Ehhh, he's a democratic socialist, and not even all that much of one.
I won't even capitalize it for him, small d, small s.
The REAL Socialists won't even shake his hand, PIA.
In fact, he's such a mild blend of democratic socialist that even the Democratic Socialists want nothing to do with him.
Personally I say he should have just said he was an independent liberal, because really he's just a blend of FDR, TR and Eisenhower all rolled into one, with a little Ben and Jerry's sprinkled on top.
I have a good buddy down in Venice Beach who is a card carrying member of the real Democratic Socialist Party. He says that Bernie fails the test for a true DS on too many levels and that, in his opinion, Bernie is too much of a sellout because he should have run as an independent or write-in candidate, and he should have REVISITED all those socialist nations and made some speeches during his run. He says Bernie is WAAAAY too conservative.
The Bernie in the above quote that you referenced is from four or five decades ago.
Typical Republican smears, they have the millions to spew it nationwide of course, but again...when it all boils down to the rubber meeting the road, it doesn't even matter if Bernie wins or not.
Our mission is to move America back to the center-left, WITH a Bernie or without.
Yeah, I would love to see Bernie take the Oath of Office, but in the end, if he loses, he IS going to return to Congress more than likely, he IS going to hold his head up high and he WILL have made a huge difference, and the people who supported him will continue to seek out traditional liberals who understand the basic principles of hybrid capitalist-dem soc economics, resource based societies, community heavy lifting, upward mobility for the middle class and energy efficiency.
"He's not moving a party to the left. He's moving a generation to the left," Della Volpe said of the senator from Vermont. "Whether or not he's winning or losing, it's really that he's impacting the way in which a generation — the largest generation in the history of America — thinks about politics."
And in the past, the only way the right wing establishment has been able to quench those fires is by assassinating the most charismatic leaders, one after another, and then mounting a large media campaign with somber intonations about "The End of an Era".
Bullet to the head for JFK, RFK, MLK, bring in the cowboy TV actor, "end of an era", hippies suck, government can't do anything right, money is God, greed is good, suck the appendage of your local billionaire, say the pledge, salute the flag, fight a war and say your prayers.
Yeah, they've had their forty years of fame.
IT'S OVER NOW, it's OUR turn to say "end of an era".
Next time they try shooting liberal heroes, I'm betting there will be some very bloody consequences that are aimed directly at the right's key figures.
Think Bastille Day, think whatever you want.
I'm not rubbing my hands with glee over it, trust me.
In fact I think the result of such an attempt might even trigger something close to October 1917.
NO ONE WINS something like that, but plenty of very wealthy people lose something like that, and plenty of their supporters lose their heads. The right is very good with showy displays of guns and ammo, tatoos and Gadsden flags, and angry talk, and all of it evaporates into fat guys asking for snacks over the internet and pissed off old white men getting gunned down in the snow because they think it's their right to pull guns on sheriffs.
But if you look back at history, it's the LEFT...not the moderate left, the HARDCORE ANGRY LEFT, the ANARCHIST LEFT, that really knows how to kick some ass, they go in for some bloody guillotine inspired ass kicking. The hardcore anarchist left hangs gun toting paramilitary types from the third floor of office buildings and sets stuff on fire.
It's like one of those zombie apocalypse films.
No, I am not a fan of that. I'm far too moderate a liberal to enjoy that. I just like my public schools and post offices and high tech wizard-y gadgets and my dreams of electric hot rods zooming down the freeway.
The hardcore right has been talking smack now for about a decade.
And now we've watched several high profile mini-wars go down, where the right has attempted to push ordinary people into a corner and dare the government to fight back.
The right now thinks that they have license to threaten ordinary people. And I do think that, win or lose, Bernie or Hillary, that there WILL be a mass right wing mini-riot on several fronts.
They better stick with remote wildlife refuges for these shindigs because if they roll into a city and try pulling a stunt like that, it's not going to end well for them.
Snacks will not be forthcoming.
I pray that cooler heads will prevail.
