Bernie Sanders, the Independent Socialist Senator from Vermont, is hinting that he might consider a presidential bid in 2016, if there is no progressive candidate on the ballot. The New England based Senator toured four Southern states in October, even speaking at a High School in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the town where three members of the Ku Klux Klan, including the County’s Deputy Sheriff at the time, murdered three civil rights workers in 1964. The town has symbolic importance because it was where Ronald Reagan gave his first post-convention speech after securing the GOP nomination at the 1980 Republican convention. Reagan expressed his support for states’ rights while figuratively standing atop the graves of three young men who were murdered in the name of states’ rights. Sanders’ message of course offered a stark contrast to Reagan conservatism, and he signaled his boldness by bringing his progressive populist message deep into the heart of Dixie.
Senator Sanders is a self-described Democratic Socialist. If Sanders chooses to run in 2016, he would likely be the most successful president to run as a defender of socialism since Eugene Debs ran from his prison cell nearly a century ago in 1920. Sanders believes that America needs a candidate in 2016 who is willing to take on Wall Street and who is not afraid to address rising income inequality and poverty in America. He also wants a candidate to run who will take meaningful steps to address man-made climate change. While Sanders sees himself as a reluctant warrior, he is willing to run if nobody else picks up the progressive mantle. Sanders defended that potential decision as follows:
Under normal times, it’s fine, you have a moderate Democrat running, a moderate Republican running. These are not normal times. The United States right now is in the middle of a severe crisis and you have to call it what it is.
Sanders suggested that he might run as an Independent. Of course, if Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown or another progressive populist secures the Democratic nomination that might prevent Sanders from running as an Independent candidate. Sanders can also opt to run in the Democratic primaries, which would be a better strategic choice than running as an Independent who potentially splits the left of center vote, enabling a Republican victory.
America does need a progressive populist voice in the 2016 presidential campaign. However, should the left unite around an unabashed progressive, it must not be a vanity campaign like the Nader 2000 effort. A coalition of affluent white intellectuals and university students who splinter the vote and enable a Republican to win a plurality of votes is not an advance for progressive ideals. If Sanders, or Warren, or Brown, decides to run, they must play to win and they must win with a multi-ethnic, diverse coalition like the one that propelled Bill de Blasio to victory in the New York City mayor’s race.
If America is ready to embrace socialism, ready to fight class inequality, ready to tackle climate change, ready to abandon militarism, and ready to turn to a more sustainable and more equitable economy, then that debate needs to be conducted within the Democratic primaries where voters are most open to progressive ideas. Bernie Sanders or another progressive is welcome to make their case, and they may discover that America is indeed ready to elect a socialist president.
Edited/Published by: SB
