In “Bernie Sanders Versus the ‘Democracy Deficit'” we argued that the independent senator from Vermont’s principal opponent in the upcoming election was not Hillary Clinton but the media and PR industries which have created what Noam Chomsky describes as a “democracy deficit” — the significant gap between the policy positions held by the electorate and those of their “representatives”. Chomsky argues that is occasioned by the manner in which “elections are skillfully managed to avoid issues and marginalize the underlying population…freeing the elected leadership to serve the substantial people.”
Sanders, who, even before any actual debates, is beginning to show strength in a number of different polls, demonstrated how he believes that gap can be bridged. He explained to Seth Meyers and his audience, during an appearance on Late Night earlier this month, why his self-description as a “Democratic Socialist” is an asset, rather than a liability…
Bill Clinton famously observed that ‘strong and wrong’ beats ‘right and weak’ every time in elections, and we’ve all witnessed that false choice playing itself out with increasing – and increasingly tragic – frequency since a B-list actor waved a cowboy hat and rode a wooden sawhorse all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania….but FINALLY, thank god almighty, we behold a candidate who is uncowed by the high horse of GOP blather (noun; Merriam Webster: a conflation of ‘bravado’ and ‘lather’ as in “the blather of assholes like Frank Luntz and Peggy Noonan”)….and YES!!!, we are witnessing a paradigm shift as Bernie Sanders adroitly flips conventional wisdom on its rancid fucking head!….just listen to Seth Meyers’ studio audience, they can barely control themselves, and it’s not even a political event….i’m sorry, Bill Clinton, but you cynically neglected to calculate the power of ‘strong and RIGHT’….
GO BERNIE GO !!!
Reagan rode in saying Americans didn’t have to cut back on anything to counter Carter’s call for energy conservation, and now we have to find out the hard way just how right he was. We could have easily been the solar energy leader.
You can bet that as we run out of water, the “conservatives” will be blaming the liberals, probably by saying we didn’t read the Bible enough, because they won’t have anything else to say.
Bernie is on the right points that ring true with many disappointed voters. By explaining what a “Democratic Socialist” is, he will expand his base. And truly, we as a nation have swung SO far to the right, it’s time for at least some equalibrium. He has the track record that invites us to trust he won’t pull a “bait & switch” as Obama did. He has my vote!
I respectfully disagree with Westcoaster @3. “We” as a nation have not swung to the right. To the contrary, when you get personalities, you can see that the vast majority of Americans agree with Sanders on “issues.”
The fact that so many fail to understand that is the product of the “democracy deficit.”