On ‘Feeling the Bern’

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

This has been the most entertaining election run-up that I can remember for several reasons.

The Republican field was uncommonly hefty for weeks before inevitable winnowing trimmed the choices due to financial collapse or the failure to take hold.

The sheer number underscored urgency.

Leading contenders on the Right now include hugely successful businessman Donald Trump; two senators, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio,ambitious newbies; and a pair of successful governors, Jeb Bush and John Kasich. Dr. Carson adds integrity and calmness.

At this point, I am content with any one of these options. All are hardworking, knowledgeable, and skilled. None see America as an evolving socialist experiment; instead, they anticipate success rather than lingering on past fumbles.

I prefer a national ambition, a collection of achievable goals, and an endorsement of opportunity to the downer that accompanies the lectures and labeling of the Left.

Those on the Right are offering a refresher in what we have been and what we could be again.

I like the conservative message, always have, but I also understand a lot of what they hope to accomplish will not fall easily into place.

The Left will resist no matter how important the proposed fix. Liberals’ primary function is to see conservatives fail and direct their politicking and propaganda to that end.

The battle roaring on the Left has been especially amusing. Hillary Clinton, long the Democratic nominee of presumption, has run into unexpected resistance and not only from her nemesis, Senator Bernie Sanders.

Women, Clinton’s presumably safe demographic, have proven to be less than smitten. While Clinton scored well in New Hampshire with women within her own age range, younger women have resisted, as if unimpressed by the awesomeness of her pedigree.

Prior to the New Hampshire primary, Clinton hauled out 81-year-old Gloria Steinem and graying former Secretary of State Madeline Albright to remind voters of their obligations to gender. The problem was younger women weren’t impressed by icons of a moribund feminist movement.

Clearly, most women don’t want to be told for whom to vote by an aging professional politician enriched by connections.

It seems they want to do their own thinking.

Hillary should’ve seen that one coming, but didn’t. As in a lot of things.

Following caucus and primary disappointments, Clinton is feeling the Bern.

While Hillary’s numbers haven’t been stellar categorically, Bernie Sanders’ have been shocking.

The Brooklyn-born Vermonter has demonstrated toughness, projected honesty, and laid out a peculiar plan for America that appeals to those who prefer “free“ over freedom.

Sanders is bringing people out. Audiences seem to be listening, even if the message is as old as Methuselah. He’s new to most people, smart, and tough in the political bar fight.

Bernie Sanders is the interloper for the Left that Donald Trump is for the Right. It could come down to a contest between a dedicated and self-proclaimed (democratic?) socialist and a true capitalist who models the kind of success that was once considered possible even for folks not into the profit of politics.

Hillary Clinton is worth millions. Bernie lives on his senator’s salary.

HRC extracts big bucks from her Wall Street connections and her Super PAC; Bernie only takes money from individual donors and has developed an impressive grassroots war chest.

Clinton’s message is determined by her audience of the moment; Bernie’s message is as starched as a dress shirt, and he stays on it like a mutt on a bone.

People like Bernie. He appears genuine at age 74. He seems to admire his country, even if he wants to redesign it.

Hillary? Not so much. There are trust issues, and an overbearing sense of entitlement. She seems a political clone of Obama.

The problem with Bernie is he’s a socialist.

That means he favors a forceful, centralized government, high taxes, redistribution of wealth, powerful bureaucracies, endless social programs, class warfare, and an emphasis on social conformity over individual performance.

Perhaps you are thinking that sounds like Obama. Or Hillary. Or Bill Clinton.

Well, yeah. That’s because they are all pretty much the same.

And the reason they are similar is they all bought into the socialist propaganda of the 1960’s. Big time.

They are all old and boring and promoting an economic future that won’t work. The socialist tenet of equal poverty is goofy, and many are finally starting to figure that out.

While I find the Bernie persona entertaining, I wouldn’t vote for him in a million years. Double that for Hillary. I don’t vote for socialists.

I do enjoy poking fun at them because it is so easy.