Sanders Has Already Won

[arcane1]

By Justin Akers / socialistworker.org

Bernie Sanders does not have to become president in order to win. Just by getting in the ring, he has already scored a major victory for the American working class. His campaign is blazing a new trail to the left in the American political system. In the coming years, we will probably see the development of a Democratic Socialist Party in the U.S.

Win or lose, his campaign will lay the foundation for a new American left. His candidacy has opened the door to socialism in the U.S. The debate about America's economic future will no longer be a debate between the center and the right. Finally, the real left will be heard.

The people who will be galvanized by the Sanders campaign have no reason to consider socialism a dirty word. We have witnessed in our lifetime the epic, miserable failure of unrestrained capital. We can see the devastation global capital is inflicting on the environment. Our generation has trillions in student loan debt. We have no health care. Our wages are stagnant. We feel these truths to be self-evident.

The steel door that capital bolted shut on the working class, locking socialism away from the debate, has been blown off its hinges by Bernie Sanders, allowing socialism in America to finally breath again.

-snip-

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/sanders-has-already-won/

I'm inclined to agree with this. The discussions and topics of the 2016 race will most certainly resonate into the mid-terms, and into 2020, regardless of who win in 2016. That is going to be one closely scrutinized first term, and it will be,intentional or not, compared to the things Sanders brings to the discussion. And I love it

[TDale313]

1. Good article.

And I agree, to some extent. We've already seen a change in the conversation. And that is a victory, no question. But I think there's more to do and more he/we can do, and I actually have a feeling he could win. So I'm glad to see what's already been accomplished, but not satisfied 😉

[arcane1]

2. Agreed!

[polichick]

3. True - a new door is opening!

[Demeter]

4. I'm not satisfied with a merely moral victory....PR is not enough!!

We have got to see some real improvement in the economy for the 99%, or we are dead as a nation.

This means regime change...throwing out the banksters and their bought-and-paid-for political hacks, instituting real regulation and real taxation of the Obscenely Wealthy and their pet Corporations, and taking the guns away from the fascist pigs, wherever they may be lurking: police, military, street corners, mercenaries.

[Snotcicles]

11. +1 We need a solid eight years of his kind of leadership just get the ball rolling. nt

[bvar22]

29. It will be years before we can undo the steady damage...

to the Working/Middle Class & Poor since Reagan,
and years to dismantle the Surveillance/Security State built by Conservative Democrats and Republicans since 9-11.... if that is even possible.

I have a big hammer and pry bar.
I would love to help dismantle the Surveillance/Security State
and de-militarize our local Police.

[RobertEarl]

5. Ask yourself one simple question

Is it best to have a socialist run the government for the people?

Or is a for profit capitalist better?

[swilton]

6. Enough of the BS

about moving a certain candidate to the left.....

[daleanime]

7. I think the OP was more about moving the conversation....

and opening eyes, but I get where you're coming from.

[arcane1]

9. Thanks, I felt the post was more about the long-term effects, not just one election or one candidate

[project_bluebook]

8. He has always been a champ for the 99%

and has always been a winner in my book. He, we will need to fight pure evil in this country to get him elected. Satan's army, the republicans, will do what they do best, lie, cheat and steal to keep the 1% happy.

[elzenmahn]

10. But we need to keep pushing for him...

...the longer he's in the race, and the more impact he has on the polls and in the public eye, the more impact he will have in the long run.

And hopefully, the stink will be blown off of the word "socialist".

[arcane1]

12. Oh yes, we definitely do!!!

The more pushing, the better!

[Jim Lane]

13. I disagree with the part about a new party.

From the linked article: " In the coming years, we will probably see the development of a Democratic Socialist Party in the U.S."

To the contrary, the importance of the Sanders race, aside from the possibility of his actually becoming President, is its potential to reshape the Democratic Party. The author, evidently affiliated with socialistworker.org, comes from a school of thought that's been around for decades -- the Democrats and Republicans are two wings of the same corporate party, there's no significant difference between them, and all we need to do is present a REAL alternative and the workers will rise up and demand socialism (or some other suitably left panacea). Obviously, this has never worked. Its high-water mark was the Nader campaign of 2000, which drew less than 3% of the vote, and was most assuredly not the occasion for launching the Green Party as a credible alternative to the "duopoly" that Nader denounced.

Whatever you think about Nader, no one can deny that Sanders is taking a different course. Despite his background in third-party politics in Vermont, he realizes that, on the national scale, the only sensible route to progressive success is to reclaim the Democratic Party. Far from spurring a national Democratic Socialist Party, the Sanders campaign will give alienated former Democrats a reason to return to the Democratic Party, and will yield a whole crop of activists who are knowledgeable in intra-party politics. He will make it more likely that progressives will work within the Democratic Party rather than stomping off to form a third party (although there've been so many failed third parties that at this point the strategy must be to form something like the tenth party).

[arcane1]

15. I agree with you there. It is the party that has moved away. But we still have a "left" party

[eridani]

22. I think that third parties can work on a local level

As in the Socialist Alternative party succeeding in electing Kshama Sawant to the Seattle City Council. Until they came along, no third party was willing to do the voter contact work necessary to actually win an election. 40 years ago, most socialist/green parties were more interested in winning the mimeograph wars. These days it's the Twitter and Facebook wars.

However, it will be a very long time (if ever) before they can run whole slates of candidates. Bernie did fine as an independent locally. On the national stage, that will not work.

[passiveporcupine]

14. Please let this happen

In the coming years, we will probably see the development of a Democratic Socialist Party in the U.S.

[marym625]

16. He will win

[merrily]

17. kick

[arcane1]

18. Thanks, I forgot I posted this!

[merrily]

19. You're welcome. It's not unusual for me to fail to recognize my own posts

I don't even always agree with all of them after time passes.

[arcane1]

20. Good, it's not just me!

[merrily]

21. Nope. I kicked because I, too, feel Bernie and we have won already.

Last edited Thu Jul 23, 2015, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

In fact, I felt that way the day he informally announced.

ETA: This is not to say I coasted. No, no, no, no. The more he succeeds, the more we all win.

[sabrina 1]

23. Good article, I agree he has won part of the debate, but he will need Congress, should he

win the election, to be with him on the changes that will be necessary to even begin the process of repairing the damage done to this country.

AND the Movement he has repeatedly talked about, of millions of Americans who will need to stay involved to make sure it is clear he has the people behind him. It's a big, tough job he has taken on, but the fact that he has gone this far in such a short time with no Corporate money, shows how starved the American people are for this kind of candidate. He should not be unique, he should be the norm.

But yes, he has dropped a huge boulder in the water and hopefully the ripples will spread far and wide, enough to begin the turnaround so badly needed.

[arcane1]

24. Indeed, a lot has happened since May! A lot of good stuff!

I just now posted an OP here about how some of his Senate colleagues feel about him. GMTA!

[sabrina 1]

25. Could you link to the OP, or is in your journal, would like to read that

And yes, a lot has happened. People are beginning to think they actually can change the way things are thanks to Bernie's campaign.

[arcane1]

26. Here it is:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128030707

It's a great read!

[sabrina 1]

27. Thank you, off to read it!

[tblue37]

28. Both Goldwater and Perot had major political impact despite losing, for similar reasons.

Last edited Wed Sep 2, 2015, 06:43 AM - Edit history (1)

Their candidacies drastically shifted the conversation.

Bernie will deny other Dem candidates the freedom to ignore everything to the left of what used to be Rockefeller Republicans.

[colsohlibgal]

30. I Hope We Can Do It

It looks like DWS and the DNC are putting the hammer down.

Make no mistake, both major parties are controlled by Big Money.

Bernie has a powerful true message but Wall Street and others will throw as much money as they have to get him out of the way for the coronation of Clinton2 on the heels of Bush2.

If Hillary is nominated the candidate who by far approximates my views is comfortably Jill Stein. Jill isn't going to come close to winning and so that old quandary - how long do we vote for someone just to keep another party out of office. My thought is enough people will do that, so for the 2nd time in my life I'm going to vote my heart and vote for Jill if Bernie is not the nominee - and the plutocracy is dead set against him not being the nominee.

[arcane1]

31. The DNC will be forced to answer the question "whose side are you really on?" n/t

[merrily]

33. Isn't the answer obvious?

[merrily]

32. I don't believe the Greens have a nominee yet. Stein and McKinney are competing for the nom.

Why would you vote for one of them, instead of writing in Bernie?

[senz]

35. I did not realize this wonderful thread was 4 months old.

It's a great discussion that I think is more relevant today then it was in May. I posted something that now seems anachronistic and so deleted it.

Arcane1, you are such a good thinker. You help make the DU political community a little saner.

[LiberalElite]

36. Kick! nt