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Regarding what Michael Meeropol wrote: ("our side has only to accuse the
other side of lying to NEUTRALIZE it with the independents "): The problem
is, we're not talking about crazy Pizzagate-type conspiracy theories. What
the articles refer to isn't lies. Sanders did actually make those
statements and he did actually honeymoon in Moscow. Socialists can make
what we like of these actual facts, but that's irrelevant. What's relevant
is what that layer of middle class suburban whites make of those facts.
These were the same voters who swung so many districts from Republican to
Democrat in 2018. What's also relevant is that the overwhelming majority of
voters oppose giving Medicare to undocumented immigrants, just as they
oppose mandatory public health insurance (being forced to give up their
private plan). It doesn't matter what arguments we can make for those
steps. Again, what matters is what those people think and how it will
influence their votes.
Sanders's argument is that he will bring in enough new, young voters to
compensate for those middle class ones who would be turned off. That's
possible, but so far there is little evidence for that. In 2018, all the
seats that were flipped were done so by the mainstream (in reality,
conservative) Democrats. There were two or three liberal (i.e.
Sandersnista) Democrats who ran in competitive seats that were held by
Republicans at the time. They all lost. Nor has there been a really great
enough increase in voter turnout in the primaries so far to decisively show
Sanders to be right. I'm not saying such an increase won't happen, but I
don't think we can count on it.
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
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