The 2016 presidential primaries race should be a real eye-opener for both Parties. It should cause them to see that the American people are demanding an immediate change to how politics work in America. However, since this is politics, it is probably too much for us to expect that, as a result, politicians will change their ways and begin listening to the voice of the many people rather than simply continue to cater to the expectations of the Party elites, special interest groups and billionaires and millionaires.
This phenomenon is both good and bad for America. It is good because the rich and powerful are finally being forced to see that all of their money and power is powerless against the people when they stand together and say enough is enough; no more! It is bad because the people are stepping forward, resisting and demanding change out of anger. As a result, they are oblivious to the great damage that can be visited upon our country if someone who does not have the best interest of America at heart; someone who is not selfless when it comes to love of country above self aggrandizement is voted into office.
For too many of the candidates who are still in the race and have a strong chance to win, the above mentioned qualifications are questionable. If any candidate who is questionable should win their Party’s primary and goes on to become president this could be a devastating blow to our country.
Those politicians that have been elected to office should have begun long ago to listen to the people and work to foster a system that will work for everyone and not just the few. This is what Senator Bernie Sanders is saying and that is why his message resonates so strongly among the many. If what he says about the amount of wealth that has been accumulated by the top 1% over the past two years is more than that of the lowest 100 million Americans combined, this is shameful and the American people are right to be angry.
As I have said before, I am among those who believe that Senator Sanders has a strong message and believe that the approach that he is suggesting – a political revolution, is needed now because the only thing that politicians and the political elite seem to understand is power. Based on the current situation that we find ourselves in with the 2016 primaries, they are even slow to understand that. Perhaps it is because this power is being wielded by ordinary American people and this is something that is foreign to them.
It is beyond shocking to them that something like this could happen. Fresh off of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United and Voting Rights Act rulings, the fact that to litigate anything cost a fortune so the richest person among the litigants all but always wins even if it is obvious that they are guilty as charged, and with all of the rules and regulations that they have put into place to tilt the field in their favor it is no wonder that they are shell-shocked, paralyzed by brain freeze and were slow – and may prove to be totally unable – to react to the Invasion of the Trump (Power) Snatchers.
Is the system rigged? You bet it is! And although both Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton are promulgating that message now in their campaigns, both of them knew that this was the case long before now and did not aggressively work to fix the problem. The American people have been saying this and pleading for help from our elected officials for years to no avail. Perhaps they ignored us simply because they are politicians, politics is difficult, or a combination of the two but the fact is that they ignored us.
Senator Sanders is saying let’s fix it now by way of a political revolution and large numbers of young Americans agree with him and are being drawn to him and supporting him as a result of that message. However, all of us know – and I assume that this includes the young people who support Senator Sanders, that even with a political revolution change will not come overnight. But it will come because this suggested revolution is backed by power, which is currently being demonstrated by way of the untenable situation that the ‘establishment’ finds itself in, and which – again, is the only thing that the politically powerful seem to understand. If common sense prevails, they will not simply wink at the demands of their constituents as they have always done in the past.
On the other hand, Secretary Clinton is acknowledging that the system is indeed rigged and needs to be fixed. But it appears that she wants to take a softer approach to this change via the political ‘common ground’ route, although America’s current situation with the primaries would suggest that it has not worked in the past, because she believes that conventional politics will be required to accomplish this task. She is banking on the fact that common sense will prevail.
Which approach will be quicker and more effective is anybody’s guess but my take is that, if elected, she believes that politicians and the political elite have been jolted enough by the existing situation that they will be more receptive to working with her to find common ground. She must also be aware though that what has been perceived as ‘common ground’ in the past is a non-starter and that any solution must go a longggggggg way toward leveling the playing field in order to be acceptable to those who are demanding change.
To be for Secretary Clinton does not have to absolutely equate to being against Senator Sanders nor should it make him the enemy of Clinton supporters. That slight nuance that says that one can be for Secretary Clinton instead of being against Senator Sanders or be for Senator Sanders instead of being against Secretary Clinton is extremely important to Democrats’ end game. It is important because in order to give our very best effort to assure that a Democrat wins the general election we must be united and stand together as one. Let’s keep working until the 2016 Democratic nominee is in the White House!
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line