So, last night, we had dinner with two more avowed followers of Bernie Sanders.
And a fascinating experience it was.
Did you know that 9/11 was an inside job?
Or that Sanders isn't supported by corporate money?
And that TRUMP followers have shown "alarming aggression?" (Because, for example, Trump supporters block traffic and cause riots to keep Sanders from speaking...)
Or that muslim attacks in the United States are OUR fault? (Think in terms of a fringe-left Ron Paul.)
And that the mere support or opposition of policy by the American people is enough to drive policy.
Or that the fact that Hillary Clinton has amassed millions more votes than Sanders "doesn't mean much" because he's got "momentum" and the super delegates will all bail on Hillary and shift to Sanders... as if the Establishment doesn't exist on the Left.
And that the explanation for the movement for delegates to be armed at the National Convention is so Trump delegates can take the convention over and force their guy to be nominated?
And that Sanders can pay for all the free stuff.
It was sickening to listen to. It was the complete ignorance of youth.
It was altruistically based nonsense. It was an exercise in self-restraint on my part.
And it's being duplicated among millions in this country... who want something to believe in so badly that they overlook the warts on this worm... the 30 years in the Senate with the passage of a single bill... the concept of stealing from the rich to distribute to the not-rich... the turning of a blind eye to the Venezuelas and Greeces of the world to the artificially enhanced socialism of the "Nordic" countries... because the reality of the Venezuelan and Grecian socialist disasters do not fit the meme and are, therefore, to be disregarded.
Or that the United States has no foreign policy responsibilities around the world... like our withdrawal from the world scene would not result in one of those vacuums filled by the Russians and the Chinese.
This, of course, was the early 20th century view that arguably resulted in World Wars One and Two.
Look, I get why these two believe in this: they have to believe in it to suspend their disbelief to support this guy.
But to me, after the Trump remark, when I asked them what was going to happen when Sanders did not get nominated, I was told "...that's when the REAL Revolution will start."
"What does that look like?" I asked.
I didn't get an answer.
On one hand, it was heartening to see that the young can believe in something... anything... so strongly.
On the other hand, it was DISheartening to see the remarkable ignorance and lack of political self-awareness that was on display.
Sanders is as much a sellout as any of the rest of them. He's tapped into youthful ignorance and gullibility in the same way that Trump is tapping into anger at the betrayal of the GOP Establishment from the bogus promises they made to meet with such success at the national level... such as the fake promise to repeal Obamacare.
His shtick that he's not getting corporate backing is nonsense, as a quick view of OpenSecrets.org shows.
These people are zealots. Most are.
Ultimately, there are mirrored problems here: if Sanders doesn't get his way, he and his people are going to throw a fit.
If Trump doesn't get HIS way, he and HIS people are going to throw a fit.
But if, as I was told, revolution in the classic sense breaks out over this insanity... the left is going to lose.
Big.
And a fascinating experience it was.
Did you know that 9/11 was an inside job?
Or that Sanders isn't supported by corporate money?
And that TRUMP followers have shown "alarming aggression?" (Because, for example, Trump supporters block traffic and cause riots to keep Sanders from speaking...)
Or that muslim attacks in the United States are OUR fault? (Think in terms of a fringe-left Ron Paul.)
And that the mere support or opposition of policy by the American people is enough to drive policy.
Or that the fact that Hillary Clinton has amassed millions more votes than Sanders "doesn't mean much" because he's got "momentum" and the super delegates will all bail on Hillary and shift to Sanders... as if the Establishment doesn't exist on the Left.
And that the explanation for the movement for delegates to be armed at the National Convention is so Trump delegates can take the convention over and force their guy to be nominated?
And that Sanders can pay for all the free stuff.
It was sickening to listen to. It was the complete ignorance of youth.
It was altruistically based nonsense. It was an exercise in self-restraint on my part.
And it's being duplicated among millions in this country... who want something to believe in so badly that they overlook the warts on this worm... the 30 years in the Senate with the passage of a single bill... the concept of stealing from the rich to distribute to the not-rich... the turning of a blind eye to the Venezuelas and Greeces of the world to the artificially enhanced socialism of the "Nordic" countries... because the reality of the Venezuelan and Grecian socialist disasters do not fit the meme and are, therefore, to be disregarded.
Or that the United States has no foreign policy responsibilities around the world... like our withdrawal from the world scene would not result in one of those vacuums filled by the Russians and the Chinese.
This, of course, was the early 20th century view that arguably resulted in World Wars One and Two.
Look, I get why these two believe in this: they have to believe in it to suspend their disbelief to support this guy.
But to me, after the Trump remark, when I asked them what was going to happen when Sanders did not get nominated, I was told "...that's when the REAL Revolution will start."
"What does that look like?" I asked.
I didn't get an answer.
On one hand, it was heartening to see that the young can believe in something... anything... so strongly.
On the other hand, it was DISheartening to see the remarkable ignorance and lack of political self-awareness that was on display.
Sanders is as much a sellout as any of the rest of them. He's tapped into youthful ignorance and gullibility in the same way that Trump is tapping into anger at the betrayal of the GOP Establishment from the bogus promises they made to meet with such success at the national level... such as the fake promise to repeal Obamacare.
His shtick that he's not getting corporate backing is nonsense, as a quick view of OpenSecrets.org shows.
These people are zealots. Most are.
Ultimately, there are mirrored problems here: if Sanders doesn't get his way, he and his people are going to throw a fit.
If Trump doesn't get HIS way, he and HIS people are going to throw a fit.
But if, as I was told, revolution in the classic sense breaks out over this insanity... the left is going to lose.
Big.
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