Guest Author“House of Cards” is back, but I’m more of a “West Wing” gal – change through consensus and hard work, rather than by pushing someone into the path of an oncoming train.
That’s why I’m a Bernie Sanders fan. Here’s why it’d be great to see him win on Tuesday.
It will:
Piss off pundits and establishment types: Former elected officials and their consultants, who at one point or another lost miserably, but nevertheless became talking heads – will mutter about how dumb everyone is. I love it when they do that.
If voters are so dumb, and you couldn’t convince them, what does that make you?
So-called experts have been consistently wrong. Did anyone read or hear all the major mouthpieces spouting off about Michigan and how Hillary Clinton was going to win with her “hyper local strategy”? Bernie won instead. You could almost hear the collective moans and groans from D.C. This time, we’ll be the ones who cause it.
Confuse the media, for five whole minutes: Pollsters and columnists will pause and wonder who to blame for their incompetence. They should blame themselves. They see things differently from ivory towers and still insist on publishing columns and appearing on television. Who listens to them? Regular folks, or are they just talking to each other? Let’s prove them wrong again. It’ll be fun. I promise.
Show that we are just as angry as Michigan: Oh, Detroit has attitude, huh? Ever been to Lutz? There are many folks in Florida who can’t get ahead, no matter how hard they try. We are angry that Wall Street firms were never held accountable for the housing market crash. We are sick of the overwhelming presence of big business in Cabinet and other top government posts. We are scared to death about rising tuition costs leaving our children in debt until they’re 40. We are demanding a single-payer health care system and don’t want to hear that it’s a pipe dream while you take campaign contributions from the insurance industry. Many people said the same thing about progressive changes back in 2008 and my gay cousins are now married. Anything is possible when we all work together – we are proving that right now.
Highlight water issues here, too: A bipartisan group of mayors wants Republican nominees to stop talking about the size of Donald’s dong and focus instead on eroding coastal communities. Don’t hold your breath. Speaking of holding your breath, I have a suggestion to keep you all occupied – learn to swim. Beachfront homes and businesses will be gone by 2060, so while it’s real fun to get Donald on record again saying that global warming is a Chinese myth, it’s like wearing pantyhose when your date promised the shocker. It doesn’t really help anyone. Bernie Sanders doesn’t question legitimate scientific evidence pointing to a warmer planet, rising sea levels, drinking water hazards and a crumbling infrastructure.
Show Florida is more than crazy headlines: Orlando Trump supporters raising their right arms and pledging loyalty to their leader, notwithstanding.
Temporarily halt smug hate mail: I championed Jerry Brown in ’92, Howard Dean in ’04, and John Edwards in ’08. Have a heart.
Provide you with good company: Bernie supporters are wicked cool. We fund him and reject the idea that billionaires and bankers should speak for us. We do just fine on our own.
Help reshape the Democratic Party: We’re witnessing a living history lesson, and I’m not just talking about Kanye West’s public meltdowns. A broad show of Bernie love shows the funders and establishment on the left and right that people want more attention paid to the dwindling middle class. Our issues are important, too.
Make “6 Ways We Were Horribly Horribly Wrong About You People” post-primary columns such fun to read: They are way better than the “You Did What You Were Told to Do” nonsense.
Provide an “I’m Better Than You” angle: You get to be morally superior to all your cousins from Gadsden County when they brag on Facebook about voting for Trump.
Leave less guilt: You’ll sleep better at night knowing you voted for the guy who unapologetically supports the poor, downcast, minority, persecuted, workers and middle class. He’s been on the right side of history for almost every issue, consistently, his entire adult life.
Reward someone who isn’t desperate to get elected: I don’t agree with Bernie Sanders on guns or school choice, but I like that he’s not pandering. He says what he thinks. If you don’t like it, too bad. Pundits hear other politicians talk around an issue and call it nuance. Most of us call it bullshit. Bernie Sanders wants to do what’s best for the country and that is his top priority. As a result, I feel something I almost never feel for a politician – trust.
I believe him when he speaks. What a nice change of pace.
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Catherine Durkin Robinson co-parents twin sons, writes, runs, swims, bikes and organizes for a bunch of different causes – of which at least one would make you mad. Too bad. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
