By Marc Bochner
3/22/20
Crisis gives context to the election
The coronavirus has exposed Joe Biden and if the Democrats are paying attention this could and should change everything in the Presidential race moving forward. Joe Biden is unfit for the office of President and that can no longer be ignored.
No longer can people pretend to not be seeing and hearing what they are seeing and hearing from him. When Joe faceplanted at every debate and his mind followed incoherent ramblings into a corner the media pretended they didn't notice or offered up excuses. When he was making almost no campaign appearances but getting into bizarre fights with voters the media told you he was showing strength. When he defended his terrible unelectable record with outright lies, they did no fact-checking and talked only about the idea he was winning or their assertion that he was the most electable (an assertion never supported by facts, logic or even polling).
Then when the entire country and world got flipped on its head in a crisis that most haven't seen in their lifetimes, people couldn't help but notice Bernie, the guy they had been told couldn't win, couldnt lead, couldn't get anything done was the one who stepped up to lead... and Obama's VP who we were told was ready to lead and get things done on day one was nowhere to be found.
Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti discuss Joe Biden's inexplicable disappearance from the public stage
Rational National discusses how Bernie is showing leadership while Biden goes into hiding
Suddenly every argument Biden has made for over a year to attack Bernie with was debunked in real-time. Medicare for All went from how are we going to pay for it to how can we afford not to have it? If everyone already had healthcare free at the time of service people would not have put off getting tested or treated. If we already had paid medical leave people would not have gone to work getting coworkers and customers sick. If we hadn't outsourced nearly all of our manufacturing with the job-killing free trade agreements that Sanders fought and Biden pushed we would have had the capacity to manufacture testing kits for the virus and not been waiting on China to send them to us (the lack of test kits is how we lost the ability to contain it). We also would have the ability to manufacture the facemasks and ventilators that the medical community is in a panic we don't have to meet the needs of the crisis. If people were already making a living wage and not surviving paycheck to paycheck they would be better equipped to survive shutdowns and self-isolating while the government figures out how to get them help. If we already had addressed the affordable housing crisis we would not have so many homeless out in the open at the highest risk and putting others at risk.
On issue. after issue people are finding out Bernie was right and Biden was wrong. Biden's entire campaign was built on telling us what was and wasn't possible, what was and wasn't pragmatic and that we can trust him not Bernie. Oops. Joe's argument was that people don't want a scary revolution, they want a steady hand to deliver results. But then along comes a crisis and it turns out the revolution had all the pragmatic plans to get results and Biden's plans and world view seemed archaic and ineffective, then he went into hiding. Turned out Bernie was the one ready to lead on day one not Biden.
Bernie shows both Biden and Trump the leadership we need right now
Day after day, Bernie has been putting together plans in congress, hosting video townhalls to update people on the crisis, put people at ease and propose solutions about how to move forward without leaving millions of Americans behind as collateral damage. Biden went completely silent for days and still has yet to put forward any plans. All he has offered up so far is a repackaging of something Bernie said a few days ago about accountability and Trump has already agreed to. Beyond that no plans, no solutions, no sense of urgency, just a feeble attempt at looking strong attacking Trump and a whole new reason why he is unfit for office... He literally said he has been spending days setting up his home for video conferencing, something his grandkids could have done for him in 10 minutes with a cell phone and streaming platform.
Bernie lays out plans and holds others accountable for the inadequacies and short-sightedness of their plans along with explanations of who will be hurt and how. In this Livestream he talks about getting money to struggling workers who are having their jobs shut down, being laid off and losing healthcare... and that's for the people who are lucky enough to not get sick. The current plans put on the table by both the Dems and Republicans barely scratch the surface for helping people make it through the crisis. The plan submitted by Pelosi covers testing but not treatment of the coronavirus and doesn't even address the people losing health insurance. That plan rejects UBI as a way to get money back in the hands of those at risk both to help them through the crisis and drive the economy. Mitt Romney moved to the left of the Democrats and brought Trump there with him with talk of giving money directly to people. Romney proposed $1K, Trump and McConnell countered with up to $600 for individuals and up to $2400 for families, but it has to be means-tested first and only given to those who paid enough federal taxes, leaving out the most vulnerable (unemployed, underemployed, students, employees who live on tips, etc). Bernie called for monthly payments large enough to get people through the crisis and to last throughout the crisis. He called for free testing and treatment. Warned that profiteering would not be tolerated... not from corporations getting bailouts and using the money for stock buybacks or executive bonuses. He wants to prosecute for price gouging. Wants any drugs developed with federal money to be given at cost... not just for the coronavirus but also for every drug which was developed with government money (which was many of them). He wants those companies after the crisis to then raise their wages to a living wage and to give workers a seat on their board. He wants to put a time out on all evictions and foreclosures and to pause student loan payments for anybody impacted.
This video is separated into 4 parts... a music set by a Bernie endorser, a video address that breaks down the above, a 2nd music set and then an interview with a labor leader about how to best protect workers moving forward.
Bernie is showing why it matters that we have a government of by and for the people and that following politics as a team sport has given us a government of by and for monied interests not people.
BERNIE SANDERS IS THE REAL THING.
ReplyDeleteALWAYS HAS BEEN.
ALWAYS WILL BE!