Summary
Sen. Bernie Sanders is touring Iowa and Nebraska to rally against “the oligarchy,” aiming to energize progressives rather than launch a 2028 presidential bid.
At 83, he seeks to shape the Democratic Party’s future, arguing it lost in 2024 by neglecting working-class voters.
He hopes to influence budget battles and the 2026 midterms, targeting GOP lawmakers in battleground districts.
With Democrats lacking clear leadership, Sanders’ prominence and focus on economic inequality could define the party’s direction in the Trump-Musk era.
Harris raised 50% more than Trump. It’s hard to pin this one solely on big money influence.
Her messaging changed midway through her campaign, to one that was friendlier to a center-right disposition. She lost a good deal of her mojo because of that, since she became Biden v2.0. While obviously better than Trump, she was rejected for being more of the same. Many politicians across the globe felt a backlash in 2024 for not trying to rock the boat.
I agree. Her speech on the Monday after she got picked was great. She came out of the gate swinging. She laid out a solid initial vision with a realistic warning that it was going to be a hard fight.
Then she didn’t.
Somewhere along the line she got cold feet and decided that not rocking the boat would be a safe option. She thought that pushing too hard would galvanize her opponents. Instead she tried to play nice with them and alienated large chunks of her base.
That just tells me she was paid to take a dive.
Maybe. I think it’s more likely that she truly believed that her milquetoast approach was actually the safer option. I’m not even sure Harris was exceptionally cowardly.
Many other people would likely have folded and taken that “safe” option.
The problem is that we needed someone who went well beyond just “not cowardice”. We needed an actual hero. We needed a candidate who was willing to boldly face down big money interests, even when it seemed unwise and hopeless. Harris definitely wasn’t that hero.
This is why the neoliberal tendency to announce that any given neolib is the second coming of FDR always falls so flat. FDR welcomed the hatred of those that consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs.
Neoliberals regard such people with awe and reverence.