Bernie Sanders, the shape of things to come: Why his popularity is no fluke

[n2doc]

by TIM DONOVAN

Last week, Nate Cohn at the New York Times noted an important impediment to Bernie Sanders’ primary chances: his outsize reliance upon young, new voters. As Cohn explained,

[T]he race is not nearly as close among people who say they will definitely vote. The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll found Mrs. Clinton ahead by nine points among those who said they would “definitely” vote, with Mr. Sanders ahead by 10 among those who said they would “probably” caucus.

With the results out of Iowa a virtual tie, history afforded us something situated right between those two extremes. But the skepticism that Cohn demonstrated toward Sanders’ candidacy is what matters here. Even before Obama’s election in 2008, pundits questioned whether a new generation of young voters could be counted upon to follow through on the progressive energy that coagulated in the soupy cauldron of the 2000s, which started with the Dionysian excess of the dot-com crash, ambled drunkenly toward two ill-advised and deeply immoral wars, and finally crashed awkwardly and painfully into the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. If Cohn’s reasonable skepticism had played out with Clinton winning by 10 points, it would be easy to start questioning the lasting impact of young left-wing voters on the broader electoral outlook. But something else happened instead: The kids came out, and they clearly “#Felt The Bern.”

Much has been made of the “demographic destiny” that Democrats enjoy, a popular theory easily expressed with the reductive formula: “lots of young progressive voters + time = win.” And yet the strange and specific particulars of the last few election cycles muddied the water. Was Obama, with his soaring rhetoric, uniquely situated to draw out unprecedented numbers of young voters, or was his success the natural outgrowth of a broader impulse toward progressivism? Furthermore, was the short-lived Occupy movement a response to the financial collapse and Obama’s acquiescence to Wall Street special interests, or proof of something greater, something more lasting, more transformational? Have young Americans been growing more progressive in recent years, or were they just enthralled by Obama and disillusioned with the status quo? Do they even have a coherent political philosophy?

much more

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/04/bernie_sanders_the_shape_of_things_to_come_why_his_popularity_is_no_fluke_and_his_way_is_the_future/

[ErisDiscordia]

1. Two choices for the young: Vote, or Riot

Just sitting there and taking the shit raining down on them isn't a viable option.

The economy is killing at least 50%, and more like 80% of the American people.

This state of affairs cannot continue. Voting for Hillary is voting for continuity...things will continue to deteriorate into global war: first economic, then a shooting war.

Bernie is the only one offering us an option. The young are not stupid or uneducated or naive. They have decided to take the voting option....this time.

We should reward them by supporting their efforts to bring about a change for the People.