Two sides of the Occupy/Teaparty coin
Quite an interesting piece, this.
Revolutionaries Have to Be Smart and Ruthless
Particularly this part:
"Look, I understand the sentiment that the system is rotten and the game is rigged. I do. But I don’t take people seriously who seek power but have no real idea how power works. If you want to be the nominee of the Republican or the Democratic Party, you need to figure out how that can be done. And, if you’re an outsider who is running with a message that the gatekeepers are all a bunch of losers and morons, or that they’re all corrupted by money, then you’ll need a plan for winning the people you’ve insulted over to your side."
The argument here is that neither Trump nor Sanders seems to understand how to gain power nor how to keep it. They've alienated the very structures through which they need to gain power and maintain power. Neither have been savvy enough to both retain the outsider status but sustain a good relationship with the party. Neither will be elected without the party machine behind them. Now, it's true Sanders hasn't alienated the Democratic party as much as Trump has alienated the Republican party, but he hasn't nurtured the best relationship with his own party, either.
While I do like Bernie in many ways, in fact he may be the Democratic version of the Tea Party movement playing to the frustration and anger of his followers. As for Trump, he is the tail-end of the Republicans' own Tea Party self-destruction. An angry voting block only needs trigger words, not solutions. Trump uses the same trigger words playing to the other side's anger. Neither side requires reality. We know how all that works. It is quite predictable, then, that Bernie and Trump intersect in many areas, including the above-described one.
We could argue that Bernie has adopted the Occupy crowd in a sense. As Trump has adopted the Tea Party crowd. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me to see both these guys mount an independent run if they don't get the nomination. They both are addicted to the crowds at those rallies. Heard both campaigns saying the system is "rigged." Etc, etc. The similarities are more than a few.
Revolutionaries Have to Be Smart and Ruthless
Particularly this part:
"Look, I understand the sentiment that the system is rotten and the game is rigged. I do. But I don’t take people seriously who seek power but have no real idea how power works. If you want to be the nominee of the Republican or the Democratic Party, you need to figure out how that can be done. And, if you’re an outsider who is running with a message that the gatekeepers are all a bunch of losers and morons, or that they’re all corrupted by money, then you’ll need a plan for winning the people you’ve insulted over to your side."
The argument here is that neither Trump nor Sanders seems to understand how to gain power nor how to keep it. They've alienated the very structures through which they need to gain power and maintain power. Neither have been savvy enough to both retain the outsider status but sustain a good relationship with the party. Neither will be elected without the party machine behind them. Now, it's true Sanders hasn't alienated the Democratic party as much as Trump has alienated the Republican party, but he hasn't nurtured the best relationship with his own party, either.
While I do like Bernie in many ways, in fact he may be the Democratic version of the Tea Party movement playing to the frustration and anger of his followers. As for Trump, he is the tail-end of the Republicans' own Tea Party self-destruction. An angry voting block only needs trigger words, not solutions. Trump uses the same trigger words playing to the other side's anger. Neither side requires reality. We know how all that works. It is quite predictable, then, that Bernie and Trump intersect in many areas, including the above-described one.
We could argue that Bernie has adopted the Occupy crowd in a sense. As Trump has adopted the Tea Party crowd. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me to see both these guys mount an independent run if they don't get the nomination. They both are addicted to the crowds at those rallies. Heard both campaigns saying the system is "rigged." Etc, etc. The similarities are more than a few.