CNN show host Anthony Bourdain didn't top Kathy Griffin but he tried!

[BugI02]

My take on Bernie Sanders: His self-described "progressive" politics is much more toward ideological socialism in parts than the mainstream of the Democratic Party, stopping just short of going full tilt into abolishing private property ownership and a classless proletariat society (two major tenets of true socialism). He attempted to usurp the Democratic Party, changing his party affiliation just before making his nomination run, and changing it back to independent as soon as he lost the nomination. He's never done a thing for the Democratic Party in his entire political career. The animus toward him from "party faithful" core was not surprising to me. Had he actually won the nomination, his defeat in the general election would have rivaled McGovern's landslide loss to Nixon in 1972. His Herbert Hoover like promises of "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage" - unlike Hoover, to be provided by the government - were economically untenable. They were pie in the sky pipe dreams, but the 18-24 year olds who had been ignored by Democrats and Republicans alike bought into it out of naivety and ignorance.

Edit:
Bernie Sanders knew how to run a campaign. He also knew how to energize a base, recognizing an enormous one that was being ignored. He knew exactly what to promise them as well. An example is the "free college". He also knew how to gather enormous crowds for his rallies, by making them into free rock concerts, and he leveraged social media for fund raising with an effectiveness that hadn't been seen before. It was similar to McGovern tapping into the very recently enfranchised 18-20 year olds in 1972 that everyone else had dismissed. Politicians should take careful note of the strategies and methods Sanders employed. They were exceptionally effective.

John

John, one of the (many) things about Sanders' appeal that I never understood was the economic reality of it. I posted in some of the threads at the time that, IIRC, by Sanders own admission the tax rate would have to go to around 72% to fund his promises and more ... rigorous ... appraisals pegged it at around 86%

Now perhaps these kids had no job and thus thought they wouldn't be paying the higher taxes. Perhaps they didn't know how mobile money is above a certain level and thought the 'rich' would just roll over and pay. Perhaps they didn't realize that deductions cherished by the 'petty bourgeoisie' (the class they likely aspired to, truth be told) would need to be eliminated as well. It was like they just couldn't think past the idea of free stuff.

"Want all the stuff without all the work? Socialism may be right for you!"

I haven't been that financially naive since I was 15 or so

 

[jamil]

John, one of the (many) things about Sanders' appeal that I never understood was the economic reality of it. I posted in some of the threads at the time that, IIRC, by Sanders own admission the tax rate would have to go to around 72% to fund his promises and more ... rigorous ... appraisals pegged it at around 86%

Now perhaps these kids had no job and thus thought they wouldn't be paying the higher taxes. Perhaps they didn't know how mobile money is above a certain level and thought the 'rich' would just roll over and pay. Perhaps they didn't realize that deductions cherished by the 'petty bourgeoisie' (the class they likely aspired to, truth be told) would need to be eliminated as well. It was like they just couldn't think past the idea of free stuff.

"Want all the stuff without all the work? Socialism may be right for you!"

I haven't been that financially naive since I was 15 or so

Sanders had a "tax the rich" theme. I wonder how many of his supporters ever thought they'd be the ones paying 3/4s of their incomes in taxes. But even so, I recall discussions with some union members about high taxes during the Clinton administration, and they'd joke back saying, hell, just let them take it all, give us a decent an allowance for beer and toys, and we'll be happy.

I'd rather get more out of life than an allowance.