Print this post. By PATRICE GREANVILLE
CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO HERE
For a long time we have been saying that Bernie Sanders is no real socialist, that he is actually a fraud, at best an inept, weak New Deal politician incapable of taking on a mature and sophisticated gangster state. That’s not to say that an able and courageous politician could not do some damage to the plutocratic empire (as long as s/he lasted), just that we think Bernie Sanders is almost certainly not the man for the job.
Tonight, at a moment in the campaign fraught with great expectations, Sanders gave a simply shameful performance on a major platform, CBS Evening News, showing he just doesn’t have what it takes, in fact that he has the backbone of a wet noodle, and that he’s not even a savvy politico, quick and principled and righteous enough on his feet to stare down a notorious propagandist for the status quo like Charlie Rose.
Instead, in barely four minutes, Sanders collapsed, allowing Charlie Rose to browbeat him without penalty into an ignominious retreat, forcing him into a babbling admission that he would, indeed, at the proper time, deliver the alienated flock—his fabled “Sandernistas”— back into the unrepentant, unreconstructed Democratic party fold. No wonder many have accurately pegged Sanders as a sheepdog, for that is the actual role he will eventually play in this pathetic election.
The exchange was instructive as even a 4th-grader might have shown a stiffer spine than Sanders. After all what kind of self-respecting candidate would have failed to push back against Rose’s transparent and highly unprofessional badgering (not to mention his free-of-charge endorsement of Hillary Clinton)? Well, not only did the “people’s candidate” fail to respond in kind, but, pressed by Rose, sheepishly conceded he was not prepared to blame anyone for the Iraq War, and certainly not Hillary, despite the fact this woman was and remains a key player in the facilitation of many heinous imperial crimes—from Iraq to Libya and Syria, Honduras, etc., and, if elected, probably many more demanded by her true constituency—the US plutocracy. Some champion! I suppose Sanders’ excuse for his craven retreat is that we must all jump on the ABT (Anyone But Trump) bandwagon or else the sky will fall. Haven’t we heard that kind of dishonest argument before?
Charlie Rose is a master of urbane manipulation.
Given these facts, we reiterate our position: the only sane and effective posture is to stay home on Nov. 4th. And continue to oppose and organize. America desperately needs a movement, and one Not controlled by either of the wings of the corporate owned duopoly. It needs an oppositional movement with the kind of leadership that will assure survival against the inevitable persecution laid out by the forces of repression: legal, judicial and extra-judicial, for those will surely come. Meantime, do not vote. The system needs the circus of these useless, no-real-choice elections for its own self-legitimating propaganda, both before clueless Americans and the rest of the world. Deny it this legitimacy by not participating in elections, while agitating for fundamental change at all levels. There’s no working democracy left in America. Wherever it counts, illegitimate plutocratic power has made such public elections a farce, irrelevant, useless, and a shell of what they are supposed to be in a true democracy. The government by the super-rich and for the super-rich is no democracy. Say no to their criminal and cynical game. Understand the problem and work to build genuine alternatives. The United States and the world it drags around are dying from lack of genuine democratic leadership. It’s really up to you.
Patrice Greanville serves as TGP’s editor in chief.
WATCH VIDEO BELOW
Bernie Sanders clarifies comments about Hillary Clinton’s qualifications
Jai Guru Deva Om
FOLLOW UP RELATED COMMENTARY
Clinton and Sanders Shift Criticism to Praise
On Friday, both candidates backtracked. Clinton called Sanders remarks about her a “misrepresentation,” adding she doesn’t “know why he made them in the first place.” Again asked if she thought he’s qualified to be president, she said she’d “take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day.” She called debating each other’s qualifications “pretty silly,” adding elections are about “who can…get things done.”
A previous article called a Clinton/Sanders ticket likely, saying his popularity among young voters combined with most women for her look likely to defeat any Republican challengers. Allying with the most ruthlessly dangerous presidential aspirant in US history means he’ll support her pure evil, permanent war advocacy, possible confrontation with Russia, China and Iran, maybe with nuclear weapons. It should convince his diehard supporters they’ve been had, deceived by a dirty business as usual con man masquerading as populist.
8 comments
Poor Bernie, Rose is the slimiest of them all. But then Anyone but Clinton is a very necessary movement.
Bernie Sanders can learn from his political faux pas, but his core is solid. He has consistently worked towards getting more rights and benefits for the disenfranchised, which of late includes the middle class.
All the political savvy of Hilary Clinton, will do no one any good, at least no one who is not in the 1%.
A good leader is not necessarily a good bureaucrat or technocrat…. A good leader inspires trust and decency, which is all so much more important than a blow by blow detailed strategy on how to break up the big banks…. especially at this early time in the election cycle.
Bernie drew a crowd of 16,000 in the south Bronx… none of the other candidates will likely venture there… they are too busy sniffing out the big bucks.
Hilary is desperate – if she doesn’t will NY it is likely all over for her…. If she hasn’t already bought the vote or corrupted the political process, she could and should lose…
We need less precision obsessed technocrats and a real leader…. That is not Hilary.
Before we start believing the media hype about Bernie Sanders…and write him off, lets not forget that the media is in the pocket of hillary and bill (Billiary)…
Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now was at the so called bungled interview… here is what he observed:
AMY GOODMAN: April 19th. And immediately, there was this New York Daily News meeting. Juan, you were at it. It’s being—the transcript has been released. Hillary Clinton has sent it to her supporters. What did Ryan Grim write in The Huffington Post? “A notion is rapidly crystallizing among the national media that Bernie Sanders majorly bungled an interview with the editorial board of the New York Daily News.” CNN just said, “Several times during the interview, Sanders expressed uncertainty over facts, said he couldn’t give a proper answer to a question because he didn’t have all the relevant information, or simply stated, ‘I don’t know.’” CNN said, “In one exchange, Sanders acknowledged that he wasn’t sure exactly how he intended to break up the big banks, a proposal that has been a centerpiece of his Wall Street reform agenda.” A Washington Post says, “This New York Daily News interview was pretty close to a disaster for Bernie Sanders.”
But not everyone agrees. Juan, you raced out of here on Friday, because you were racing back to the New York Daily News to attend and question Bernie Sanders at this New York Daily News editorial board meeting.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, well, I certainly didn’t get that impression, tell you the truth. The editorial board is notorious, especially our editorial page editor, Arthur Browne, for his laser-like one question after another, and he bombarded, as several others of us also asked questions. I, overall, thought that Bernie Sanders handled the exchange very well. And I think that there were a few places where he stumbled, and—but I was amazed at his ability to parry the questions that were thrown at him and to, basically, for instance, bluntly say, when he was asked about the Israeli-Palestinian situation, that Israel needed to withdraw from the illegal settlements in Palestinian territory, which I was astounded that he was quite frank and clear on his position, while at the same time saying he would do everything possible as president to negotiate peace and security for Israel in an overall settlement. And I think there—he did stumble a little bit when he was pressed on how he would break up some of the too-big-to-fail banks. He clearly did not have that down pat.
AMY GOODMAN: Who would have the jurisdiction.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Oh, right, who would have the jurisdiction, and—but, overall, I thought his performance was excellent.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/6/juan_gonzalez_was_at_bernie_sanders
I am trying to get information that dispels the hatchet job done by Hilary Inc….
Here is some more information from a democracy now interview:
‘Military Historian Agrees with Bernie Sanders: Hillary Clinton is an Unreconstructed Hawk ‘
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/8/military_historian_agrees_with_bernie_sanders
I wonder if Charlie Rose uses the same botox dermatologist as Hilary?
right on
right on