The Strategic Retreat Edition
The Orderly and Strategic Retreat Edition
Issue #10
March 11, 2020
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FORCE PROTECTION
It is impossible to engage in any sort of combat, conflict, race or competition if you fail to make an honest, accurate assessment of the balance of forces, In less fancy language, if you are tussling with someone you are best off knowing exactly where you stand.
Alas, the 2020 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders is now effectively over. He has lost to Joe Biden and in the remaining time left in the primaries he has no realistic or even magical way of overtaking Biden. Any argument to the contrary is willfully ignorant or woefully uninformed and if you are among those folks you should probably stop reading now.
Again, I remind you I am a Sanders supporter and donor and proud of it. I am somewhat disappointed but going back to 2016 I never thought socialist Sanders would break 4% and would hover at 40% let alone do it two times in a row -- the second time in a vastly more competitive field of opponents that did not include Hillary Clinton as such a useful foil.
It's understandable to be downcast about Sanders' defeat -- but for.a few minutes only. As we now have another immediate and highly consequential task in front of us: At the very risk of the Republic, we must now defeat Donald Trump in his re-election bid. He has become a mortal threat not only to constitutional rule, but his grotesque handling of the covid-19 pandemic threatens countless human lives. Including your own.
So what Should Bernie do? Yes, he should participate in next Sunday's debate to maturely challenge Biden on the major issues that the latter will now have to confront. This should be a no holds barred attempt at interviewing Biden so we all get the clearest picture we can of what awaits us. Sanders should no be competitive, goading or confrontational because the goal here is to see where the Sanders army can exert maximum influence in the days, months and years ahead both within and outside of the Democratic general campaign --- and--- yes, in the post-campaign period be it Biden or Trump as the next president.
The last thing we need now are flame-throwing suicide attacks by Bernie or much more likely his supporters in a flailing pique of rage and frustration or even understandable contempt for Joe Biden. In military terms, when you have to withdraw from a battlefield, and we do from this electoral round, priority one is Force Protection. You withdraw or retreat in an orderly and strategic fashion so your troops do not get mowed down as they are backing out. We need to conserve our strength for the herculean battle ahead. Sure, let Bernie participate if he wishes in next Tuesday's wave of primaries, but he's gonna get walloped again. That's OK too, so long as Bernie does not spread illusions that he is on a comeback trail. He should be there only to get Biden to agree to certain policy shifts.
A week or so from today, he should definitely withdraw unless he comes up with some novel idea of how to campaign without campaigning to win, because that would be just foolish and it would diminish our forces. Sanderss wins nothing by acquiring more enemies. Sanders supporters should then suck it up and be prepared for Sanders to negotiate with Biden trying to gain as many concessions as possible for Bernie's PROGRAM to be not only in the platform but as priorities in governance. When Bernie begins to cooperate, and he will, you are a frickin' idiot if you start trashing him as some sort sell-out.
You might not care, but Sanders cares a LOT about defeating Trump and that's why he's going to hack out the best working deal with Biden as possible. After all, Bernie and we, his supporters, DID win both the youth (under 50!) primary and the ideas primary. And electorally speaking, Biden needs us a whole lot more than we need him. We have passion, ideas, activism and numbers on our side. We also need Biden to beat Trump but he's gonna have a helluva time doing that without support from the Berners.
The idea here is to make this work. Not sabotage ourselves, take our ball and go home, and then flop down on the bed and cry.
WHAT SHOULD WE BERNERS DO?
First and most importantly we should recognize and assimilate the real and hard won victories we have accomplished. Fo the first time in American history, after decades of Cold War hysteria, a bona fide socialist has ALMOST won the nomination of the Democratic Party. That in itself is magnificent. We have helped politicize, activate and radicalize an entire generation of youth who now hold a better future in their hands. We have re-legitimized some sort of democratic socialism as a mainstream current. We have brought serious abatement of climate change, universal free health care, free university tuition, expanded workers rights, paid parental leave, a sane foreign policy and so many other possible and now eventually probable reforms to the table. And we should continue to fight for all these issues until we achieve them.
Second, some people have to grow up and stop being concerned if THEY are pure enough to sleep at night. In a two party presidential winner take all system like ours, you accomplish nothing by trying to join a small third party or abstain from voting...in this case for who is clearly the lesser of two evils. Can you please grasp the fact that who you are FORCED to vote for in no way necessarily defines your politics not necessarily even remote reflects your values. In a tightened down system like ours, voting is purely a practical, pragmatic and ephemeral act that helps empower one bad candidate over a worse candidate. There's no shame in that. There is no moral offense in that. On the contrary... a non vote or a vote for the Greens in this election is a vote for the declining status quo and a risky endorsement of worse things to come.
Voting for Joe Biden does not make you a Biden supporter (though that is a legit choice you can make), it does not make you a Biden follower, it does not make you anything except someone wise enough to understand Trump II is an existential threat.