Bernie Sanders and Winning

In order to win a political contest in America today a candidate must be affiliated with one of the two major political parties.  Once that support is gained, the total focus and primary objective is winning.  Everything else – issues, solutions, commitment to the general welfare and common good – are all relegated to insignificance. Thomas Jefferson knew this and was oh SOOOO wise in his caution which we have chosen to ignore; “I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men…Such a system is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.  If I could go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.”    

 

This ingrained acceptance of a party system of governance ignores the fact that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. never held an elective or appointed political office.  Fifty years later we are still ignoring that it was Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential bid that has led to the widespread acceptance of a $15.00 an hour minimum wage and that, for the first time, we are engaged in serious conversations and consideration surrounding a single payer universal health care program and system.  These were UNHEARD OF before the Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.  He is building a consensus where none existed before.  It was done without winning the presidency.  That is leadership.    

 

At present it appears that the Democratic party is well on their way to making exactly the same mistake they made in 2016.  Joe Biden, the most influential candidate within the party, seems destine to secure the nomination.  Like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, Biden’s appeal focuses on his longstanding stature within the party, superficial allures and building party image.  Once again, like Pelosi and Hillary, Biden represents the old, tired, corporate wing of the party.  They have ignored, and continue to ignore, the reality that our government plays a key role in the general welfare and common good of our nation.  “The era of big government is over.” was the single biggest mistake the Democrats ever made.  With that pronouncement, the party that once waged war on poverty, not the poor, and prided themselves on securing justice and humane legislation and treatment to uplift the downtrodden and marginalized among us, came to an end.

 

Knowing that Dr. King, didn’t need to win to have a marvelously powerful, positive impact on our way of life should provide the Democrats with the confidence and backbone to rid themselves of super-delegates and the darkness of political expediency and hatred.  Time for them to follow Bernie’s lead and commit themselves to once again providing the bright sunshine of liberty they have forsaken.