Maybe she didn't mean it as a hit piece. And maybe it doesn't make sense to call attention to it.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
But no mistake - it is a hit piece. And it's a theme that needs to be refuted.
Bernie Sanders is the Left's Trump
Not only is this misguided, but it's offensive on its face.
The objectively ridiculous proposition of a President Sanders or a President Trump actually trying to govern is supposed to destabilize the fantasy.
It is certainly ridiculous to consider that a man who has spent his whole life amassing wealth while spouting crude nonsense to call attention to himself might be able to govern.
Ana Marie, dear, it's not "objectively ridiculous" to consider that a man who has spent his entire life in public service, has been elected repeatedly to public office - as mayor, congressman, senator - has run cities, represented the people of his state admirably, written Federal legislation, might be able to govern.
zero-sum mentality and vengeful nihilism
Yes, it certainly is vengeful and 'zero-sum' to vilify entire demographics as "rapists" and "criminals" and cynically try to destroy a presidency with bullshit like "I don't believe he was born in the U.S" while burning down your own party with inane, thoughtless, and mean-spirited rhetoric just to elevate your name, offering little in the way of policy.
On the other hand, it is not "zero-sum" or "nihilistic" to offer a simple, solid and cogent platform of policies as an alternative to the way things are done now - policies, by the way, that are totally within the realm of possibility, and totally within the mainstream of democratic thought not all that long ago. Sanders is not trying to destroy, he's fighting to transform. Or rather to bring us back to an ideal we once embraced.
Sanders, on the other hand, offers a chewier and less visceral version of “us-versus-them”
Yes, Ana Marie. Xenophobia and racism is exactly the same "us v. them" as calling for economic fairness and social justice. Right.
Corporations are not people. Corporations have neither race nor ethnicity. The "them" that Sanders refers to is not a "them" at all. He's criticizing a system not a demographic. All "billionaires" are not the same. The aren't all out there trying to purchase a government. Is there really any nobility in being on the side of the ones who are?
Apparently the two candidates are also alike in the way that the media covers them. Ms. Cox, that reflects on the idiocy of the media, not on Bernie Sanders.
Most irritatingly wrong headed and destructive:
But the attraction of a Sanders or Trump presidency for true believers isn’t the opportunity to govern all of us, but the chance to punish the rest of us.
Ana Marie, we have no interest in punishing anyone. Too many people are suffering enough already. We are interested in the opportunity to
end that suffering, in lifting and keeping people out of poverty, giving them the opportunity to attend college, creating jobs with fair pay, making sure everyone has health care, creating economic fairness, fighting for social and economic justice. We are interested in well-considered ideas that would benefit everyone who isn't trying to buy the government or keep those who would buy the government in power.
We are interested in that quaint idea of "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Sorry, Ann Marie, I have no interest in "bearing with you". You're just wrong.