Bernie 2020 – Lemmings Off A Cliff

If you want to know why Bernie isn’t going to win in 2020, read on. If you’re someone who childishly puts fingers in their ears and says “lalala I can’t hear you,” then move along. If you’re still here, your next bet is probably to trash my intentions, so you’re probably thinking “this guy is just a radical Marxist or a Green.” Well, I’m not. I want Bernie to win. I just know he won’t, and I think you’re all delusional for thinking he will. Sorry.
 
One aspect of this delusional thinking is the belief that the DNC is obligated to run a fair primary, or at least a suppression of the belief that they aren’t obligated. Berners seem to implicitly believe that the rules that apply to general elections also apply to primary elections. Well, those rules don’t apply, and the DNC testified as much to avoid getting sued after what happened in 2016. A DNC lawyer said in court that the primary is a formality and they can decide the process in a “back room” over “cigars” if they want to. Even when progressives acknowledge this inevitability, they seem to sideline it. If you’re familiar with MMT, you know about economists like Paul Krugman who say “we always knew that’s how things worked” and yet they never act on that knowledge. Well, it’s the same with Berners. The formality and foregone conclusion of the primary may be in the back of their minds, nagging at them, but it doesn’t factor into their thinking.
 
Given this, what do you think is going to happen in 2020 with Bernie Sanders? I know some of you think he’ll be so amazingly popular that the rigging won’t be enough to stop him. To that I say, are you kidding me? Do you really think the race won’t be close enough to rig? Don’t you think the media have enough influence over the public to at least do that? They will spend a year talking glowingly about Kamala or Beto while largely ignoring or deriding Bernie. It will be close enough to rig, but, if their rigging somehow isn’t enough to carry a neoliberal to victory, it will be close enough to force a second ballot at the Convention. At that point, super-delegates will pick the neoliberal. That’s the contingency plan they put into their “DNC reforms.” Finally, if all else fails, Tom Perez can say Bernie Sanders violated the “DNC loyalty oath” that he has been forced to sign. Then, he’s out for not upholding the “values” of the party. That will upset the base a lot, but do you really think they wouldn’t do it to stop a Democratic socialist from winning? Remember who these people are. They would rather lose to Trump than allow a progressive to win.
  Furthermore, the DNC loyalty oath is leverage that will be used to muzzle Bernie throughout the primary process. He won’t be able to bring up Kamala’s corruption or Booker’s pharma con or Biden’s voting record or Beto’s fakery. The mainstream media’s narrative about the purity of these corrupt candidates will be upheld. There will be no email scandals this time around. The DNC will hold this loyalty oath over Bernie and threaten him with expulsion throughout. If it looks like Bernie might win, they can use any bogus reason they want to expel Bernie, at any time during the process.
  In other words, Bernie will not win because the apparatus that was there in 2016 is still there now. Debbie was replaced with her male clone, Tom Perez. The power of the super-delegates was reduced, but what’s to stop the media polling them and adding their votes to the results again? Nothing. That was the real, tangible effect they had in 2016 – to make it appear as if Hillary was winning big. The DNC has removed or weakened some modes of rigging, and brought in others, like the loyalty oath. Furthermore, there won’t be exit polls this time. Caucuses that favor Bernie will be gone too.
 
The sad thing is, it’s probably too late now. Progressives have been chanting Bernie 2020 ever since 2016 and have largely ignored all of the above. From what I can tell, they have wanted to relive the hope and excitement they felt in 2016 for some time. That emotional rollercoaster was too tempting not to take for another ride. They’ve now got their wish and we’re moving full speed ahead, about to fly off the same cliff we plummeted off in 2016.
 
It’s upsetting because we could have built a 3rd party in this time. Unfortunately, the “Dementers” who wanted us to reform the Democratic Party made sure that wasn’t going to happen. They made sure we were divided. And no, we couldn’t have united in the Democratic Party, not given the visceral hatred many of us had for it after 2016. The only way to unite was outside the Party. That time is gone. The time to at least reform the DNC is gone as well. It seems we’re committed to careening off the same cliff as before and there’s little that’s left to be done. I hope Bernie wins, but I know he won’t. They’ll do whatever it takes, and they have the means. People will say, “Well what is your solution?” and to that I say, “You ignored my solutions. The time to enact them has come and gone.” Maybe we can all sign another Bernie or Bust pledge. Create some leverage. But, at this point, the déjà vu is getting ridiculous.
 
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