First off, let me say that I tend to be pessimistic about most aspects of American politics. I was pessimistic about the chances of Obama winning re-election in 2012. And I was totally wrong about that. So, grain of salt and all that.
I’m not optimistic about Bernie Sanders.
Everyone I know on the left is super excited about Bernie. And why not? I get it. I love what he has to say too. But I’m not so sure the general American public is ready for him. The Bernie supporters that I’ve spoken to claim that it is. Perhaps they’re encouraged by Obama getting elected and then re-elected. But Obama has spent his presidency governing more like a moderate Republican, and half the country STILL believes that he is an evil Communist. So I’m a little worried about the chances of a self-proclaimed Socialist.
And I’m very worried about the chances of Scott Walker getting the Republican nomination, since that is the direction I believe the GOP is heading in. Scott Walker makes me nervous. I’m an American worker, and he’s got a legacy of either doing or trying to do awful things to the workers in his state. Keep in mind, this is the pessimist talking–I believe he could win the whole thing. I think he could easily beat Bernie, as Scott has a way of pretending that he’s a centrist during his campaigns. He will portray himself as the moderate and Bernie as the fringe candidate.
What are some of the things I fear a President Walker doing? Reclassifying overtime pay law, so that fewer jobs qualify for it. Killing the weekend and the 40 hour work week, as the Republicans in Wisconsin wanted to do. Repealing the ACA. Privatizing Medicare. I don’t buy for a second that there wouldn’t be any difference between a Hillary presidency and a Walker presidency. Yeah, most Democrats are part of the corporate system too, but none of them are going to go after the average worker in the aggressive way that Walker will.
Of course, Bernie would be perfect at addressing all these issues. Sadly, America just isn’t progressive enough for him. Maybe there’s been a deeper and faster demographic shift than I realized. Otherwise, I don’t see it.
I should add that if Bernie does become the Democratic nominee, I will definitely support him and put time and effort into working for his election. Until then, I remain cautious.
One thing is for sure–volunteering for Hillary’s local campaign should be a lot of fun. I expect to get abuse from both sides, the conservatives *and* the Bernie supporters. Bring it on! I’ve always enjoyed a good debate.
eurobrat 
07/30/2015 at 9:35 pm
There’s not much time left to be pessimistic. Let’s stand for Bernie because privatized healthcare is going to be the end. But I understand your viewpoint. In Canada, the conservatives are thinking to expand the election period because they’re afraid they’re going to lose. Both countries are hoping for the best.
07/31/2015 at 9:26 pm
I do get your point of view as well. But I cannot help my pessimism at the moment. It would be nice if I were proven wrong about this, actually 🙂
08/13/2015 at 11:01 am
As a Canuck, I personally don’t mind the slightly longer campaign period…but only if means more issues get seriously discussed. Thanks to Canada’s less-shitty media, that’s still possible. However, in America, it’s hard to get ANYTHING meaningful discussed at all, even though they now have YEARS to do address the issues.
That said, longer elections definitely favour The Riches, as candidates need big money from Big Money.
07/31/2015 at 10:25 am
I figure Bush for the nomination, but then Walker does have the Kochs behind him–it should be interesting.
07/31/2015 at 9:28 pm
Yes, it should be very entertaining with the 16 (now 17?) Republican candidates. I won’t lie, I’ll enjoy some of the theatrics 🙂 Hmmmm…so I guess the nomination depends on how all-powerful the Kochs are, eh?
08/01/2015 at 10:15 am
Well I don’t think the Kochs are all-powerful, but they’ve definitely got a lot of juice. And it sure doesn’t hurt a candidate to have their own personal billionaire backer(s).
08/01/2015 at 7:24 pm
So true (and a sad statement about our election system). It will be very interesting to see who will win the match up between the Kochs and the Bush dynasty…ding ding ding!
08/02/2015 at 11:04 am
Indeed. The Kocks are all powerful, especially ones with unlimited amounts of money 😉
08/02/2015 at 12:30 pm
Tell me about it…I’m a person with ladyparts, I should know….
08/05/2015 at 1:04 pm
Be honest. Said ladyparts were probably tingling when you read that comment, weren’t they?
08/06/2015 at 8:11 pm
Sadly, no. Anything which references the Koch brothers makes my lady parts freeze up and shrink away.
08/02/2015 at 2:07 pm
A salient point!
07/31/2015 at 9:07 pm
I’m right there with you.
07/31/2015 at 9:25 pm
Okay, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who’s realistic about this whole thing…I thought maybe I was losing my mind 🙂
08/02/2015 at 11:41 am
Note: Sedate Me is still keeping his vow not to talk about the 2016 election in any detail until….2016!)
Pessimism, especially these days, is the ONLY perspective to have. It doesn’t give you false hopes (& changes) to be cruelly dashed. And, if you’re ever wrong, you won’t be crushed. You’ll actually be pleasantly surprised.
As for Senator Bernie Sanders, I hope he’s running…for some office or other…in 2016. He would be the guy I’d be most likely to work for/donate to. It takes massive balls to call yourself a socialist these days and I love his “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. (ie hair, make-up & market tested speeches full of empty, feel good, drivel you have no intention of doing.)
The best thing about Presidential Primaries, especially ones that are predetermined, is that you get the rare chance to…vote for the candidate you actually WANT to win! (Imagine that.) Because it’s over before it starts, you don’t have to worry about “vote-splitting” or electing an “un-electible” candidate. You know, all that bullshit that destroys democracy.
For example, a drunken retard from Texas who was a complete failure at everything he ever did and whose only accomplishment was being born to a future President. Guys like that have NO chance, so they should never be supported.
And who knows? The ideas of these no-hopers may even get momentum from the exposure they do get. It’s not like a corporate candidate who is a shoe-in even has to have their own ideas. They’ll be provided to them by their puppet masters.
But supporting radical “un-electable” candidates has certainly worked out well for the Republicans. Every election, they keep churning out more & more radical candidates and, even if they don’t succeed, their nominee is forced to move toward their policies. For the last 30 years, win or lose, Republicans have pulled -not just their own party- but the entire political spectrum further & further right.
That’s the smell of victory!
08/02/2015 at 12:35 pm
No worries sedate me, I’m here to pick up the slack for you as far as the election analysis goes.
It’s true that there are upsides to being a pessimist…I was pleasantly surprised when Obama did win–both times…
As far as the primary goes, there is the hope that Bernie will push Hillary further left, so there is a benefit to his presence. Ultimately, however, I don’t know how much of my volunteer time and effort I want to invest into an “unelectable” guy. (My plate is already pretty full, hence the infrequent blogging lately.) If all else fails, there are some pretty good local ballot measures that will be coming our way in Oregon in 2016, including a minimum wage one. I’m definitely down to work for that.
08/05/2015 at 2:50 pm
Well, now that “anti-stress brownies” are legal in Portlandia, what the hell is there to worry about??? As long you have enough tortilla chips, cheesy popcorn and peanut butter sandwiches to keep you going, why care about anything else?
Shit, if that was legal in Canuckistan, my trailer would look like this
I’d be chillin’ with my goldfish
sittin’ around and listening to The Inbreds all day.
Man, I wish we had some of those “ballot measures” here. I’d be going door-to-door like I was a fucking Jehovah Witness!
08/06/2015 at 8:13 pm
I’m all in favor of the “anti-stress” brownies being legal for anyone who wants to enjoy them, but I’ve tried them a couple times in the past and didn’t like them. They give me a weird sense of being detached from myself, and just make me uncomfortable. I guess I like being attached to myself 🙂
08/07/2015 at 3:51 pm
Gee, that “detaching” is EXACTLY what I have in mind!
I just have waaaaaay too much stress. I wanna sit around all day long, obliterated, hanging with with the Ray-cons, Cheryl the Crow and smoking out of the goldfish bong (video too small to see Orangie the goldfish swimming in bong water) Shit, I may even laugh (in a non-ironic way) once in a while!
Here in Canuckistan, a national election (our longest since the 1800’s) has just been called for October 2015. Depending on which party wins, “anti-stress” brownies may receive harsher punishments. be decriminalized, or even made outright legal.
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/marijuana-primer/
So, if the election goes right. You might find yourself with more Trailer Park Boys clips embedded on your website. Sorry in advance. (Someday, I’m going to learn how to just post links to videos….but not if weed gets legalized. I’ll be too baked to do anything.)
08/07/2015 at 9:31 pm
Not a problem at all. If posting Youtube videos helps you cope with bad election results, have at it. I understand the frustration….
08/09/2015 at 1:00 pm
Well, when 60% of the voters (who still bother to vote) vote AGAINST the Conservative Party but they still win 100% control over the legislature for 5 years….one can get a pessimistic & stressed out well before those 5 years are up. Like you, I’m just trying real hard not to get my hopes up for October. Those Conservative fuck-wipes will probably eek out a 33% Majority Government this time.
But I’m still apologizing in advance anyway, if only because embedded videos usually irk me because they’re intellectually lazy and tend to slow websites to a crawl.
08/10/2015 at 6:11 am
Apology accepted in advance!
Sent from my iPhone
>
08/07/2015 at 6:17 am
After his performance last night, I take back what I said about Bush.
08/07/2015 at 9:28 pm
Yeah, lackluster is a good way to describe Jeb. I also don’t understand why everyone thinks Rubio did so great. He sounded like he should have been at the kiddie debate.