The Democratic nomination for
President seems all locked up. Hillary Clinton has name recognition and donor
appeal that nobody can come close to. What chance does a Jewish man from
Vermont, who calls himself a democratic socialist and refuses to have a super
PAC, have against the Clinton juggernaut?
You might think that Sanders
would try to run away from the socialist label, but that would mistake two
things: Sanders’ honesty and the real nature of American democratic socialism.
For decades, conservatives
have used the idea of socialism as equivalent with Soviet-style communism to
mislead Americans into voting against liberals. Every policy that President
Obama, a liberal, advocates has been labeled “socialist”, and therefore
presumably un-American, in the conservative media world. Obama-haters regularly
call him a “Muslim socialist”, despite the inherent contradiction. A fine way
to find out what American socialism is really about is to look at Sanders’
first political job as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, for eight years,
1981-1989.
Although conservatives claim
socialism is about big government, Sanders showed that American democratic
socialism is about social ownership. His administration promoted locally owned small businesses, affordable housing, and
community involvement in city planning. He fought a big developer’s vision of
converting Burlington’s Lake Champlain waterfront into high-priced hotels and
condos. Instead what used to be an industrial wasteland now has a community
boathouse, a bike path, public beaches and parkland, and a science center.
The developer did not become
an enemy, but a friend of Sanders, because both were committed to making
Burlington a better place to live. Sanders promoted programs to give women an
equal chance as entrepreneurs and workers. His administration passed an
ordinance requiring that 10% of city-funded construction jobs be held by women.
Corporations opened new facilities in Burlington, some of which are now owned
by their employees. Burlington has one of the lowest
unemployment rates in the country.
Despite decades of
name-calling by the right, socialism is no longer the political curse word
associated with Senator Joe McCarthy. According to a Pew Research Center poll in 2011,
31% of Americans had a positive reaction to the word socialism, while 60% had a
negative reaction. But those responses are highly dependent on age. Americans
over 50 were highly negative about socialism and positive about “capitalism”.
Those 18-29 were more positive than negative about socialism (49% to 43%), and
more negative about capitalism (47% to 46%).
Another poll from 2011 found
that a majority of Americans agreed with Sanders’ basic platform. Both Republicans
(53% to 41%) and Democrats (91% to 8%) said there is “too much power in the
hands of a few rich people and large corporations”. Both Democrats and
Independents overwhelmingly said that our economy “unfairly favors the
wealthy”. Inequality has suddenly emerged as a major media story, and a more recent poll less than a year ago showed that 46% of Americans say “the gap between
rich and poor is a very big problem”.
Sanders’ specific proposals to shift economic power back toward the middle class are gaining wider
public support. He wants to raise the minimum wage and increase Social Security
payments. He wants to close the tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest 1%
and lower the taxes of the great majority of Americans. He says
about the biggest banks, “if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big
to exist.”
He won the Congressional Leadership Award
of the Military Officers Association of America for trying to increase
disability compensation for veterans and collaborating with Sen. John McCain to
reform the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Unlike Clinton and all the
Republicans, Sanders does not have to explain away past votes. He voted against the invasion of Iraq
in 2003. He voted against the Patriot Act intrusions into our personal
communications. In 2005, he proposed curtailing the government’s ability to
look at our library and book-buying records. While Clinton and all the
Republicans try to line up the support of billionaires, Sanders has refused to
create a super PAC.
His real positions rather
than right-wing caricatures have begun to turn people’s heads. His speeches
attract increasing numbers of older
Americans, the most reliable voting bloc. A straw poll
of delegates to the Wisconsin Democratic party convention earlier this month showed
Sanders catching up to Hillary Clinton, winning 40% of votes against her 49%. Many Republicans agree with some of Sanders’ fundamental positions about money playing
too great a role in politics. Some are openly talking about voting for him.
It’s too early to say who
will win the Democratic nomination. But it’s never too early to think about how
we can win back our country from the billionaires and their political buddies.
Steve Hochstadt
Jacksonville IL
Published in the Jacksonville
Journal-Courier, June 16, 2015
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