspirations were unceremoniously thwarted by South Carolina Democrats; a critical core constituency in the Democratic establishment; one whose political ascendancy threatens to supplant Iowa and New Hampshire's traditional moorings as reliable prognosticators for the Democratic presidential nomination. The black voters in SC pragmatically rallied around an old skool liberal named Joe Biden in an unusual act of defiance and self-preservation, whose benign racism and notorious sexism enables him to facilely navigate diverse constituencies with competing interests, who they know can get s... done.  Implicit in the endorsement is the promise to maintain the Democratic status quo. Bernie does not work well with others. Biden does, however. He was a pariah in the Senate because of his reluctance to compromise. Biden remains a beloved figure in the Senate. And he has no notable legislative accomplishments in over 40 years of elected office (whether as Mayor of Burlington, as a congressman, or senator)... Biden record of accomplishment is long though mixed and, quite often, regrettable. And when confronted about his record on race relations Bernie hearkens back to participation in a civil rights march 60-years-ago. Biden's record is only slightly better. But Bernie opposes Reparations whereas Biden supports a "study" for Reparations. Bernie's refusal to even consider Reparations remained a glaring stumbling block, an inexplicable void, that his disgruntled lemmings’ glossed over. And their threat to vote for Chump if their yearnings for ole Bernie were frustrated is instructive. If his supporters had the courage of their convictions, however, they would delay gratification like children are taught to do (work within an established political system like the teabaggers did so successfully with the Republican Party in 2010 to roll back progressive legislation and reign in out-of-control government spending; or, conversely, create a viable third party instead of attempting to needlessly co-op and, that failing, upset the Democratic apple cart) to effect the sort of radical transformation of the social contract to which they only pay lip service. But what Berniers propose to do is what they did in 2016. Adopt a scorched earth response to defeat by spitefully voting for and, maliciously, saddling us with Chump. These folks are not fooling anyone with their feigned [read that: strained] passion. They are not true progressives, they are predominantly, young, white anarchists and agitators masquerading as socialist democrats; a few self-loathing Hispanics, like Puerto Ricans, (who in the last decennial census 80% of “Boricuans” checked “white” for race. But they were brutally disabused of that delusion when Chump cruelly abandoned the Island (an American territory) to its own fate during Hurricane Maria with vicious tropes); and, last but not least, a few pet Negroes thrown in for good measure. But make no mistake about it, these pretenders enjoy the same, exact [white] privilege as Chump and cast: privilege they deny and hypocritically rail against. But it is this whiteness, this very privilege, that they shamelessly employ when it suits their objectives; like now that their grumpy "bad grandpa" look alike, contest winning alabaster relic has been brutally smacked down by a frightened-out-of-its-wits Democratic establishment: A party in which Bernie is not a member in good standing, but an impetuous upstart -- an interloper if you will. Action speaks louder than words, moreover. Chump's retrograde, arch-conservative policies do not adversely impact these Berniers; only their “honorary white" Hispanic followers and said pet Negroes. The selfish, self-centered, and self-serving white folks comprising Bernie's base can afford to sit out the 2020 presidential election confident that they would feel no pain. Or vindictively cast their vote for Trump. Make no mistake about it, though, they were never committed to ousting Trump anyway. There is no way to bridge the gap between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump either rationally or reasonably given their respective ideologies and worldviews are diametrically opposite unless one suspends credulity. And engages in some intellectual legerdemain. They were only committed to some vague, romanticized notion of a utopian society, embodied by an imaginative wet dream: a sprawling wish list of wildly, radical, progressive social policies that would dramatically expand the "Welfare State": Legislation that other old, rich white boys in the Senate (in which their idol has served for over twenty-years) would never allow see the light of day. Because adopting such a radical, progressive platform predicated on Medicaid for all would sound the death knell for conservatism -- e.g., racism, classism, sexism, nepotism, cronyism and favoritism -- in all its insidious forms. And the Senate, influential multinational, corporate interests, and bigoted Chump supporters, have all internalized Trump's campaign pitch in 2016, “I am your last hope…”