Mediaboss Marketing

As the reality begins to set in that Bernie Sanders is likely to be the Democratic nominee, some loyal progressives are coming around on the Vermont senator.

It is interesting to watch the grand reconciliation and we are largely in the baby steps phase of the conversion but it is nevertheless noticeable.

Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate and opinion writer for the New York Times, worked through the new reality in real time, tweeting after Sanders win in the Nevada Caucuses, Well, Bernie Sanders is now the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination. Lots of things to say about that, but the most important is that he is NOT a left-leaning version of Trump. Even if you disagree with his ideas, hes not a wannabe authoritarian ruler.

Matthew Yglesias of Vox looked to calm Democrats down in a column titled Mainstream Democrats shouldnt fear Bernie Sanders,

At the end of the day, writes Yglesias, Sanderss record is not nearly as scary as many establishment Democrats fear. His revolution rhetoric doesnt make sense to me, but hes been an effective legislator for a long time, and he knows how to get things done

Some of his big ideas are not so hot on the merits, but its not worth worrying about them because the political revolution is so unrealistic.

If you are not reassured by the Vox writers assurances, you are not alone.

Jill Filipovic, a popular feminist, lawyer and author, implored her Twitter followers to put the Sanders surge in context.

If youre a Democrat who thinks Bernie would be a bad president and get nothing done, she tweeted. I submit that getting nothing done is a helluva lot better than Trump implementing even one more inch of his agenda.

If Bernie wins the Dem nomination, she followed up, The question is: Even in the most extreme outcome Bernie is able to implement his entire agenda would you rather live in an America that is akin to socially democratic Denmark, or an America that is like any authoritarian fascist state?

Like Trump or hate him, if hes trying to helm an authoritarian fascist state hes not doing it right. Loud criticisms like Filipovics tweeted out to almost 115,000 followers, amplified by over 2,000 retweets, and reprinted in free newspapers would not be part of our daily discourse.

In fairness, not all progressives are coalescing to the inevitable reality of Bernie Sanders, and some are speaking out loudly about the socialist from Vermont. However, the willingness of some to misstate the danger of President Trump in order to blot away the horror of the Sanders ideology and agenda is unhelpful and a little dangerous.

Donald J. Trump is not now and has never been an ideologue, other than roughly embracing the concept of America first.

Trumps formative years were spent building businesses, hotels, golf courses and promoting his own brand around the world.

Sanders has spent his entire adult life preaching the benefits of socialism. To describe Bernie Sanders as a Marxist, communist or socialist is far more accurate than the dark descriptors employed to sum up Donald Trump.

In the last 100 years, it is estimated that communist states killed as many as 100 million people. It began practically with the Bolshevik Revolution and the dark rise of the Soviet Union.

Central planners rely on conformity at any cost and that historically looks a lot worse than any Donald Trump tweet imaginable.

Read more from the original source:
Progressives dismiss Sanders revolutionary rhetoric - Boston Herald