2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: The "PoC don't support Bernie because they don't know him" claim is actually true [View all]jonestonesusa
(880 posts)I see your response as a more on point critique than most, based on the fact that it looks carefully at this initial framing of the core issues of the Sanders campaign, class over race, so to speak. I agree with you on the foundations of US governance and oligarchy, so from my perspective, it just becomes a question of the best available approach to pushing back against entrenched power for the benefit of the majority of people. IMO, if any change in trickle down type economic policy is going to happen, the case for greater access to resources needs to be made, and Sanders is obviously, to me at least, making that case. It's no slam dunk to change from the purposefully engineered inequality that we have now, especially when it comes to getting things passed in Congress, but what can you do other than try to get broader public support by campaigning rigorously for a fairer economy and not taking money from the interests that want to perpetuate inequality?
I also agree in some part with Sanders that the identity-based approach to election strategy is more established in US politics than liberal economic thought.So, even though I agree with you that in Clinton's campaign, the effort to connect with black politicians and the broader black voting base is more intentional and of longer standing, if the end result is status quo policy, what's the point? As a black liberal voter, that leaves me with a church-going conservative DEM that does nothing to build the party beyond its center-right economic thought and increasingly low turnout base, especially after the once in a lifetime candidacy of Obama.
Last thing, I believe that Sanders family was impacted by the Holocaust, so I am not certain that his migration to the US was by choice as much as you suggest. Thanks for the dialogue.