Does Bernie Sanders Know How He's Being Used?

I've been watching Bernie Sanders' impressive rise to relevance in the Democratic party primary season with considerable interest. I think the guy has a spark of understanding that puts him well ahead of the average sociopath running for the highest office in the land. Of course, he is still very much trapped in the conventional paradigms of our time. He has not yet made the leap of realizing that we have (at best) a generation left to prepare for a jobless economy which could and should be a utopia, but will most likely be some hellish hybrid of The Grapes of Wrath and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

But I digress. I'm looking at his campaign, so far to the left of conventional Democrat politics, and can't help but wonder what the ultimate product of this exercise will be. I've come to the conclusion that this whole thing is unfolding for the specific purpose of undermining Third Party options. Think about it. Sanders' campaign is bringing a whole bunch of independent and far-left disenfranchised Democrats back into the proverbial tent.

Satisfaction with the false dichotomy of the Republicrat duopoly has been rising for years. The difference between the two major parties are almost entirely cosmetic at this point and people are starting to look elsewhere. And the newest generation of voters, the incoming wave of millenials, ready to outnumber us Baby Boomers and possibly change the face of American politics, are particularly unimpressed with the selection available to them.

Enter Bernie. Here's a guy at least trying to talk about the issues that matter to a lot of people. He's firing up, not the traditional Democratic base, but a group of voters that the inevitable Democratic appointee Hillary will never have any chance of really winning over. Sure, there are people who are drawn to Bernie who would probably pull the donkey lever just to block the Republican candidate (such gamesmanship being the foundation of our modern political system), but a lot of the people I see gravitating to Sanders are the kind of people who would rather vote Green/Workers'/Socialist parties rather than continuing to feed the duopoly.

So how does it play out? A long primary season that gets left wing voters invested in Bernie Sanders' campaign to the exclusion of less traditional options. It will, however, be a remarkably civil campaign for while Bernie will call out the elites and the oligarchs, he will never "stoop" to pointing out that Hillary is bought and paid for by those same elites. Bernie will have some impressive, exciting, and energizing wins in early key states, but the momentum will inevitably shift towards Hillary.

The Democratic National Convention will be still be the coronation everyone's expecting, but Bernie will be there to give a conciliatory speech about moving the party and the country forward. With the status quo candidate in place, he will hand over his legions of previously disenfranchised followers. The Millenials will be handed to Hillary on a silver platter, boosting the chances of a Democratic win in the general election and (far more importantly to those in power), keeping or dragging all those young, idealistic voters into the two party fold.

The script is pretty obvious, if you ask me.

So my question is: Is Bernie in on it? Or is he just a poor idealistic patsy? Is he going to play ball, or can we expect some weird Howard Dean Scream style moment to scuttle the campaign in the early going?

a reply to: RobertAntonWeishaupt

Interesting and solid insights imo, and I agree. In the final analysis, I don't believe he will be nominated by the DNC. But I am proud as hell of him for trying.

And oh.... the millennials already outnumber boomers:

JUNE 25, 2015 — Millennials, or America’s youth born between 1982 and 2000, now number 83.1 million and represent more than one quarter of the nation’s population. Their size exceeds that of the 75.4 million baby boomers, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. Overall, millennials are more diverse than the generations that preceded them, with 44.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group (that is, a group other than non-Hispanic, single-race white).

Source: The U.S. Census Bureau

just sayin'

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

Agreed. I was referring more to the number of Millenials of voting age. I could have been more clear on that part.

a reply to: RobertAntonWeishaupt

I wish I could remember the member here who shared this video with me, but politics is a science?

Anyhow, to the member who I forgot your name? Thanks for enlightening me with this video.



Those in power know how to keep it.......

a reply to: seeker1963

Love that video. I have often said that the candidate that runs on the premise of introducing Automatic Run-Off Voting would have my vote immediately. (They would also probably by assassinated or disgraced by a fabricated scandal if they ever got within spitting distance of victory)

If he is in on it...
He's not being used.

Pedantic semantics aside...


I think they're all in on it.
Even if not in a collaborative sense...
But in an antiquated sense of individual fear of the zeitgeist being smashed and a new age.

That goes for Congress or Parliament...


Because change, is unpredictable...
And even if not in on it together...
Separately they are all surely aware that all of them are ripe for the chopping block.


So while it may be a collective mindset...
It may not be a fully collaborative effort to safeguard the ways of old.


Bernie, you sound great, but you're a politician...
And on that basis alone, you're untrustworthy.

Your mileage may vary with such generalisations.

I think Bernie is a legitimate candidate. He's been speaking out long before the start of this election run. I wouldn't be surprised as Bernie continues to travel around the country he's going to pick-up enough support which will give Hillary a run for her money. Democrats and Republicans alike are getting tired of the oligarchy government. The majority of Americans are getting tired of being ignored while the elite are catered to.

I'm mad as hell on how our politicians have allowed our constitutional rights to be trampled on. They take an oath to protect the constitution of the United States, yet bow to corporate and government interests. Our government needs a shake-up, and I think Bernie is just the man who can do it. Power to the people, is what our founding fathers expected and wanted.

I too think that Ol Bernie is a viable candidate.I do not believe he is "being used" . The only thing I have about him is he is a Socialist stuck in the 70s .However , with that being said , could that actually be a good thing ? It may be time for a complete change of things . We have been ruled by monarchs since what 2000 ? I am going to start researching Sanders a bit more. And this coming from a libertarian.......

a reply to: RobertAntonWeishaupt
He has already called out Hillary for her stance on the TPP. I Welcome New Parties, lots of them D's and R's can go to Hell.

Go Bernie!

I don't know, but it's nice to see so many people coming together. I said people, not dollars. ( sarcasm)

There is a self-serving new-world-order cabal, which is doing its damnedest to kick America the Constitutional Republic to the curb.

Bernie's socialist political platform may look good through rose colored glasses, but like Obama phones and food stamps, it will take the exploited masses only so far down a dead-end-road.

With the national debt pushing $18.3 trillion, it's wise to remember, there are no free lunches in life.

source: en.wikipedia.org...

I think you are right op, well said too. Bernie knows he could never win, because he will never be able to get the big corporate donations. This is all theatre to get disenfranchised voters engaged again. The republicans are doing the same thing with Rand Paul.

I take it you support Hillary then?
Bernie's political analysis of what the problems and solutions are reflect more of what the majority wants VS vested interests. With Hillary you will get more of the same and exacerbation of the underlying social issues.
This country needs a social uprising and Bernie has more to deliver on that end.
Will he win, who knows. Big money will weigh in and then we will see if cynicism rules the day.
However, perpetuating the status quo increasingly is not working for most people. Major party traditional candidates have no answer as they have invested no energy in thinking outside the box. Bernie has always been progressive socialist and didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I like his chances and the demographics prove it.
He's the real deal, the problem for candidates like Bernie is they have to create an interest spike too soon and then the counter narrative becomes an acid bath as every one comes after the front runner, allowing Hillary or your candidate of choice to position themselves to close the margin and wear down the non traditional candidate

I think Bernie is too smart to be "used" like that. He has the support of many, many people. And that alone will influence how the general election goes.

If all he accomplishes is to point out just how many Americans agree with HIM on EVERY ISSUE he has addressed, and he does it attached to the Dems, then he has achieved a great thing.

He's neither a joke nor a patsy. And all those who scream and moan really have no viable argument against his premises - he has Scandinavia, a region that has adopted exactly what he is standing for to hold up as a the shining example of how successful it can be.

Is America too big for such a system of Democratic Socialism? Perhaps. That is the only thing I think might prove to be problematic --- but he will STILL have ignited a fire under the Dems to step up as well.

Hillary is looking less and less viable, actually. All rhetoric, no outline.

The Green/Workers'/Socialists are not that small of a group anymore; and for him to take his agenda to them and everyone else in the "big leagues", is brilliant. He comes with a very SOLID track record, which Hillary does not.

And even if he withdraws or doesn't get the nomination, he will continue his efforts in Congress as the person he is - upstanding, mature, innovative, and much needed right now.

GO BERNIE!

The outcome of his efforts can ONLY be positive for us who are chomping at the bit for REAL change and REAL hope.
This sea change is due right now. Not in 8 more years, not 40 years ago, but what the youths of the 60s and 70s wanted is now being represented by one of their own.

More power to them.

a reply to: starswift

Oh Stars, please do not mistake my post for someone who supports Hillary in any way, shape, or form. I am a staunch opponent of any candidate from the major parties, and see the only upside of the seemingly inevitable Clinton vs. Bush general election is that such a grotesquely incestuous rehash of the last 25 years of American politics might actually wake The People up to the sham that has been made of our government.

originally posted by: seasoul
There is a self-serving new-world-order cabal, which is doing its damnedest to kick America the Constitutional Republic to the curb.

Bernie's socialist political platform may look good through rose colored glasses, but like Obama phones and food stamps, it will take the exploited masses only so far down a dead-end-road.

With the national debt pushing $18.3 trillion, it's wise to remember, there are no free lunches in life.

source: en.wikipedia.org...

Spot on, I was convinced that the failures to date would be enough to disprove the interventionist socialist doctrine.

It has not proven to be so. The impulse to double down permeates the frustrated "moderates" (that really makes me laugh when I hear it).

Unfortunately, you are probably right that a further squandering of resources is the plan rather than gingerly stepping back from the precipice.

a reply to: RobertAntonWeishaupt

Yeah the guy knows and he's actually voluntarily partaking in the charade. He know's he's unelectable.

Not all socialists think that Sanders is a socialist, or even much different from the Democrat Party. The Liberty Union Party has been a small gadfly on him for awhile in his home state of Vermont.

The Liberty Union Party

I did a little bit of work with them, way back when. I would say that of the political parties out there, they probably best fit with my beliefs. I vote "no confidence" for anything with a name or title anyway.

I find Bernie to be sincerely genuine.

He has been speaking out against the corporate oligarchy for a long time now.

I think the only difference is that he has a national audience now who is aware of what he is speaking about. The worse the problem gets, the more weight his words carry. We are now at a point where he has selected to have his voice heard at a critical time.

I find his timing to be very calculated, and his message very sincere. I believe he really does "care".