The rapid ascent of Senator Bernie Sanders to "Considered the Democratic Front-Runner" is a story seemingly destined to repeat history. Whether or not you're an '"establishment" Hillary supporter, awaiting the seemingly-inevitable Joe Biden claim to the nomination, or even a loyal follower of Chafee or O'Malley or Webb, the rise of Senator Sanders to national prominence is important for one reason, best summed up by the President-Hopeful, himself:
"The Political Revolution of 2015."
While supporters rally around his well-known integrity and social justice warriors embrace his message of - gasp! - "redistributing" wealth which has already been redistributed to the wealthy, the man himself has continually argued that it takes more than one good leader to effect change in the country.
Background Of A Revolution
Let's be clear: While Bernie may be doing well in New Hampshire and Wisconsin polls, the race for the Democratic nomination is a nightmare for any viable candidate. We're watching the fruits of a decades-long smear campaign against the Clinton family; they are thought of as a "dynasty" when, in reality, they are more like first-generation nobles whose own ascent was fraught with difficulties. Bill Clinton's Presidency was not exactly a "coronation," a term popular with those who would rebuke the notion that Clinton could ever have expected an easy battle.
True, Clinton has known since the "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy" days that she had was the political donkey who Republicans were hoping to pin something on. True, she should have known that, legal or not, the idea of having her own private e-mail server as Secretary Of State was a thoroughly stupid idea that would leave her completely vulnerable. Even if we can be 95% sure she didn't break any laws, we can be equally sure that she did not understand modern-day computer security; or, at least, 2008 computer security, a time when she simply should have known better. Yet even with all of the attention on her "dynasty" and her "FBI investigations," is it really fair to say she is destined to experience another 2008?
Well, Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren just shared a private meeting of some kind. Warren, a major player in the Democratic nomination who, despite the alignment between her natural political ideas and Bernie Sanders', has not stepped up to officially endorse him, may well make an excellent VP choice for any candidate out there. That, or an even better Secretary of the Treasury, given her background in commercial law.
Sorry, I've digressed.
Biden enjoys a certain "Crazy Uncle" reputation among many political junkies, and if Clinton's chances of victory continue to descend, can we honestly expect a sitting Vice-President who once held ambitions of his own to sit out? Were Clinton not such a "dynastic" power-player, wouldn't it make sense to anticipate Biden's claim to be the heir-presumptive of his once-conquerer, the "Socialist" Obama? Could he have found a way to sway Warren to his side, a move which would seriously bolster his credentials with more radical liberal Democrats?
It's hard to imagine that Bernie Sanders wouldn't have thought such a thing, and he has played it brilliantly. Perhaps Biden made a grave miscalculation with waiting until now to press his claim: Maybe if Biden had been out pounding the pavement like Bernie he would have been seen as the natural next-in-line behind Hillary. He's certainly not as "radical" as Bernie is, making him a lovely choice for "establishment" forces who fear Hillary might be a sinking ship!
Yet there Bernie is, seizing the reigns of his own destiny in a way that seems almost too fantastic to be true - another "fairly tale" for Bill's imagination to run wild with.
Only...That isn't what Bernie wants his supporters to think about the most.
Spreading The Good News
Bernie has been a living stereotype of the preacher who shows up at your doorstep (or, at least, local sports arena) and gives a rousing speech about a higher virtue. He preaches the "Political Revolution" message not so that he can be elected, but as part of a larger political chess game. Yes, Bernie Sanders is most definitely playing his part in the classical, fallacious notion of an organized struggle for power. Yes, he is an ideologue in the sense that he is promoting his ideology as much, if not more than himself. Let me explain.
More overtly, he is rallying against big moneyed interests like the Koch Brothers and Goldman Sachs. He hits the now-classic targets with an energetic yet predictable fervor, smiting the mighty even when some of the wealthiest Americans are doing more than their share to help the less-fortunate. Bill Gates is still in that 1% he rails against, no? Yet his message isn't against wealth itself, but wealth in the hands of those who use it to subvert elections in a country where less than 60% of the citizenry voted in 2012.
The beauty of Sanders' message is not the short-term implications of a Sanders presidency. On the day he declared, if my memory serves, he reminded us that even the best President in our history - or, even just an effective one like James Polk - can only accomplish what he can get through that little legislative body called "Congress." He has cast down Obama's negotiation with "snakes" as a folly from the start. Sanders recognizes that no matter who wins the Democratic nomination (and, likely, the Presidency), without broader shifts in national voter participation (again, less than 60% in 2012) and changes in the way Congress represents its constituents, the Presidency is reduced to checking madness like the over three-dozen, purely symbolic votes against the Affordable Care Act. He wants people to vote regardless of whose name is on the ballot because he recognizes that is the only way the people's will can be achieved.
Let's talk about Senator Jim "Snowball" Inhofe for a paragraph. I call him "snowball" both because he insisted that being able to bring a snowball onto the Senate floor during winter meant that global warming was a lie, and because I'm making a subtle reference to the film "Clerks." Inhofe is not just completely wrong when it comes to his understanding of scientific data on global warming - a major Bernie Sanders issue. He is also the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works committee. This means he is in charge of environmental, erhm, stuff with regards to the Senate, and that is bad news for anyone who believes in global climate change and the necessary changes in our public works policy required to overcome it. If "public works" sounds boring, it's because it's things like "roads," "power plants," and "water management systems" that are very technical but very necessary to places like New York, Kentucky, and California.
Bernie's "Political Revolution" motif may not spur Oklahomans to kick Inhofe out on his rump any time soon, given Oklahoma's 66% rejection of Barack Obama in the 2012 election. In fact, it seems foolish to believe this is Sanders' goal. Instead, Sanders' candidacy could galvanize independent voters in "battleground" states to turn out in favor of him and, like in 2008, just happen to vote for Democrats in other races taking place. In turn, a shift in control of the Senate and - in a perfect world - the House of Representatives would allow for new leaders to at least remove folks like "Snowball" and Ted Cruz from their seats on scientific committees.
While it doesn't sound like much, keeping crazy people away from the NASA budget is a long-term victory for all of Humanity.
On the other hand, in the short-to-medium term, Bernie's proselytizing of the "Political Revolution" is indeed a politically evangelical message. He preaches the good news that Americans can actually overturn their government if it doesn't represent their views, and he does it well. Bernie supporters should share this good news and vote in their election, no matter how tough the Primary fight is, and no matter who happens to win it, simply because the stakes are too high to let his candidacy's passion go to waste.
The "Political Revolution" itself, and not some President Bernie Sanders, is the good news that must be shared. At the risk of repeating myself, Bernie is just a start: Americans going out, voting, and ending the ability of amassed wealth to control the country? That's the really good news.