June 1, 2015 5:35 AM

If you believe Bernie Sanders to the best candidate, why not vote for him?

While there are currently 19 announced Presidential candidates (I think; who can keep track of such a motley assemblage of pandering zealots?) in the GOP clown car, thus far only Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley have announced on the Democratic side. Like many Americans, I’m frankly underwhelmed. Republicans seem to be trying to out-teabag one another, but then the GOP primary season is usually a race to the bottom to see who can best pander to the American Taliban. Hillary Clinton, at least from where I sit, seems like little more than a moderate-to-liberal Republican with way-too-close ties to Wall Street and corporate America. I admire her accomplishments, and there’s something to be said for having a woman (and a Democrat) sitting behind the big desk in the Oval Office. There’s a convincing argument to be made that men have thoroughly screwed the pooch for too long now…so why not allow a competent, qualified woman the opportunity? Hillary Clinton is the only woman in the field who could be described as competent and/or qualified. I’m not certainly I’d trust Carly Fiorina to manage a Dairy Queen franchise, much less be the person with access to the nuclear launch codes. (As far as managing the economy, all one need do is look at the way she almost killed Hewlett-Packard.)

It’s sad that Bernie Sanders seems to be attracting little serious attention from the political cognoscenti. When Sanders’ candidacy is the topic of conversation, it’s invariably of the “Oh, but he can’t possibly win” variety. To that line of thinking, I’d ask, “Why??” Why can’t Sanders win? What is it about him that makes so many view his campaign as quixotic, a cute but ultimately doomed boutique protest campaign? I’m not doing cartwheels over Bernie Sanders (at least not yet), but I fail to understand what perceived fatal flaw so dooms his chances to win the Presidency? I’ve yet to hear a convincing argument for why a vote for Bernie Sanders is a wasted vote. Why is a candidate seemingly committed to reversing the rising tide of income inequality not taken seriously? Could it be that the media is owned by those who benefit from income inequality? Why does someone looking to level the playing field in order that America not become a two-tier society not warrant consideration? Again, could it be that Sanders’ candidacy threatens the bottom line of those who profit from the status quo? Could it be that the generalized media reaction to Bernie Sanders is composed of equal parts hypocrisy and desire to destroy someone who promises to derail the 1%’s gravy train?

I’m tired of hearing the “I’d vote for Bernie, but he just can’t win” argument, especially when that viewpoint is based on perception and not hard data. There’s no reason that Sanders can’t win; all one need do is to look at the campaign of Jimmy Carter in 1976. When he announced his candidacy, the generalized reaction to Carter was, “Who in the Hell is Jimmy Carter?…and how can a Georgia peanut farmer honestly believe he has what it takes to be President?” In the end he won, in part because he was able to convince voters that he was the best candidate. There’s no reason why Bernie Sanders can’t do the same thing.

It doesn’t have to matter what pundits think about Sanders’ chances, nor how many talking heads deride what they define as his quixotic, ultimately futile tilting at windmills. If enough people who support Bernie Sanders vote for him, he’ll win, just as Jimmy Carter did in 1976. When he announced that he was running for President, Carter had little name recognition, almost no money, and not much in the way of an organized campaign. As he traveled the country and articulated his vision for America, he convinced a majority of the electorate that he was the best man for the job. Bernie Sanders has advantages Carter didn’t at the outset- the Internet and name recognition as a U.S. Senator being chief among them. There’s no reason why Sanders can’t win. If those who believe him to be the best candidate to vote for him, Bernie Sander will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2017. Until and unless Elizabeth Warren throws her hat in the ring, the Socialist/Democrat from Vermont appears to the early leader in the clubhouse.

America could do far worse- George Pataki? Rick Santorum? Carly Fiorina? Scott Walker? Really??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 1, 2015 5:35 AM.

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