Both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were very strong in defense of their Progressive policies. They made the Republican-lite candidates seem weak, unsubstantive, and rudderless.
Elizabeth Warren on how to win
I wrote the following post on my Facebook wall about the debate.
Tim Ryan, John Delaney, Steve Bullock, & John Hickenlooper might as well quit now. It was clear their purpose was the DINOfication of the party to support the corporatocracy instead of the poor and middle-class. They got shredded by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Lean in folks. Lean in.
It elicited quite a few insightful comments. I love that people respect my page and wall in that we do not get into a lot of flaming but instead have very good discussions whether we agree or not. I do believe if we could get more of that, we could at least come to compromises where we all feel respected and got most of what we want. After all, the intersection of our wants is huge.
Some people disagreed with my post. They felt comfortable with those who in my opinion are promoting Republican policies of corporate interests first even if with a slight Progressive veneer.
I think the most important comment came from a dear friend who said the following.
It’s always funny how different people can look at the same thing and see things so differently. I saw some candidates who had actually been successful in helping constituents with real policies and other candidates that were giving away ponies. The only real question is will the Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. …
I’ve been fighting for universal healthcare for years. There are many different ways to deliver on that. It took us years to even get a majority of Americans to agree access to healthcare is something the government should have a role in. The fact is that most Americans DO have health insurance that works for them. Telling voters to just “trust us to take that away and give you something better” is not realistic. Warren and Sanders come across as exactly what the GOP has successfully painted our whole party as … elitists that know better what’s good for you. We need to LISTEN!
I agree that we need to listen. That said, I think we also need to inform the masses who many times for no fault of their own have been lied to by our system. I jumped into the thread and said the following.
I don’t see Warren as sounding elitist. I watch the advertising that lies and says the corporate for-profit health insurance knows best as they select your doctors and drugs. The fact is their profit is equivalent to denied/delayed service and sometimes death. Having a wife with Lupus and the tribulations I have gone through with them a wish on no one. It is because people don’t know how bad it is until they need it that there is confusion and that is why stories and empathy are so important. Health Insurance is an evil institution. And that is an absolute statement.
I see Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders as candidates with megaphones trying to explain to folk they are getting ripped off in a manner they don’t see because of the misinformation they hear. They pay to be misinformed and robbed. It is hard to get the message out. Ironically, when I talk to folk one on one even with Right-Wing Republicans here in Kingwood, when they understand the theft, it is like watching a light go off as they then get pissed.
I love that Warren is not scared so far to make the case and try to inform. Many of us intend to try to keep some metal in her spine as we also try like hell to inform through our networks around the lies the corporate media is harping on. It is amazing how the questions by CNN and MSNBC so far are designed to highlight the corporate misinforming advertising. It is like they are in bed together. They are why we have Trump.
One of the reasons I bust my ass 16 hours a day is because the disgust I have for the system as I watch it hurt those with no voice or time to have one, is because it seems that so many who have made it and know the truth forget about those we’ve left behind. It is not in my nature to knowingly watch people get screwed. I think we should help Warren and all who are finally pushing policies for people who don’t even have the time demand what is theirs or realize how badly the system is designed to have them serve the few. This stuff is real and most of it is simple math.
Sorry for the rant but damn, you hit a nerve. You have been a true Democratic warrior for longer than most even as many times it is against your financial interest. I respect all who are like that. We need many more. Unfortunately, I am hearing from so many Democrats who forget or who show little distinction with the Reagan Democrats and bona fide Republicans. They are the ones, many unknowingly, many just damn selfish, who led the way for the economic disaster of too many.
I will vote for any Democrat that makes it through these primaries. More than that, I will campaign with the same intensity for whoever wins. What I want is for us to have the real debate we seem to be having. As a trained engineer who believes solely in numbers and a humanist morality, I think Sanders and Warren’s policies and values fit the bill. But we still live in a Democracy and we all should accept the governance what is currently preferred as long as it does not violate our human rights. That said, Progressives have a duty to inform, enlighten, and educate as we ensure corporate and plutocratic interests do not take precedence and their lies do not metastasize as truths the way they have in the past.