I know. For many of us, it seems very, very dark right now. In the Republican Party we have a fascist contending with a Christian dominionist and two corporatists. In the Democratic Party we have a corporatist contending with a democratic socialist.
What does it all mean?
There are a lot of ways to analyze how we got here - gerrymandering, low voter turnout in midterms, Citizens United, the determination that it was more important to discredit the President than to lead the nation. These and other reasons led us to this mess.
But do not despair. Analyzing the groups of candidates still in contention reveal as much about what our future might be, beyond the analysis of how we got here.
The Politics of the Past
Trump and Cruz represent efforts to take the this country backwards, to a time each man considers better.
Trump represents the last gasps of white cultural dominance. It is the final battle of many who supported candidates like George Wallace and Reagan, who were inspired by the antics of such political consultants as Lee Atwater and Karl Rove to use white resentment as the "Trump" card to win elections. As the nation becomes more diverse, this becomes a strategy to win a fractured political party's nomination, but a losing strategy to win a general election.
Cruz represents the final curtain call of the older evangelical voter, the ones for whom social issues and holding back a changing culture is more important than their own economic condition. This was never a majority of Americans, but it was enough to intimidate the Republicans into catering to their interests. The problem they have is that many millennial evangelicals are no longer as concerned with social issues as they are by doing right by their brother and sister. Look at many of the new mega- churches. They are becoming fuzzier and fuzzier on social issues.
These are political strategies of the past that, although incredibly frightening, no longer have the power that they did. They are fading forces that are dimming more each year. Right now, they seem so intense because they are like a wounded bear in its death throes - more dangerous than ever until it finally expires.
The Politics of the Present
Current politics are dominated by Citizens United, Super Pacs and special interests. This allows politicians to often ignore the will of the people and cater to the wealthy few. The representatives of this politics are Rubio, Kasich and Clinton.
Yes, I include Clinton in this group. I'm sorry. You don't become super rich like they have after Bill's Presidency by just your own guff. You call in favors and you take advantage. You get Hundreds of thousands of dollars from places like Goldman Sachs and then hope people are naive enough to think these supposedly intelligent corporations did that without any expectation of return.
I'm not trying to call out Clinton by herself. You haven't been able to be a contender for President without being a corporatist. Obama has been a very good President, but he is most definitely a corporatist, as was W and all recent nominees. This is way politics have been for quite awhile, and it has been getting more so every year.
Well, that;s the way it's been, up until.......
The Politics of the Future
.......Bernie Sanders! Funding not through Super Pacs, but through small donations, he defies the present-day logic, and thrives by offering solutions that are aimed at making life better for the middle class. America is only as strong as its middle class, and it has been under great and relentless siege since the Reagan Revolution. So Bernie Sanders is calling for "New Revolution" that restores us at the center again.
It's a great change. It's a tremendous defiance of conventional wisdom. But it is attracting a motivated and enthusiastic group of younger voters.
I don't think Bernie can break through this year. I wish that he could. But the forces of hatred and ignorance, with the additional impetus of corporatism, will make that very difficult.
But this much is true - the future belongs to the young. They will stay inspired and committed. They will become the next generation of politicians. They will provide he backbone for the coming new Progressive Majority.
I believe this with all my heart and soul. For the alternative is too awful to contemplate.
Win, lose or draw, Bernie will start the flame that illuminates our world and saves us all. Bernie's not Jesus. He's just an everyday guy who has intelligence, passion and spirit. A socialist Jew who has great things to say? Who'd a thunk it?
So, yes, things seem dark. But I do see a light. We might not run to it. We might walk to it instead, or stumble to it. And, yes, there is no guarantee that we'll even take that path.
But I pray that we do.
It may be our only chance.
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