Here’s an interview from Greg Sargent at WaPo’s Plum Line with Bernie. He makes some good points. Noted are his comments about Hillary’s ties to Wall Street firms. Very true. But if her ties were that strong and she was so willing to do what they wanted, why did they put their money behind Obama in 2008? He couldn’t have gotten the nomination without their help. So, if Hillary was so pliable and beholden to them, why didn’t they back her to the hilt instead of trying so hard to defeat her in the primaries? I’ve asked this question repeatedly since 2008 and the left has not given me a satisfactory answer. It’s like they’ve got their hands over their ears singling “La-la-la! I can’t HEAR you!”
(It’s called denial)
But point taken, Bernie. I would just ask everyone to read his answers very, very carefully because he’s not ruling out taking money from Wall Street either. He’s very good at avoiding the question but realistically, he can’t completely rule Wall Street money out. One of those firms might just wake up in time to see it’s in its best interests to, you know, not be so insanely, obscenely greedy because it’s a short term strategy that can’t last.
It could happen.
That being said, there’s a lot of good stuff in this interview that I like. Take this exchange:
PLUM LINE: Should the Democratic nominee offer a platform that goes considerably farther than what the president has done?
SANDERS: Yes.
PLUM LINE: What would that look like?
SANDERS: It would look like a tax on carbon; a massive investment in solar, wind, geothermal; it would be making sure that every home and building in this country is properly winterized; it would be putting substantial money into rail, both passenger and cargo, so we can move towards breaking our dependency on automobiles. And it would be leading other countries around the world.
PLUM LINE: You think the Democratic nominee should campaign on a platform like that?
SANDERS: Yes.
I couldn’t agree more. I would love to see more mass transit and broadband. I would include nuclear as well because I’m realistic. So, let’s hear a lot more about that from all the candidates.
Ok, I’m going out to cut the grass.
Later, taters.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Bernie Sanders, greg sargent, infrastructure, mass transit, Wall Street |
The Confluence 
I’d say watch and listen o the candidates and the Talking Points. Looking back, it was clear very early that VOTERS didn’t matter, RULES mattered.
The Democratic Party is a private club that proved it can and will nominate whoever it vwants. And it guards that power with all it’s might. Otherwise, they could have shifted to a national primary years ago and left the conventions to developing the platform planks.
Hillary and Sanders are brilliant and good talkers. Between them we should get some good ideas out there.
I would have mentioned jobs and healthcare for everyone before a carbon tax but if that’s Bernie’s thing, it’s good to know.
And apparently rules themselves could be ignored or re-written or over-written if the pro-Ruling Class Reid-Pelosi OverLords so chose.
When people talk about whether Bernie can win or not, I laugh and laugh.
That’s like talking about who will win a WWE fight.
The primaries are rigged. They aren’t even primaries like they are for other races. It’s a delegate selection process and there is nothing that binds the delegations to a floor vote that reflects the will of the voters.
So, Bernie has just as good a chance as Hillary of getting the nomination. It just depends on how the party leadership wants to rig the game this year.
I would like to see Webb declare his candidacy and condemn ObamaTrade in the strongest possible terms beFORE there is a final vote on Fast Track in the Senate and the House. His opposition could rally millions of heretofor-unconcerned people to oppose Fast Track.
If he waits till Fast Track has passed, then he will have waited too late.
You’re not going to get anything out of Webb. I’m not even sure he’s against it at all.
Well, that’s the problem. I just assumed he would be, what with his American Economic-Populist Nationalist orientation. And I assumed he WOULD have made very clear his feelings about Obamatrade by now. But he hasn’t. So we can’t really be sure.
If he really IS against it, he will have to announce his candidacy on that basis NOW beFORE Fast Track is passed, and demonstrate his ability to help KILL it. His brutal angry opposition to it would reach several million people who would otherwise not be reached by anything at all. If he lets the shrinking interval go by, he will have waited too late.
Well, frankly I’m not all that impressed with him. He quit instead of fighting to keep his seat in the senate. Time is quickly going by for him to announce.
I value idealism over pragmatism, when it is feasible. But I don’t know how clear it can be: If you want to try to save this planet, literally, then one should strongly support Hillary Clinton, because she is the only person capable of at least trying to do it. Sanders has zero chance to win a national election, and either does Webb or O’Malley or anyone else in the Democratic Party, including Joe Biden.
But it’s much more than that. Hillary is very progressive; her voting record as Senator was as liberal as anyone’s in the Senate. Further, she is strong-willed and smart enough to possibly be able to deal with the almost impossible Congress. The entire Democratic Party, if it really cares about saving the country, should support her enthusiastically. The fact that some don’t, reflects their doctrinaire arrogance and smug “all that matters is my personal aeshetics” way of looking at the world.
Hillary beholden to Wall Street, what a laugh. I didn’t see Obama do one thing that Wall Street didn’t want. If these sanctimonious idiots on what they like to think is the Left actually damage Hillary’s chances to win the election, they will deserve a place among the Quislings of history. Sanders can say what he likes. Hillary could not express his more radical positions without hurting herself in the general election. I am all for extreme measures to combat global warming. And we must get hidden corporate money out of our system. And we need to strongly support Israel. And protect all of the safety net. I am not a whit concerned about Hillary’s positions about Wall Street. And the people who act like they are, and who just adored Obama, are either blatant hypocrites, or very stupid indeed. Or maybe it is just jealousy.
Well, that’s what the primaries are for, to give us a chance to see which candidate says they want to do what, and why. Bernie credibly says he is against Obamatrade. So I want to see what position Hillary takes on Obamatrade in response to Bernie’s oppostion to it, and why.
“So, if Hillary was so pliable and beholden to them, why didn’t they back her to the hilt instead of trying so hard to defeat her in the primaries? I’ve asked this question repeatedly since 2008 and the left has not given me a satisfactory answer. It’s like they’ve got their hands over their ears singling “La-la-la! I can’t HEAR you!””
Couldn’t it just be that TBTB are misogynist assholes, it didn’t matter what she offered?
Not ruling it out. But that doesn’t explain why they’re in denial about Obama and Wall Street.
I mean, if I really, really hated Wall Street money that much, my hackles would have been raised in Feb 2008. Something here doesn’t compute. You might be right, misogynism might be blinding them.
I think misogyny accounts for much of it. Despite my ambivalence toward Hillary, I quickly realized something did not smell right about the Obama Phenomenon (probably because it was a “Phenomenon”).
Riverdaughter has herself offered evidence that Wall Street considered Obama much more beholden and useful to its interests.
In particular, the example of Clinton’s support for a revived HOLC in the Op Ed pages of the Wall Street Journal (?) spurring Wall Street into furious support of Obama seems to be an example of this.
And then there was also the Affirmative Tokenism Skin-Game Symbolism of Obama credibly pretending to be Black and getting the Black vote and the honor-Dr. King’s-memory White Liberal vote because of credibly seeming to be Black.
I predict that not one single member of the Congressional Black Caucus will vote against Obamatrade. They will all support Fast Track for Obamatrade because ” I have a dream” and First! Black! President! Ever! And that is unfortunate.
Now , of course , Upper Class scum filth garbage excrement like Pelosi and Wyden will support it because of their Class Allegiance to the Upper Class. That isn’t “sad”. That is just evil. But we come to expect that kind of evil from traitorous filth like “Impeachment is off the table” Pelosi.
I have recently read that Keith Ellison has made a slightly skeptical comment about Otrade, so perhaps I will be 10% wrong about the Congressional Black Caucus.
Off topic: We lost Ben E. King last Thursday. 😦
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stand-by-me-singer-ben-e-king-dead-at-76-20150501
This wasn’t the biggest Drifters hit that Ben sang lead on, but it’s my favorite.
“There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem”