DU is a tiny little spot on the political unconsciousness of the general population. We care about issues like this, and others, because we care about politics. Most people, like the PTB want them to, don't really give much thought to this kind of stuff.
That is why, for example, it is important for Sanders to keep repeating his message time after boring time (its okay, he said the same thing at the open house on CNN). Many of us can answer his rhetorical questions during the speech like fans do watching the Rocky Horror movie.
What the political masterminds, and especially HRC and her campaign, have to be concerned with is how this balding old Jew from Burlington/Brooklyn has managed to build a national movement that has derailed her coronation. Certainly, the pros think she's still going to take the gold ring BUT...
This was not supposed to happen to the anointed victor of a DNC rigged primary. After all, HRC is favored by large blocs of regular Dems, and she is the first woman to mount a legitimate campaign for the Presidency and, finally, it is her turn.
Only problem is those pesky voters who say enough is enough.
Sanders has a basic theory as to what is behind a lot of the problems this country faces. It is a unifying theory that says there isn't much that can be done to remedy the ills of this nation until the overwhelming influence of huge sums of money can be reined in.
We point to the ACA as a great victory, which it is, but lobbyists with huge amounts of money to spend on behalf of the Health Care (?) Indu$try and Big Pharma made it all but impossible to achieve even with Democratic control of the government in place. One of the biggest reforms proposed, the public option, was killed by Democratic legislators (including the odious Joel Lieberman). If the deal had not been sweetened by concessions to the special interests it never would have passed.
How could this be? It could be because huge amounts of money was available to beat the reformers back. This is considered to be the way government works; compromise is necessary. Well, compromise is necessary. A corporate buyout is not.
People are not stupid. At the moment there is a widespread, if diffuse, feeling among US voters that we have been, and continue to be, royally screwed. The Sanders movement can be justifiably described as saying "we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore?"
This is not the year for conventional politicians mouthing conventional platitudes promising conventional solutions. Secretary Clinton is no worse than most of the politicians who have risen to the top. She has problems, issues, things that just won't go away.
In a conventional year we would most likely be happy to support her. This ain't that year. This year we're going for broke and there is no compromise, no deal the HRC camp can devise, no argument they can put forth, that is going to change that reality. Stand or fall, win or lose, this time it is for all the marbles.
We live in exciting times.
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