I specifically wanted to listen to Sanders at Town Hall in South Carolina yesterday evening on CNN. Town Halls are nice because the candidate can state his/her ideas and platform positions without theatrics I call “debate interference”. My take on Bernie is that as has been with me for a long time, I like almost everything Bernie Sanders is campaigning to do!
From Medicare for All to his education goals (no cost college at State colleges and Universities), forgiving all student debt. Bernie has immigration reform objectives and plans that are like most of the other candidates as well.
All in all an idealistically superior platform has Bernie BUT – that is not the issue.
1. THE BIG PROBLEM
What I see as BIG PROBLEM with Bernie’s promises that literally everything he is promising can ONLY happen with a willing US Senate (assuming DEM majority House). For an example of the hurdle that Bernie faces; when LBJ passed Medicare, K-12 public education AND the 1968 Civil Rights bill – he (LBJ) had a – TWO-THIRDS DEM MAJORITY SENATE (67-DEM votes)! That number (67) of US Senate votes can not only pass legislation but is the greater number of required votes to A] convict an impeached President and B] CHANGE SENATE RULES! An example of a Senate rule is the one that Warren is so enamored of repealing as President. She erroneously wants to remove the FILIBUSTER, which is a very horrible idea unless a new rule requiring 60-votes to pass or remove all legislation with impact greater than 1-year, is also added as a rule. But the real question – how hard really, is it to get 67-votes in the US Senate, especially if the change or bill is partisan?
Another more recent example: when OB got the ACA through the US Senate in 2009, it was with a 59+1-vote DEM+Bernie US Senate! Had that not been the case for exactly 60-days in Nov-Dec 2009
– THERE WOULD BE NO ACA!
67-votes was far greater than what was or is needed (60-votes) to pass legislation. There is another embedded wall of DOA for bills coming from the US House. Under Senate rules the Senate Majority Leader is entitled to do what is called “SHELVE” BILLS PASSED BY US HOUSE. This mean s the Seante Majority Leader (McConnell right now) can just leave a bill setting on his desk until he wants to do something else – OR NOT! Let us not forget that McConnell has shelved 275+ US House passed bills many bipartisan. They are just sitting on Mitch’s desk and will stay there until or if Mitch decides to allow any yo go to Senate committees and then possibly for a vote. In Mitch “Grim Reaper” McConnell terms that means those bills never see the light of day! They don’t get heard or voted on by the full Senate. Therefore, those bills are DOA history!
Right now the DEMs hold 45+2 seats (far from 60 needed). The GOP have 53-seats in the US Senate. There are 34 of 100-Senate seats up for grabs in Nov 2020. Even if the DEMs can get to a majority US Senate (51-votes), which terminates McConnell vice-grip on Senate progress – there are really only a total 5-Senate seats up for arguable debate for Nov 2020. If the DEMs were to take all 5 from the GOP, they would have 50+2 majority but here is the question –
How many GOP Senators does anyone think will vote to pass any one of a President Sander’s great but highly extreme partisan liberal ideas? Remember 60-votes needed to pass anything. That means 8-GOP Senators would have to vote to pass as well. When was last time that happened?
Now we come to why Bernie ideas as nice as they sound, are a waste of time as a promise. Sanders is not known for building consensus across the isle or compromising his partisan extreme liberal agenda in order to make progress. — and so a President Sanders will face total GOP gridlock and get nothing done.
-
- No Medicare for All
- No Student Loan debt forgiveness
- No free education at all public Universities
- No immigration reform
- NOTHING!
2. WHY IS VLAD PUTIN HELPING BERNIE SANDERS?
Why is Russia helping Sanders? It is not to try and help him win the Presidential race. Russia is helping Sanders beat the DEM moderates, especially Joe Biden! Why would Putin want to do that? Simple – both trump, the trump campaign, and it appears Putin – see Sanders as the candidate most likely to LOSE to trump! That is not a fact; rather an observation that Putin is banking and hedging on – Sanders to lose to his candidate, trump.
Such an upset with Sanders as candidate may or may not happen; whether Putin thinks it will or not is only a calculated bet at present. However, if Bernie Sanders gets past the DNC convention and we end up with Bernie vs Donny – then will be awfully interesting if not sadly masochistic to watch an
Authoritarian Populist Bully Capitalist and a Socialist Who Likes Fidel Castro
— DUKE IT OUT —