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Just because somebody says something doesn't make it so. Sanders is denounced for calling Maduro a dictator? Well, yes, he actually is a dictator and who is benefiting from it is made clear in this NYT article that I've been trying to post. (I'm guessing it's too long.) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/world/americas/Venezuela-economy-dollars.html?fbclid=IwAR2ci-gIEQ9gmhqaaHmMW2gVni8UL-TFOgs4gNKCh9xgweF9bT-8WJ9ejBk It's the bolibourgeoisie, which is living it up now that dollars are allowed to be repatriated and the Venezuelan economy has been officially dolarized. The "phony Russiagate narrative"? Yes, Russia/Putin did actually intervene in the 2016 elections. Did their intervention cause the Democrats to lose? Of course not in and of itself, but according to the book "House of Trump House of Putin" it influenced something like 3% of the vote - possibly enough to swing the vote in several key states. The author writes: "Similar principled differences can be seen in programs like free tuition, and cancellation of medical and student debt." Differences over a reform program doesn't make those principled just because Kavanagh says they are. Sanders a "social democrat"? Social democracy developed as a wing of the working class movement. For all its faults and outright betrayals, at least it is based on the working class having its own party. In contrast, there is a wing of capitalist politics that advocates granting some reforms to the working class in order to help contain the class conflict. That wing was known as "liberalism", a term that came under disfavor in the late '70s and rebranded itself as "progressive". Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Stalinism, it's now being rebranded as "democratic socialist". Just because Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist doesn't make him a socialist of any sort. Nor does Kavanagh's repeating the claim make it so. I looked up some of Kavanagh's other scribblings, such as one which calls Soleimani a "respected general". Kavanagh should try asking the Syrians about that one. He also seems to have few criticisms of this century's worst tyrant - Assad. Oh, yes, and one last thing: Calling somebody by their first name normally implies having some sort of personal connection with them. Sanders lives in part off of his kindly old uncle image, of which being known as "Bernie" is an important part. But just because Kavanagh falls into that lingo doesn't make it so. My guess is that he's never met Sanders, never will meet him, and Sanders won't be over at Kavanagh's table for this year's Thanksgiving family dinner. John Reimann -- *“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
