Not Feeling the Bern: Who's Fault is That?

Let's get to business. I am two things. I am a Black nationalist and I am an American economist. As an economist, I lean towards a structural view of the economy. That means I'm closer to being a socialist than anything else. As a Black Nationalist, I know that neither candidate will do much for the Black community. I don't bemoan The Clinton Crime Bill because crime has to be addressed and its flaws are in the execution which means the bill was not dumbed down enough for law enforcement to properly execute it. 

I am an independent. I haven't decided who I'm going to vote for in the primary. It will either be Hillary or Bernie. (As an independent, my ballot will have both Democrat and Republican nominees on it.)

In May, Hillary Clinton was halfway to the nomination and Bernie was splitting delegates along the way. At best he slowed Hillary down but had no chance of stopping her. Hillary Clinton is going to win the nomination as long as it's close. The Democratic nominee will win the general election. I still have questions. Hillary Clinton has a strong reputation. She also has a short resume. She gets things done but I don't really like her as a person. Bernie Sanders has a long resume. He also has a strong reputation. I mostly wonder why Bernie Sanders hasn't been more successful as a politician. 

To be clear, he's known as the king of amendments. He does get bills passed with little support from Democrats or Republicans. I'm measuring political success as moving forward in your career. So, I'm asking, why so long (six presidential elections) before running for president. Even failed elections succeed bringing agendas to national attention. That's why small party candidates even bother.

That's it. I like Hillary as a politician. She's pragmatic. She's tough. She's moderate. No matter how far to the left or right our friends try to pretend they are, most people are moderate. They are conservative about some things. They are liberal about others. Take an older Black church goer. They are surely generous with social entitlements and they support civil rights. But they are usually economically conservative. They are pro-life. They are against planned parenthood and contraception. I know gay black men who will find at least one issue they're conservative about.

I really like Bernie! He has a strong personality that grows on you quickly. His campaign has a lot of energy. I do wonder though why all that energy and youth in his campaign hasn't manifested a Rock The Vote type push to register new voters and make sure people vote. To be fair, neither has Hillary's campaign but her campaign doesn't have the same energy anyway. And I lean more towards a Socialist perspective than a purely Capitalist one. However, I know that the revolution will not be televised. especially not on a debate stage during the Democratic Primaries...

I am extremely hesitant to jump on the Bernie Sanders bandwagon. The peculiarity of the situation is that it has nothing to do with Bernie Sanders and everything to do with his fans. This is the same everything from Kim Kardashian to Black Lives Matter. It's more apparent because I really do like Bernie Sanders whereas I've been mostly ambivalent to everything else. In short, it's you, my so smart friends, who are turning me off. I am repulsed by the #FeelTheBern political revolution and its implementation. 

During this primary season, some of my smartest most intellectual friends have ignored logic and reason to fully embrace Bernie-mania. He was never meant to win with or without intervention on behalf of Hillary Clinton. He was virtually unknown to most of America. His name was even absent from the mouths and timelines of some of the most gung-ho supporters I know before 2015. COMPLETELY absent. Some of those supporters might say that's OK because they were equally unaware of President Obama before 2008. However, as someone who was aware of Barack Obama in 2004 and Bernie Sanders in 2012, it's not the same. In 2004, Barack Obama gave a speech at the DNC that had Fox News pundits predicting he would win an election in 2008. (FOX NEWS...) Barack Obama is a political insider. 

My final decision is coming down to the supporters. I have never been so ridiculed, attacked and talked down to when discussing politics than I have this year discussing the democratic primaries, with other democratic leaning voters. Correction, I've never been ridiculed, attacked or talked down to by other democratic leaning voters until this primary. I find that is the most ridiculous thing about this election. I say again and again, the Democratic nominee will win the general election. But these Bernie Sibs (Siblings/Bros and Sisses) have gotten crazy. THEY actually have me scared they will do something foolish (like not vote) in the general and give the election to the Republicans.

And that would be the end of the movement. I fear, the movement will end at latest after the general election. It will end because the Bernie Sibs are not the revolutionaries they are pretending to be in 2016. Those that I know are more capitalists than socialists. Firmly entrenched in the bourgeoisie class, they participate in a bit of social welfare but they aren't ready to give up their middle-class status for the revolution. But they're gone change the world in 2016!

...and change it right back in 2017...

Why? Because the Bernie Sibs ain't giving up their comfort! In fact, I had a Bernie supporter tell me they don't believe in the revolution. It's unfortunate that many more Bernie Sibs may feel that way about the revolution. Which makes me wonder why/how they become Bernie Sibs since the revolution is All that Bernie is about. Someone as politically intelligent as Bernie knows the President can do very little to affect the changes he wants. He needs at least 300 congressional seats, quite a few governors, and some major municipalities. That's at least two more election cycles away and half the Bernie Sibs have quit on the revolution and it's not even November.

It's a little discouraging when a general's army quits on him before the war even begins. That's my hesitation in jumping on bandwagons. It's not the driver of the wagon. It's the other passengers. I don't want to ride with yall because I don't trust yall.

Love Bernie!

Not feeling the Bern...