Everything Sanders says is so right on. However, his actions belie his words. He is clearly playing ‘I’m of the people’ politics, even doubting the president’s sincerity in protecting Social Security but nonetheless supported his ‘fecal’ cliff bill. This was clearly not a good bill; a compromise that both sides hated. Yet any support of it was a support of the narrative written by Wall Street and endorsed by President Obama.
Senator Sanders has strong allies on his side: unions, seniors’ groups, veterans, etc. They represent the majority of the American population. However in real politics we know that nearly all of them will fold in the end, especially the unions. The president is a registered Democrat. That’s enough to stop Trumpka and others from being blowhards on the stump speech, but wusses when action is needed. Sanders should certainly be able to identify with that.
Although Sanders will be proposing a transaction tax that could yield hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues, it will be later, not when it mattered most. On the Ed Show he allowed Ed to repeat the Wall Street narrative that this transaction tax (which Ed agreed would be good) could enhance the Social Security Trust Fund without separating the Fund as a source of the deficit.
No where in the fiscal bill did we see this transaction tax, a tax on real wealth starting at $250,000, slashing the military budget by 50% or more, closing tax shelter loopholes and corporate welfare subsidies. In fact, some of those were strengthened. That’s not compromising. That’s capitulating to Wall Street. Many would say that the 2012 election was a referendum, a mandate, against Wall Street, yet the victor remains the stalwart Republican he’s always been.
If Bernie had any real credibility as a Senator, and one who once called himself a Socialist, he should have urged to the point of filibuster that we ‘went over the cliff’, not side with the Wall Streeter-in-Chief.
Senator Sanders fools a lot of people. He gets to be on the Ed Show. But he’s a Democratic Party hack just the same and votes more with this corporate party than most Democrats. He’s got a good tongue. But as it wags, his finger is on the ‘Aye’ button for Wall Street.