As I wrote in my recent article "Joe Biden: Puffery vs. Reality," the contrast with Bernie Sanders is huge: "Biden has arrived as a presidential candidate to rescue the Democratic Party from Bernie Sanders." And: "Biden is the most reliable alternative for corporate America. He has what Sanders completely lacks --vast experience as an elected official serving the interests of credit-card companies, big banks, insurance firms and other parts of the financial services industry. His alignment with corporate interests has been comprehensive."
More explicitly and prominently than anyone else in the race for the nomination, Biden is the anti-Bernie. The contrast between the two is enormous.
JB: Interesting analysis. What's your prediction on how Biden's candidacy is going to be received - by the corporate press, but more importantly, by American voters? Will they fall for the hype?
NS: My crystal ball is permanently in the repair shop, but my hunch is that the corporate media (with the exception of the justified criticism of how he treated Anita Hill) will dominantly continue to laud Biden as wonderful. As for voters, I believe his support will diminish as this year goes on.
JB: Another implicit criticism of Bernie is that he's just another old, white guy. People claim that there are now so many legitimately progressive candidates running, there's no reason to do the "same old, same old" all over again. It's time for a [pick one or more] younger/female/person of color/LGBTQ" candidate. How would you respond to that?
NS: If Bernie were truly "just another old, white guy," there'd be no reason to support him -- but he's light years away from "just another..." I would question the notion that "there are now so many legitimately progressive candidates running" for president. Bernie has a record of several decades that shows he's the real deal as a genuine, strongly consistent progressive -- which can't be accurately said about any of his rivals for the nomination.
The Bernie 2020 campaign is part of an upsurge -- represented by such new members of Congress as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib -- that is explicitly and emphatically grassroots in origin and progressive populist in outlook. That's what Bernie is referring to when he talks about a political revolution. Having him at the top of the ticket could help to bring into office many candidates who are people of color AND authentically progressive.
JB: The press has recently heaped lots of attention on South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, even before he entered the race and many Democratic bigwigs are considering him a serious contender in the "Anybody But Bernie" campaign. Buttigieg claims Bernie's ideas are just not that new anymore. How would you respond to that? And what do you see as the contrast between these two candidates, one a well-known quantity and the other a rising star?
NS: The concept that "Bernie's ideas are just not that new anymore" is simultaneously an affirmation of his huge political effectiveness and a media meme that aims to portray him as an artifact from days gone by. But the vitality and enhanced strength of the Bernie 2020 campaign say otherwise. And in part what's "new" about Bernie is that his dedication to profound progressive changes is far from new.
The contrasts between Bernie and Buttigieg are vast, beginning with the mayor's scant record and evasive general answers on many issues. Buttigieg deserves great credit for courage in publicly being who he is as a gay man and articulately advocating for gay rights. At the same time, his policy views -- when he's willing to clarify some -- are mostly quite conventional as a present-day somewhat liberal somewhat centrist politician. He's an avowed deficit hawk, which precludes any substantial Green New Deal. His foreign policy views, to the extent he's expressed them, have included Israel-right-or-wrong advocacy and loyalty to the military-industrial-surveillance apparatus as in his criticism of the clemency that President Obama granted to Chelsea Manning.
JB: Thanks for the analysis. If what you say is true, then why are so many lining up for Buttigieg?
JB: Also, please clarify something you just said: "in part what's "new" about Bernie is that his dedication to profound progressive changes is far from new." You lost me. What are you trying to say?
NS: Why the lining up behind Buttigieg? There's often a brisk mass-media market for a fresh political product, especially if it's stylistically different yet substantively conformist in terms of usual outlooks on the status quo of corporate power and U.S. foreign policy.
About what's "new" about Bernie: I was being cryptic. It's "new" -- rare -- for an elected official in high office to make a serious run for the presidency after decades of authentic dedication to progressive principles.
JB: Ah. Got it. You're right! While many Bernie supporters feel that the Democratic nomination was stolen out from under him in 2016, the vast majority nevertheless lined up behind Hillary after the convention. Still, on every Democratic blog that I've seen post-2016 including now, Hillary's minions speak out about how furious they are about Bernie tanking her candidacy and blame him for her loss at the polls. That anger is deep-seated and visceral. What's your take on this?
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