I have an essay out for Persuasion on how a lack of rigor prevents students from accessing one of the most important elements of education, learning what they’re not good at. Also, Sam Kriss has recently started a Substack. He’s one of the most talented essayists out there and I hope you’ll join me in reading.
In the US, at least the left can cling to "Bernie would have won". Over here in the UK we made our Bernie – a white-haired Pure Socialist who's never been wrong in 40 years of politics, according to his supporters – leader of the opposition and he contested two elections in four years. Jeremy Corbyn didn't win the first, and Jeremy Corbyn resoundingly lost the second. But, like Trumpists, his supporters believe it was only betrayal, only the media, only the benighted misled public who caused him to fail and still hold his torch. Jeremy Would Have Won.
I was a Bernie supporter in 2016, and a volunteer for the campaign in 2020. I agree though that he shouldn't run again, and I'm a little tired of hearing of or from him. Yes, the left needs a new champion.
I'm waiting to see what else Ocasio-Cortez does. She definitely does not stay in the House for the rest of her life. The issue is there's nowhere for her to go in New York politics. Schumer is "only" 71, is running for reelection this year, and will most likely run for reelection in 2028 and probably 2034. Does Ocasio-Cortez want to be in the House until 2034 or 2040?
Gillibrand is even younger and could plausibly serve in the Senate for the next 30 years.
I think this was an interesting piece but mostly academic. As you note, Bernie definitely won't run if Biden runs (which seems more likely than not). And I think even if Biden does not run, Bernie isn't going to do it.
What he might do is put his weight behind a progressive candidate (assuming no Biden). No idea who that would be.
I think Sanders is a good guy. But it needs to be pointed out that during the 2016 primary, when it was clear he would lose to Hillary Clinton, he said "She can't win without superdelegates".
That wasn't technically a lie, because the race was very close. If *all* of the superdelegates had voted for Sanders he would have won the nomination, despite the fact that he'd won fewer elected delegates than Clinton. (That's why superdelegates are bad! The nominee should be the candidate with the most popular support.)
But Bernie knew perfectly well that some of his less well-informed supporters would misinterpret his comment to mean that he had more elected delegates than she did, and that the superdelegates had used their votes to flip the outcome. Lots of people on the left still believe that, which made it a deeply irresponsible thing to say.
I never understood why the Dem Party frequently tries to run the same coterie of candidates with proven losing track histories, rather than frequently comb through their ranks for individuals with actual potential. Their platform of "yea, but the other team is even worse. If we lose, it means they cheated" does nothing to encourage me to vote for their ticket.
The only primary I've ever voted in was 2016. I voted for Bernie. What can I say? I thought (and still think) income inequality is our biggest issue.
And I fucking HATE the Superdelegate system. Let the people decide on their own.
But I also can't stand the Squad. They've gone all in on what you call Social Justice Politics, and anyone peddling that crap simply isn't getting my vote. Sorry.
Exactly. Which created a moment when many voters across the social spectrum wanted an alternative. The Iraq disaster also contributed to that desperation. Then Obama produced a performance that left them feeling disillusioned. But before that no one thought he’d eventually fit the description of “fat Elvis of neo-liberalism”(many thanks to Matt Taibi for that unforgettable descrition).
One of the most disappointing aspects of the Democratic party, at the national level, is the lack of charisma and inspirational leadership on the bench. We shouldn't expect the hangers-on of the Boomer and Silent Generations to quietly back into the shrubbery of retirement. I really think we need an age cap and term limites for members of Congress, the White House and all Federal Judges.
The Democrats are “centrist” and the Republicans “far right”? Putting aside the fact that these labels no longer mean anything, this notion is a fairy tale and surprisingly out of touch. Tulsi Gabbard is right.
Reluctantly agree with you Freddie, I think his time has unfortunately passed. Although I would say his influence and legacy will remain for a long while. I don't like a lot of the alternatives either, but someone has to pick up his mantle...sooner rather than later.
Bernie will go down as one of the great "what if's" of early 21st century American politics.
Let's say the Boomers and Silent Generation hangers-on decide to think about the good of the country instead of their egos and retire/die en masse in 2030. Gen Xers in office will be pushing against the late 60s and will have probably stopped caring at this point, Millennials will be in their 40s having mid-life crises and writing articles about themselves having mid-life crises, meanwhile Zoomers will still be whinging about the lack life-work balance at their hot-desking job. I think we just need to let AI take over at that point.
Correct on all three points, but I think a bit too generous to the Squad. There are reasons they don’t inherit the mantle of Bernie beyond sexism and racism.
First, they’ve embraced fashionable social politics (on immigration and policing, for example) that Bernie always understood to be untenable. He’s too old and has too much sense to fall for Twitter policy fads.
Second, the prominence of Ocasio-Cortez really detracts from Bernie’s brand of authenticity. Nobody could credibly accuse Bernie of champagne socialism or self-absorption. I liked AOC at first, but she’s got some pronounced narcissistic tendencies - glamour shots, constant pity plays, crying on the floor of the house, allergy to actual work. She’s not alone among her generation and certainly not among politicians, but it’s harder for me to stomach in a symbol of the left. (It also grates on a personal level because she embodies negative stereotypes of young women.) How I wish Ayanna Pressley were the front woman instead.
Bernie has an appeal that comes out of his personality. Everyone who listens to him, including fox viewers, recognize him as a fundamentally decent, which means it's really hard to mount a hate campaign against him. The most right wing people out there were still saying "personally he's a good guy, but...". There are few people like that in general, but basically nobody who's young and embroiled in online culture wars can be like that. AOC for example is fundamentally not a likable person, so there' no way she could ever have the same crossover appeal that Bernie did.
In the US, at least the left can cling to "Bernie would have won". Over here in the UK we made our Bernie – a white-haired Pure Socialist who's never been wrong in 40 years of politics, according to his supporters – leader of the opposition and he contested two elections in four years. Jeremy Corbyn didn't win the first, and Jeremy Corbyn resoundingly lost the second. But, like Trumpists, his supporters believe it was only betrayal, only the media, only the benighted misled public who caused him to fail and still hold his torch. Jeremy Would Have Won.
I was a Bernie supporter in 2016, and a volunteer for the campaign in 2020. I agree though that he shouldn't run again, and I'm a little tired of hearing of or from him. Yes, the left needs a new champion.
"in part because they labor under the burdens of racism and sexism."
Yeah ok
The elephant in the room for me is this: why would Bernie even be running again in 2024? To challenge a sitting president from his own party?
Or is the assumption that Biden will not be running again despite the fact that he's two years younger than Sanders?
I'm waiting to see what else Ocasio-Cortez does. She definitely does not stay in the House for the rest of her life. The issue is there's nowhere for her to go in New York politics. Schumer is "only" 71, is running for reelection this year, and will most likely run for reelection in 2028 and probably 2034. Does Ocasio-Cortez want to be in the House until 2034 or 2040?
Gillibrand is even younger and could plausibly serve in the Senate for the next 30 years.
I think this was an interesting piece but mostly academic. As you note, Bernie definitely won't run if Biden runs (which seems more likely than not). And I think even if Biden does not run, Bernie isn't going to do it.
What he might do is put his weight behind a progressive candidate (assuming no Biden). No idea who that would be.
I think Sanders is a good guy. But it needs to be pointed out that during the 2016 primary, when it was clear he would lose to Hillary Clinton, he said "She can't win without superdelegates".
That wasn't technically a lie, because the race was very close. If *all* of the superdelegates had voted for Sanders he would have won the nomination, despite the fact that he'd won fewer elected delegates than Clinton. (That's why superdelegates are bad! The nominee should be the candidate with the most popular support.)
But Bernie knew perfectly well that some of his less well-informed supporters would misinterpret his comment to mean that he had more elected delegates than she did, and that the superdelegates had used their votes to flip the outcome. Lots of people on the left still believe that, which made it a deeply irresponsible thing to say.
I never understood why the Dem Party frequently tries to run the same coterie of candidates with proven losing track histories, rather than frequently comb through their ranks for individuals with actual potential. Their platform of "yea, but the other team is even worse. If we lose, it means they cheated" does nothing to encourage me to vote for their ticket.
The only primary I've ever voted in was 2016. I voted for Bernie. What can I say? I thought (and still think) income inequality is our biggest issue.
And I fucking HATE the Superdelegate system. Let the people decide on their own.
But I also can't stand the Squad. They've gone all in on what you call Social Justice Politics, and anyone peddling that crap simply isn't getting my vote. Sorry.
Exactly. Which created a moment when many voters across the social spectrum wanted an alternative. The Iraq disaster also contributed to that desperation. Then Obama produced a performance that left them feeling disillusioned. But before that no one thought he’d eventually fit the description of “fat Elvis of neo-liberalism”(many thanks to Matt Taibi for that unforgettable descrition).
One of the most disappointing aspects of the Democratic party, at the national level, is the lack of charisma and inspirational leadership on the bench. We shouldn't expect the hangers-on of the Boomer and Silent Generations to quietly back into the shrubbery of retirement. I really think we need an age cap and term limites for members of Congress, the White House and all Federal Judges.
The Democrats are “centrist” and the Republicans “far right”? Putting aside the fact that these labels no longer mean anything, this notion is a fairy tale and surprisingly out of touch. Tulsi Gabbard is right.
Reluctantly agree with you Freddie, I think his time has unfortunately passed. Although I would say his influence and legacy will remain for a long while. I don't like a lot of the alternatives either, but someone has to pick up his mantle...sooner rather than later.
Bernie will go down as one of the great "what if's" of early 21st century American politics.
Let's say the Boomers and Silent Generation hangers-on decide to think about the good of the country instead of their egos and retire/die en masse in 2030. Gen Xers in office will be pushing against the late 60s and will have probably stopped caring at this point, Millennials will be in their 40s having mid-life crises and writing articles about themselves having mid-life crises, meanwhile Zoomers will still be whinging about the lack life-work balance at their hot-desking job. I think we just need to let AI take over at that point.
Correct on all three points, but I think a bit too generous to the Squad. There are reasons they don’t inherit the mantle of Bernie beyond sexism and racism.
First, they’ve embraced fashionable social politics (on immigration and policing, for example) that Bernie always understood to be untenable. He’s too old and has too much sense to fall for Twitter policy fads.
Second, the prominence of Ocasio-Cortez really detracts from Bernie’s brand of authenticity. Nobody could credibly accuse Bernie of champagne socialism or self-absorption. I liked AOC at first, but she’s got some pronounced narcissistic tendencies - glamour shots, constant pity plays, crying on the floor of the house, allergy to actual work. She’s not alone among her generation and certainly not among politicians, but it’s harder for me to stomach in a symbol of the left. (It also grates on a personal level because she embodies negative stereotypes of young women.) How I wish Ayanna Pressley were the front woman instead.
Bernie has an appeal that comes out of his personality. Everyone who listens to him, including fox viewers, recognize him as a fundamentally decent, which means it's really hard to mount a hate campaign against him. The most right wing people out there were still saying "personally he's a good guy, but...". There are few people like that in general, but basically nobody who's young and embroiled in online culture wars can be like that. AOC for example is fundamentally not a likable person, so there' no way she could ever have the same crossover appeal that Bernie did.