I had written most of this diary last night and meant to post it then, but got sidetracked by the Clown Car Show #2. If nothing else, it was good for a few laughs.
For those of us who are supporting Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic Primaries, it's been somewhat of a mystery to us as to why he hasn't been getting more media coverage. A bit over four months ago, when Bernie decided to enter the race, few political analysts seriously thought that he would pose much of a challenge to the prohibitive front runner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Move her platform to the left? Possibly. Wrest the nomination from her? No way in hell.
For months now, Bernie has been drawing huge crowds in states he has scheduled rallies. The crowds have not only been enthusiastic, but the numbers are far greater than any other presidential candidate on either side. His poll numbers have improved dramatically in both Iowa and New Hampshire, where he now leads Hillary. And yet, the national media has been extremely reluctant to acknowledge his meteoric rise and increasing credibility as the possible Democratic nominee.
Until this week.
Anyone who has been paying close attention to political developments over the past few months has come to the realization that limiting the number of Democratic debates was a disastrous decision by the Democratic National Committee and its inflexible chairwoman. Not only that, but the debate schedule has a "huge problem." (also known as "yuuge" in Brooklynese) The one presidential campaign that should be banging the doors of the DNC and demanding more debates is the Clinton Campaign so that the focus shifts to Hillary's policies rather than being stuck on manufactured scandals—before it is too late. Even Markos has come to the reluctant conclusion just this afternoon, albeit a few months late, that we should be having more, not fewer debates. Why cede publicity ground to the OranguTrump and his ilk? Even if the Republican presidential candidates are making a fool of themselves, all the electorate - not to mention most readers of Daily Kos - has been largely hearing so far is one side of the story.
7. I wish we had Democratic debates. They would likely be more fun to talk about than this shit. Markos Moulitsas |
After Bernie's marvelous address to students at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he tried to find common ground with the religious right on issues like poverty, income inequality, and healthcare, something seems to have changed. Earlier this week on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," guest host Ari Melber had one of the more honest political dialogues I've seen in this cycle with Vox Media's Editor-in-Chief, Ezra Klein. To be sure, Bernie faces lots of hurdles, but Klein was very impressed with what's been achieved in a relatively short period of time.
Klein is neither a partisan hack, nor does he have a political axe to grind. By any measure, he is one of the brightest young journalists, political analysts, and writers around - dispassionate, thoughtful, and rational. I have been reading him for years ever since he was an associate editor for the The American Prospect.
Here's part of the exchange between Melber and Klein. The video was embedded as part of a Tweet from Melber and I have transcribed the relevant portion of the conversation. I encourage you to watch the entire video.
The Klein article that Melber referred to was this one - Why Bernie Sanders's rise is more impressive than Donald Trump's. At that link you'll see two videos - Why Bernie Sanders is Winning the Internet and an extensive interview that Klein did with Bernie in July 2015.
An excerpt:
Donald Trump's rise to the top of the Republican polls has been incredible. But it's obscuring a story that might ultimately prove more meaningful: Bernie Sanders's increasingly serious challenge to Hillary Clinton...
In a normal year, Sanders's rise would be a shocking, unbelievable story that would be dominating political media — it's just currently being overshadowed by Trump's story, which is arguably more unbelievable, and certainly makes for better TV...
Sanders is still a long shot. He trails Clinton badly in national polls and in more diverse states. But if his rise continues, it may prove more durable, and more significant, than Trump's political stardom.
|