Charles Pierce: Sanders Said Something We Weren't Ready to Hear Last Night

[Peace Patriot]

35. Great OP! Thanks! But I disagree that anybody will 'make a meal out of Sanders.'

The pundits are right that Sanders' statements back in the 1980s are fertile ground for conservative ratfcking—look how easy it was for HRC to turn them around on him—and likely would be used to make a meal out of him in a general election. --from the OP

First of all, the "pundits" are not right. Our typical flabby-brained Corporate-paid political punditry is merely repeating a Clinton-Brock talking point about her "inevitability." And the polls completely bely that "inevitability." Not only does Sanders have trust favorables through the roof (while Clinton's are in the toilet), he beats Trump by twice the % that Clinton does, in national poll matchups. Put Clinton in that hothouse--the GE and GE debates--and she will crumble. She has no believability going for her--no trust, no belief in her sincerity--and she gets really pissed and raises her voice into that sharp tone that is like a nail scratch on a windowpane and talks way, way too long, when she is challenged, and especially when she is unprepared for the particular challenge.

Second, Sanders is a very, very smart fellow, and has been thinking about these things for decades. He is very quick in debates (superb debater), very assertive when he needs to be, never gets rattled, thinks on his feet extremely well, speaks briefly and to the point, and has very well-thought-out, passionate, intelligent and consistent positions on this issue and all issues.

Also, there is something about him that is not really personally ambitious. Maybe it has to do with his age--earned wisdom. He doesn't seem to care much what people think of him. He just says what he thinks, take it or leave--but DO think about it, he seems to be saying.

That's the strategy of a really good teacher--and he's done it time and time and time again, that is, gotten people to THINK about it, mull it over, and, suddenly, "democratic socialism" is okay, and, suddenly, free college tuition is okay, and, suddenly, expanding Social Security is okay. It puts these "outrageous" ideas out there, and soon everybody starts agreeing with him, OR, at least not putting up crossed fingers as to a vampire.

He has made many anathema issues RESPECTABLE. Many things that could not be talked about before are now on the agenda for public discussion.

He didn't do this alone. He is profiting from the work of thousands of people who have been working for decades on issues like "free trade" and "a living wage" and "affordable college"--and, in this case, scurrilous U.S. policy in Latin America. But it's all been black-holed by the Corporate Media and by most establishment politicians since Jimmy Carter. Now we have a PRESIDENTIAL candidate bringing up the forbidden topics! A candidate that they have been unable to bury. A candidate who might even win the White House!

Oh, I think he'll do very well, indeed, in the GE and GE debates.

One other thing: I saw the full video about a month ago. I'm no dumb partisan--I was looking for talking point snags, while I was being incredibly impressed with his humanity, his judiciousness, his sharp observation on his trip to Nicaragua, and the trouble he went to, to go see things for himself. I hope everybody sees this video! I hope it's played in full on nat't TV. It's already getting round the internet. This video will work like his other "outrageous" ideas: it will grow on people.

I heard very few talking point snags (maybe just the Cuba one--and that, too, will grow on people--maybe starting with U.S. parents who have children with lung cancer who get the Cuba-developed vaccine that extends their lives!). It IS time that people here learn the truth about Cuba, good and bad, just like we need to learn the truth about the U.S., good and bad. Cuba has the best health care system in the world, and the best educated people. How can that be bad? The extreme bias against Cuba is a false creation. And that is just the sort of thing that Sanders is really good at teaching us, here.