How can we defeat Trump? Obviously pointing out his many and serious flaws does nothing. Plus the media love him. Every time he does or says anything the media is all over it. Doesn’t matter what it is — they are giving him all the publicity any candidate would drool over. And it’s been like this from the very first moment he announced he was running. Frankly, it’s sickening.
On the other hand, the media have decided that Sanders can’t/won’t/shouldn’t win. In the beginning they refused to give him any mention at all. It was like he was invisible. Now he’s no longer invisible to the media, but they only give him the absolute minimum reportage they can get away with. And they always lead with Hillary or a republican. Never Bernie. At least not that I’ve seen.
The reality is, more ordinary people support Bernie than any other candidate regardless of party. And the more people learn about him, the more they support him. That’s why the DNC is heavily stacking the deck against him. It doesn’t matter what the people want. The party operatives want Hillary as their nominee. This seems to be the biggest argument against Bernie. The “he can’t win” crowd that’s been harping on that since the very beginning of the race. And it’s still going strong. What gets me is that even progressives, who logically should be supporting Bernie even though he isn’t perfect, also insist he can’t win, that he doesn’t have the experience, that his ideas aren’t realistic or will cost too much or whatever.
Most recently this was the response to Bernie’s economic plan. But — it’s not unrealistic at all! In fact, if the things that Bernie proposes are acted upon, this country’s economy would surge. And it would be with true value-added goods and services. Because he is proposing to deal with this country’s massive crumbling infrastructure (roads, bridges, electric grid, etc.). Health care for all will expand the jobs in all aspects of health care. Did you know that there aren’t enough “regular” doctors now, and the future looks even dimmer? (By “regular” doctors I mean family doctors — our first line of defense in an increasingly broke and expensive medical/insurance system). Then there’s environmental restoration. The jobs in this category are extremely diverse and involve all sectors of the economy. And our faltering educational system — broken not only in the inner cities but also in rural areas where people can not afford to keep buildings in repair or to pay teachers a decent salary. And agriculture, and energy. Revamping, downsizing, regionalizing, implementing conservation measures, and renewables. Imagine the jobs there! Good paying jobs! Jobs that would serve to revitalize our communities, states, and the nation as a whole. Unrealistic??? No! We just lack the will to move forward on these most essential needs. Too many of us have bought into the “we can’t afford it” mentality of the elites. Whenever money needs to be spent on something that actually benefits ordinary people we’re told it’s too expensive. But wars? Corporate tax breaks and loop holes? Heck — go for it! Nothing’s too expensive for the weathy. Well, I for one am sick of this, and I am not buying into it. The money is there. We all know it is.
Daily Kos wants to know how to defeat Trump. It’s easy — stop pandering to the “Bernie can’t win” mentality and get out there and convince more people that he can. Fight the DNC every way possible. Get in the streets at the convention. Make it known that what the people vote for matters and that the people, not the elites in the party, should be calling the shots. Even today there’s an article that asks, “Why do Sander’s supporters think Bernie can win?”.
I’m one of Bernie’s supporters who thinks that he is the only candidate who has a chance of defeating Trump, or any other republican for that matter, in November. I know lots of people who plan on writing Bernie’s name in if he isn’t the nominee. Personally, I’m torn. A part of me wants to vote for who I really want to win. But another part of me can’t imagine what Trump would do to this country. My mind goes into nightmare territory when I think of this. Repression, rapidly increasing environmental destruction from which there is no return, worsening climate change, no federal aid for victims of the increasingly dangerous weather we’re experiencing, poor and elderly people pushed out into the streets where they die for lack of food, shelter, medical care (even more than they do now). Foreign policy? Trump? Seriously? The USA would be a laughing stock. I have yet to hear the man make one complete sentence that makes sense from beginning to end. Not quite as bad as Sarah Palin, but very close.
To defeat Trump we need to support the candidate most able to beat him, and that is Bernie. The other option is, Trump wins (which he very well could — at first I thought there was no way but now I’m not so sure) and this country revolts. People get into the streets. All bets are off. There is a mixture of violent and non-violent actions designed to change the status quo because the status quo is only for the 1%, the rest of us are expendable. We are cogs in the wheel of the global, capitalist, market. When one of us falters and dies, another is shoved into our cog. This is the future we face if we don’t act. Combine that with climate chaos and a rapidly deteriorating environment, crumbling infrastructure, dumbed down schools, and lack of decent and affordable healthcare (despite the ACA) — and our world, certainly what we call “civilization” is gone. My heart and soul ache for my children and grandchildren. What a horrible legacy!
People are so used to being held down, told not to dream, not to use our imaginations to envision a better future because it’s unrealisic, impractical, illogical . . . all words designed to keep us good little slaves. But today we must dare to dream. We must dare to imagine a better world, a greener world, a world that embraces diversity of all types, a world with clean water, air, healthy food for our children. A world where rivers, oceans, moutains, old growth, rainforests . . . and the flora and fauna who live in them are valued and protected. A world where money isn’t the bottom line. A world that values life and spirit and joy. This is not impractical, it is not illogical, and most of all it is not unrealistic. But first you have to believe. I believe Bernie’s revolution will come to pass. Whether it happens in the polls or in the streets is up to us.