Bernie Sanders and the establishment Red Scare meltdown

The Intercept

We are witnessing the beginnings of the cataclysmic meltdown that will occur in various sectors of the U.S. political class in the United States if Bernie Sanders wins the majority of delegates in the Democratic primary.

It has unfortunately become low hanging fruit to look at MSNBC’s coverage of this primary for a sense of how out of touch, delusional and, frankly, demoralized the Democratic establishment and its pundits are. But it is really something to behold.

And then you have this shameless class of neocons, lifelong right-wing Republicans, so-called conservative pundits who call themselves Never Trumpers. They have been in this weird alliance with the MSNBC/DNC crowd in the Trump era. And now they are all offering their totally unsolicited and unwanted panic-addled advice for what Democrats should do and how urgent it is to stop Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders has been vetted. The campaign of Hillary Clinton spent substantial resources on so-called opposition research and produced absolutely nothing that could effectively tar Sanders.

One of the wealthiest people on earth, Michael Bloomberg, is spending megamillions right now trying to smear Bernie Sanders. And it is a bit ironic, and frankly nuts, that Bloomberg — with all of his heinous, well-documented skeletons walking around out in public — to pretend to be the vetter in chief of Bernie Sanders.

Here is the fact: If there was any real dirt on Bernie Sanders, it would have already been weaponized and deployed. And so what do we have now? Red-baiting. McCarthyism is the central strategy of the bipartisan coalition trying to stop Bernie Sanders.

Here is the major difference between those attacking Sanders and Bernie Sanders: Bernie Sanders has consistently opposed U.S. hegemony. That’s why they attack him. These people don’t care about human rights unless it fits their agenda. If you actually listen to what Bernie Sanders has said about left-wing governments, he constantly offers nuance. He calls out authoritarianism and anti-democratic policies.

Bernie Sanders is an imperfect messenger, for sure. But he has done the work, kept focus, and inspired so many people across racial, economic, gender, and ethnic lines to fight for something bigger than themselves. Remember that when you watch the desperate smears against him. Remember that what they are trying to stop has nothing to do with Fidel Castro or the Sandinistas.

This is about stopping the masses of people in this country who are sick and tired of a system based on oppression and rooted in defense of a system where the rich and powerful rule all of our lives.