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The crowds are growing....
www.msnbc.com
It’s a dark time for left-of-center Americans. The Democratic Party’s reputation is in tatters, even with its own base. Progressive activists and groups are protesting President Donald Trump’s authoritarian seizure of the federal government’s administrative operations, but their crowds lack the size and vigor of his first term.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has stepped into the void with a national “Stopping Oligarchy” tour. He’s visiting Republican-held districts in swing states and red states, and he’s drawing big and energetic crowds with little lead-up time. “He drew a crowd of 4,000 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Friday night. He faced another 2,600 or so the next morning a few hours away in Altoona, Wisconsin, a town of less than 10,000 residents,” The Associated Press reports. “And his crowd of 9,000 in suburban Detroit exceeded his own team’s expectations.”
The popularity of Sanders’ tour is an indicator that, even during a time of rock-bottom morale on the left, there remains an appetite for combative and progressive populism. And while Sanders’ speeches sound a lot like the ones he’s delivered his entire career, their enduring popularity suggest a model the Democratic Party establishment needs to emulate to pull out of its tailspin.
Sanders’ anti-oligarchy tour is a kind of return to form for the independent and democratic socialist. Between the end of his 2020 presidential campaign and Joe Biden’s departure from the White House, Sanders was absorbed into the Democratic Party establishment and served primarily as a surrogate for Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Now he’s looking quite a lot like he did as an insurgent presidential candidate. That isn’t to say that Sanders has White House ambitions in 2028 — he’s 83 years old and says his current term is likely his last in the Senate. But he is returning to what he knows best: gravitating toward the people and stoking grassroots energy.
There are a few things Sanders is doing well that Democrats in Washington ought to pay attention to. Sanders is using the theme of oligarchy and class domination as an overarching message. “We are here to say loudly and clearly that in our great nation we will not accept oligarchy,” Sanders said to the roaring crowd in Kenosha last week. “We will not accept authoritarianism. We will not accept kleptocracy. We’re here to make it clear that we are going to fight back and we are going to win.”
Bernie Sanders' anti-oligarchy tour offers a sorely needed lesson for Democrats
The socialist firebrand is drawing big crowds in GOP-held districts — and wisely focusing on a message of class unity.
www.msnbc.com
It’s a dark time for left-of-center Americans. The Democratic Party’s reputation is in tatters, even with its own base. Progressive activists and groups are protesting President Donald Trump’s authoritarian seizure of the federal government’s administrative operations, but their crowds lack the size and vigor of his first term.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has stepped into the void with a national “Stopping Oligarchy” tour. He’s visiting Republican-held districts in swing states and red states, and he’s drawing big and energetic crowds with little lead-up time. “He drew a crowd of 4,000 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Friday night. He faced another 2,600 or so the next morning a few hours away in Altoona, Wisconsin, a town of less than 10,000 residents,” The Associated Press reports. “And his crowd of 9,000 in suburban Detroit exceeded his own team’s expectations.”
The popularity of Sanders’ tour is an indicator that, even during a time of rock-bottom morale on the left, there remains an appetite for combative and progressive populism. And while Sanders’ speeches sound a lot like the ones he’s delivered his entire career, their enduring popularity suggest a model the Democratic Party establishment needs to emulate to pull out of its tailspin.
Sanders’ anti-oligarchy tour is a kind of return to form for the independent and democratic socialist. Between the end of his 2020 presidential campaign and Joe Biden’s departure from the White House, Sanders was absorbed into the Democratic Party establishment and served primarily as a surrogate for Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Now he’s looking quite a lot like he did as an insurgent presidential candidate. That isn’t to say that Sanders has White House ambitions in 2028 — he’s 83 years old and says his current term is likely his last in the Senate. But he is returning to what he knows best: gravitating toward the people and stoking grassroots energy.
There are a few things Sanders is doing well that Democrats in Washington ought to pay attention to. Sanders is using the theme of oligarchy and class domination as an overarching message. “We are here to say loudly and clearly that in our great nation we will not accept oligarchy,” Sanders said to the roaring crowd in Kenosha last week. “We will not accept authoritarianism. We will not accept kleptocracy. We’re here to make it clear that we are going to fight back and we are going to win.”
