The Big Guns have come out against Bernie.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

It has been fascinating watching the media the past few weeks. Now that it is clear that Clinton's campaign is in genuine trouble and Bernie very well have a serious chance at the nomination, those who have a lot invested in maintaining the status quo have gone positively berserk!

The opinion pieces, the televised appearances -- it seems that the Democratic/"liberal" leaning media is just as freaked out about Bernie as their counterparts from the other side are about Trump! The Washington Post editorial today was really something else -- there was the distinct smell of hair on fire throughout it.

This makes one thing totally clear to me:

BERNIE IS A VERY DANGEROUS MAN, in the best sense.

He wants to shake things up in Washington and our country, and they obviously think he CAN, otherwise they would not be in such a bloody panic.

I like it.

[Pharaoh]

1. they are afraid

because Bernie is waking up the masses and it is starting to look like a runaway train

[RobertEarl]

3. Yep. We are out of control

They have spent billions keeping us dumb and they are beginning to see that Bernie is bringing us up and out of their control.

They have every reason to be afraid.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. ...

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

32. Like I have said before.

Now is the time for a real progressive populist movement, but the message needs to be clear and not overly complex and it needs to be repeated over and over to drive it home into the minds of the people.

Then Bernie will win.

[dreamnightwind]

2. Very true

The saddest part is he's not that dangerous a man at all. Ideas that were once taken for granted as making sense (free or affordable college and healthcare, aversion to foreign wars, progressive taxation, taking care of the least of us) are now seen as radical and dangerous. FDR would be right at home with Bernie's agenda.

Even worse has been how complicit our own party has been in attacking him and his agenda. Our party needs to change its evil ways, or fade into irrelevance. A little better than Republicans, in this day of certifiable Republican insanity, is no longer cover. Democrats have to step up and drive a positive reform agenda for the future, one based on the interests of the planet and ordinary citizens rather than on the ability of corporations to profit off of them, or they're part of the problem.

If Bernie wasn't running, we wouldn't be having any of this conversation. Standing up for the real values of the left is incredibly important, it changes everything.

edit to add: as to your OP and your handle, hell hath no fury like an oligarch scorned.

[jillan]

4. I've been waiting for this conversation for decades.

So relieved that Bernie is being heard.

[dreamnightwind]

5. Me too! So frustrating living in this society

where the actual reforms needed to have any kind of sustainable and decent life are always hinted at during elections by cynical politicians, then immediately off the table when they are in office. Money really is the root of all this evil. The corporate media is a huge part of the problem as well as the corporate politicians who do theiir bidding.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. I feel like, with Bernie, we are finally returning to --

the trajectory this country was headed on until Bobby and Martin were assassinated. It's been a l-o-o-o-o-ng time coming.

[Marty McGraw]

38. Even before that

with the party's early version of the DLC's rebuke of this great man!



One of the great "What if?" questions of the 20th century is how America would have been different if Henry Wallace rather than Harry Truman had succeeded Franklin Roosevelt in the White House. Filmmaker Oliver Stone has revived this debate in his current ten-part Showtime series, "The Untold History of the United States," and his new book (written with historian Peter Kuznick) of the same name.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, only FDR eclipsed Wallace - Roosevelt's secretary of agriculture (1933-1940) and then his vice president (1941-1944) - in popularity with the American people. Stone's documentary series and book portray Wallace as a true American hero, a "visionary" on both domestic and foreign policy. Today, however, Wallace is a mostly forgotten figure. If Stone's work helps restore Wallace's rightful place in our history and piques the curiosity of younger Americans to learn more about this fascinating person, it will have served an important purpose.

More:
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/14297-henry-wallace-americas-forgotten-visionary

[Fast Walker 52]

40. indeed.

[greiner3]

54. Adlai would have been a great one also

[Cassiopeia]

8. He's seen as very dangerous to the richest.

The sad part is, even at an extreme tax rate, which is not being proposed by Bernie, they would still go through life not ever having to go without even the most grandiose desires.

It's simply greed. Even when they have more than they could ever spend in 100 lifetimes, they still want more. I'm starting to think money is far more addicting than any narcotic.

[mikehiggins]

25. That other Jew, that Jesus guy? He sort of pointed that out a couple of millennia ago EOM

[jomin41]

10. What if a conservative Democrat party became dominant in the power structure?

[dreamnightwind]

12. ?

Happy to discuss, not sure what you're saying or where you're coming from. And I'm not entirely clear on the conservative/liberal distinction, I know what is generally meant by that but I see us being governed by the corporate intersection of the republican and Democratic parties, is that the faction you are referring to? If so I'd say they're already pretty dominant and have been since the early 90's.

[jomin41]

13. I'm just seeing the Repubs seeming to implode

and if the election is a Dem blowout ( I did say if!), it would end up with Dems being shifted rightward even more to where they control the whole "middle" and can do whatever they want. Not likely, maybe, but not especially comforting, either!

[dreamnightwind]

16. Thanks for explaining

I'm fairly old (mid 50's) so I see the current Democrats as similar to the Republicans of my youth. So I share your concerns.

We'd get "solutions" like raising the social security retirement age, we already got the Heritage private health iinsurance mandated purchase, lots of public/private partnerships to further university research into things like GMOs and automation technology, distributed workforce business models so they can exploit resources and labor forces wherever they are cheapest and most controlled, focusing on climate change damage remediation (relocation of low-lying cities, for example) rather than on ending fossil fuel use, more education privatization, pushing solutions like rentals for low-income people instead of affordable home ownership, the continued dominance of our society by the large financial corporate interests, continuing or even expanding the drug war and incarceration, finding new ways to monetize prison labor, basically more of the same disastrous road we're already on.

I've long been torn about whether to fight for taking back the Democratuc Party or work to build a progressive alternative. If they succeed in putting Hillary in the White House and ignore progressives as they always have, that will be a much more active consideration.

[jomin41]

30. Yeah, I grew up in the fifties

"everybody" liked Ike!
I think/hope that Bernie's run, no matter how far he goes, will give the progressives more influence in the party IF his supporters remain engaged. I think there's some potential there this time.

[dreamnightwind]

34. I think the party would rather triangulate us than assimilate us and our goals

Not very hopeful IMO. Bernie needs to win or we'll be watching the conservadems argue with the Republicans over who can best smash ISIS and keep Americans "safe", who can stand up to Putin best, really no place at all for what most Americans care about. What do we do then? Lets hope it doesn't come to that.

[Jack Rabbit]

28. That's not exactly what I see

The progressives and the corporatists in the Democratic Party are ready to split but are trying to hang together until the GOP finally implodes. It doesn't matter if Bernie or Hillary wins the nomination. One or the other of them will win the election over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, the two clowns still standing in the Republican race, who are also the two most repulsive Republicans in the race.

With the wheels coming off Mrs. Clinton's campaign, the greatest obstacle to Bernie becoming President is not a Republican in November, but those in the corporatist wing of the party willing to resort to subterfuge to prevent him from winning the nomination or, barring that, to run a willing corporate stooge like Michael Bloomberg to sabotage Bernie's chances in November. Bernie could even win in that scenario, but a poll recent showing Bloomberg running as a third party candidate puts Bernie neck and neck with Trump or Cruz, whereas he blows either one out in what will be a traditional two-party race. If the corporatist wing of the party is successful at denying Bernie the nomination after he wins most of the primaries, then many progressives will either stay home or vote for a third party candidate like Jill Stein rather than vote for Mrs. Clinton or whomever the corporatists find to take her place on the ticket. That will probably split the party permanently, Republican implosion or no Republican implosion. Nevertheless, I believe any Democrat will defeat either Trump or Cruz, but giving the eventual president such a crooked path to the White House will certainly diminish the effectiveness of that president and perhaps even make re-election 2020 less likely. Such an outcome would be adverse both for the Democratic Party and for most Americans.

If there is anybody considering stopping Bernie Sanders by this kind of subterfuge, consider yourself warned against it.

[lark]

49. Voting for Jill Stein is voting for Donald Trump/Ted Cruz.

I couldn't live with myself and do that. This country is too fragile after the devastation of the Bush wars and the economic destruction he fostered. Our constitution is already on shaky ground and letting a Repug nominate more SCOTUS justices would permanently swing us to an unsustainable, unlivable place.

Clinton is definitely not my first choice, but I will vote for her rather than any 3rd party candidate. Voting for Jill Stein or sitting out the race is letting the Repugs take over by default. I can't agree with that. If you don't see the difference between HRC and Trump or Cruz, you are not paying attention.

Just hoping Bernie wins so this is a moot point.

[Jack Rabbit]

50. You're right, of course

I wouldn't do it, either. However, I can't speak for every Sandernista, especially those who aren't members of DU. I doubt it would keep Mrs. Clinton from winning a two-person race, but the fall out won't be pretty. I know I'll continue to speak my mid about her corporate-friendly policies, and that won't make a few people here happy, either.

[Fawke Em]

58. I can and will.

Sorry. I can't vote for another Corpo-Dem and live with myself. And, while I see differences on social issues, I really DON'T see many differences between Clinton and the Republicans on foreign policy and the economy. I figure it will be an unsustainable place either way.

We'll not argue, but, sorry, I don't agree with you on this one.

If Bernie isn't the nominee, I'll be voting for Jill Stein and Democrats down ticket. I just can't bring myself to kill myself slowly versus quickly.

P.S. I also don't think she'll win the general. Her scandals, the lack of enthusiasm her candidacy will bring and either an indictment or pall of one will keep her out of the White House.

[lark]

59. And so goes our nation

Sad to see us destroyed from within.

[litlbilly]

15. You mean Democratic party right? That is a right wing slur

[tom_kelly]

26. He gave himself away there n/t

[litlbilly]

27. He sure did:)

[dreamnightwind]

36. Maybe, maybe not

I've seen this term creeping farther into the general lexicon, despite Democrats' efforts to thwart it. It's a flag for sure, not conclusive though.

[tom_kelly]

53. Why would someone want to sound unintelligent, I don't know. n/t

[bvar22]

52. IF that happened, the vacuum on the Populist Left would be quickly filled...

...by a Party that represented the majority of Americans...... by the millions.

[SammyWinstonJack]

56. He's dangerous to those who want to keep their greedy ways.

[jomin41]

9. Bernie is a man of peace. The only one running.

HRC seems quite comfortable with unrestrained and permanent warfare, which is destroying America just like it has destroyed every republic or empire. It is truly out of control. We do not need another hawkish president right now (or ever).

[dreamnightwind]

19. +1

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. They ignored 'that pesky socialist ' thinking he'd just fade away from having no support and

they misjudged WE THE PEOPLE. They misjudged just how pissed off we all are AND how much Bernie Sanders is LOVED by people who knew who he was and all the people who got to know him and now love him too! They waited until it was too late! The can't put this genie back in the bottle. We're keeping him!

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[Jack Rabbit]

14. Do you suppose the oligarchs will demand a taxpayer bailout?

For the money the lost investing in Hillary Clinton?

[litlbilly]

18. I think she's already out of money and needs the big donor fund raisers cash. Bernie knows how to

spend what he has and I'm guessing there's a lot more where his cash came from. Gonna be interesting.

[roguevalley]

21. reports indicate that she has 90% of $ and people in Iowa and NH. She's hurting for sure.

[litlbilly]

24. I think you mean she spent 90% of her money. Bernie not even close. Id like to see actual numbers.

cant wait to see what those numbers are since Bernie has now passed 3mil donations. After he wins IA and NH, that number will probably grow exponentially.

[libdem4life]

35. That was the only reason I could think of that she'd blow off Iowa...where she's clearly

spent a lot of money, and is slipping in the polls to go fawning for more capital. Bernie just has to send out an email. That right there kind of tells the story.

[WillyT]

17. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. With the right Treasury Secretary, SEC, FBI and Justice Department....

You could fill a jail with banksters.

Their victims are still on the hook for those crooked and deceptive subprime loans.

[ElliotCarver]

22. Wake up and embrace Stage 7 of Establishment Meltdown--it is upon us

https://theintercept.com/2016/01/21/the-seven-stages-of-establishment-backlash-corbynsanders-edition/

[StandingInLeftField]

29. Has this been been a DU Original Post yet?

It should be.

[StandingInLeftField]

31. I see that it already has been a topic

See here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280101001

[dreamnightwind]

37. Hadn't seen this yet, thanks

and if you're new here, welcome to DU!

[ElliotCarver]

57. Thank you!

I am new--a couple weeks of lurking then I couldn't help myself, just had to start posting!

[ErikJ]

23. We might need to form a militia to protect him.

I dont think he has secret serv protection yet.

[Fawke Em]

60. Got it today.

https://twitter.com/edhenry/status/693455699628691456

[Rafale]

33. FYI

The "Liberal" media died when 90 percent of the media was consolidated under six corporations. There is no Liberal media.

[libdem4life]

43. Yes. That's how Oligarchy works, unfortunately. It has happened in many other industries

which is why we need Bernie more than ever.

I still believe it was Bill Clinton that sold us down the tubes with his Prosperity For All National Credit Card. The Piper came for his dues, but Bill was sailing off to Aruba or somewhere by that time. Or, maybe just setting up Hillary for Bill II. I could care less about his womanizing...but he was a DINO of the highest order...and they got rich off of it and still are and will continue to...maybe a little less quickly if Bernie wins...but they'll come out richer.

[Rafale]

46. Yes

Sen Sanders would be just the first step. Congress must change next.

[libdem4life]

48. After Sanders, we must reach the unwashed masses et al...then change Congress.

Because the current ones are pretty much already "promised" lock, stock and barrel. And those were the rules that got them there.

[Fast Walker 52]

39. that CNN townhall was certainly a smear against Bernie

"Anatomy of a hit job"
https://www.facebook.com/TheYoungTurks/videos/10153388383814205/

Couldn't find this on youtube, but it's really good.

And now the WaPo blast Bernie.

[Enthusiast]

44. It sure was a hit job. I predicted it. Those fuckers should be embarrassed. But they have no shame.

[Thespian2]

41. K & R!!!

[PatrynXX]

42. There's only one major difference between Trump and Sanders. Congressional Endorsements.

I believe Bernie has some. So far Trump has a total of ZERO. Nevermind anyone who is anti abortion knows full well he isn't anti abortion. Ted Cruz sure has made that fully know right up to his support of Planned Parenthood. Which is odd because PP attacks Bernie but not Trump. Little twisted of course they don't attack their donators X_X. Although I do not know if Bernie is a donator to PP.

[Bonhomme Richard]

45. You can judge a mans character by the power of his enemies.

Can't remember who said it.

[Dont call me Shirley]

47. Boot the billionaires. Boot bezos. Give em the BOOT!

[EdwardBernays]

51. look at who funds both parties

lobbyists and special interests... the exact people that Bernie won't take money from...

Clinton is one of the worst

[sellitman]

55. Their shrilly Twitterettes are obnoxious

Their memes are all on cue just like the Rethugs.

Hard to tell them apart.