Bernie Sanders’ Book Offers Roadmap

Reblogged from Talking Union. Written by Steve Early and Rand Wilson.

Bernie Sanders’ segue from presidential candidate to barnstorming author was seamless. In between the Democratic National Convention in July and hitting the stump this fall to boost Hillary Clinton’s stock in battleground states, Sanders cranked out a 450-page book, which hit bookstores November 15. The author was not far behind, with sold-out appearances from Boston to San Francisco.

The Real Problem with Jill Stein and the Green Party

By Scott Jay. First published by Libcom.

As we approach November, the attacks on Jill Stein will only increase from Hillary Clinton’s most enthusiastic supporters. These people are horrified by the possibility – however unlikely – that Donald Trump will become the next President of the United States, but they do not seem to be so horrified at the prospect of Hillary Clinton becoming President. They will largely be aware of Clinton’s support for the war in Iraq, her role as an architect of various brutal interventions as the Secretary of State in the Obama administration, her support for her husband’s policies of expanding mass incarceration, and her support for mass deportations. Yes, they will be aware of all of these. But they can put it all aside.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, is so bad because he rubs it in your face. That is abominable. Supporting Clinton, on the other hand, gives liberals a nice warm feeling. Sure, she has problems, they will say, but don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Then, in the next breath, they will declare that Jill Stein is the worst person who has ever walked this planet, because her very existence challenges the narrative of nice, warm-feeling liberalism in support of Hillary Clinton.

Radicals in the Democratic Party from Upton Sinclair to Bernie Sanders

By James N. Gregory. First published by The Conversation.

As we watch Bernie Sanders’ supporters struggling to come to terms with the nomination of Hillary Clinton, it makes sense to ask why leftists are involved in the Democratic Party in the first place.

It started in 1934 when Upton Sinclair, author of “The Jungle” and a socialist for most of his life, announced that he would run for governor of California as a Democrat. This began a unique relationship that has been important to American politics ever since.

Why unique?

Don’t Mourn, Organize!

The way Bernie Sanders is mishandling the endgame of his 2016 presidential campaign is almost criminal.

First, he promised after losing the California primary to press on, to continue fighting for the nomination all the way to the convention floor in Philadelphia. Then he unexpectedly reversed himself and endorsed Hillary Clinton at a joint event in New Hampshire just before the convention but at the same time did not suspend his campaign. Now he has been reduced to pleading to his own delegates via text message not to boo and jeer during Clinton’s coronation.

Don’t Be Bamboozled by “Bernie the Bomber” Bombast

“Bernie the Bomber’s Bad Week” by the late Will Miller is perhaps the most quoted and most-cited piece of ‘left’ criticism of Bernie Sanders and therefore deserves serious scrutiny. At first glance “Bernie the Bomber’s Bad Week” appears to be a muckracking exposé but a closer inspection reveals that it is riddled with embarrassing contradictions and is written with as much respect for the facts as the average Fox News story on President Barack Obama.

It is time to set the record straight on this piece of yellow journalism and expose the exposers before anyone else is bamboozled.

Gulf War and Iraq Sanctions

If Sanders Loses to Clinton, What Happens to the Political Revolution? 3 Scenarios

Part 1 of this piece dealt with whether or not pro-Sanders and Sanders-skeptics could work towards common ends despite our differences.

What happens to the Sanders campaign after the nomination fight is over has yet to be determined; its future is to a large extent what campaigners make of it since the official campaign’s three offices (one in Burlington, Iowa, and New Hampshire) can hardly control 100,000 volunteers in 3,500 groups in all but 12 of the country’s 435 Congressional districts.

If Sanders loses to Clinton, his campaign faces three basic evolutionary possibilities:

Epilogue – 1993 and Beyond

By Terry Bouricius

This is Chapter 8 of Building Progressive Politics: The Vermont Story, a 1993 pamphlet by Marxist Terry Bouricius that chronicles how the only successful left third party in the U.S. today was built over the course of three decades. The remaining chapters will be published on this blog in the coming days.

Progressives made gains in November 1992, but not of the magnitude that had been hope for when the bulk of this manuscript was written. Bernie Sanders was reelected as the only independent socialist member of the U.S. House of Representatives by an even greater margin – topping 58% of the vote. Progressive State Representatives Tom and Terry Bouricius were reelected. Tom Smith represents District Chittenden 7-2, a low-income, working-class district. Terry Bouricious represents District Chittenden 7-4, a low-income area with a significant number of university students in its southern portion. Progressives picked up one additional seat with the overwhelming victory of independent Dena Corren, who represents District of Chittenden 7-3, a mix low- and middle-income area which includes all of the dormitories at the University of Vermont.