Robert Reich on "Can Bernie Deliver?"

[gollygee]

This is from Facebook. I love his answer!

Some wonder whether a "President Bernie Sanders" could deliver on his campaign platform. The answer is probably no if the current system of power remains in place. But the answer is yes if his campaign turns into a movement to reclaim our democracy and our economy -- as the campaign is fast becoming. In other words, Bernie's campaign isn't just a set of policy proposals. It's a political groundswell to change the power structure of America, and make those proposals the law of the land.

[DCBob]

1. Yeah.. alot like the left movement in Greece delivered what its leaders promised.

All they really accomplished so far is more despair. I suspect a Bernie administration would result in the same.

[ladjf]

14. Why do you "suspect" that a Bernie presidency would only accomplish despair?

What are the similarities between the Greek left movement and the ideas and proposals by Bernie?

I suspect that you are trying to discourage people from voting for Sanders. I suspect that because your prediction seems to be
baseless.

[DCBob]

15. Because both Tsipras and Bernie appeal to political anger rather than political reality.

Both are naive about what is required and what the results are of sweeping radical rapid change to the system.

[ladjf]

16. I don't agree that Bernie is "naive". Your argument basically

boils down to the basic political cliche that progress in attacking the oligarchy is so unlikely to succeed that it is naive to think it's possible.

We can nominate Clinton a be certain that the same old stuff that been happening in politics for the past 30 years will continue to do so. So, why not go with the flow? Choose a Dem candidate who is only slightly more preferable than any of the Republican candidates.

[DCBob]

18. I believe given the situation its going to take time to fix the massive problems in the system.

President Obama has made some progress but for sure more is needed. What we cannot risk undoing what progress we have made and a Bernie administration might just do that and in fact could make things worse.

Furthermore, Hillary is not "slightly more preferable" than a Republican. That is absurd. Where were you during the 8 horrific years of Bush/Cheney?? That era convinced me that Democrats, even the moderate ones, are miles better than any Republican.

[AgingAmerican]

32. You don't believe that Bernie is right wing enough

That's what you really don't believe.

[DCBob]

36. Good grief... I despise the RW..

and Bernie is nothing like the RW... he's just politically naive. Maybe he has spent too much time in liberal utopia. He seems to not realize what the rest of America is like.

[AgingAmerican]

59. He is realistic

And not RW. The rest of America is not right wing, sorry. America doesn't want to know about Hillary's hair, sorry.

Sanders scoffs at questions about Hillary's hair

[ladjf]

43. I have never voted other than Democratic and don't plan

to change. I didn't say that the Democrats are "slightly more preferable than Republicans".

For a couple of Democrats, you and I are having some difficulty finding common ground.

[kenfrequed]

25. Labor Unions did too.

So did the civil rights movement. Anger and frustration at inequality.

Are you saying activists and supporters of movements cannot be angry?

[DCBob]

29. Not at all.. in fact if you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention.

But there are alot of ways to effect change and we need to be smart about how we do it or we could end us worse off that we are now.

[PatrickforO]

33. Naive? So we have to live in a capitalist shit hole because to dream of any kind of change,

of using OUR tax money to create better lives for ourselves is naive? Medicare for all Americans, strengthened Social Security, removal of the Social Security payroll tax cap, making the corporations that have secreted over $20 trillion in UNTAXED profits offshore bring that money home and PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, reducing the war and domestic spying budget and using that money to repair our infrastructure. Subsidizing childcare so we don't waste the labor of our single moms, providing job training for welfare recipients and ex offenders, ending the drug war, offering free tuition at state colleges.

That, my friend, is America as it SHOULD be.

Be mindful that together, we the people are stronger than any oligarchs, and we CAN effect the changes you call naive. These changes, rather than being naive, are the morally right thing to do.

What is deeply immoral is letting big corporations destroy the very earth we all depend on just to turn a profit. What is deeply immoral is allowing people to die for the sake of profits. What is immoral is the primacy of the shareholder and the whole business concept of 'externalities.'

I'm sick of getting squeezed, never really getting ahead no matter how hard I work. And there are millions of us who feel this way. That's why Bernie is packing auditoriums and stadiums and why we will all help him with the bully pulpit when he is elected. That's why a giant 'enough is enough' march is being planned on Washington.

Because enough IS enough, DCBob.

[DCBob]

39. I hear you and you may be right..

I agree things are shitty for the little guy and gal in this country. It definitely sucks. I'm just not sure the Bernie way is the right way or the best way. He seems to be too one-dimensional, with a one-size-fits-all solution. Our problems are more complex than that.

[PatrickforO]

41. OK. Our problems are complex.

But put a few of these things in motion - Medicare for all Americans, get these big corps paying their fair share of taxes, dramatically reduced tuition, a livable minimum wage, stronger Social Security - just a few of these would dramatically improve the lot of the average American.

A journey of 1,000 steps begins with a single step. If we dwell on how complex our problems are, then we will do nothing.

[jwirr]

47. Look, us little guys and gals got welfare reform, repeal of Glass-Steagall,

tough on crime rules and a lot of other deregulation problems from the first Clinton administration. And she is still is talking about some of the same things. Their administration changed nothing that really helped us in the next eight years. And some things that hurt us.

IMO we are gambling on what she would accomplish if elected. Our problem is very complex and if you cannot see that being addressed by Bernie then so be it. But we cannot see it being addressed by her either. She doesn't even really talk about what she thinks.

[nolabels]

54. You only need one dimension

It's called the people dimension!

Power to the people

[PatrickforO]

26. Not so. We're not Greece, and it's time we stood up and reclaimed our republic from

the oligarchs.

[dsc]

2. Let's say by some miracle he gets a win by 7% in the US House and a similar margin in the Senate

What will that get him, at best a bare majority in the US House making him totally dependent upon the most conservative Democrats to get anything at all passed. In the Senate, he would be well short of the magic 60 votes and it would be unknown if the Democratic majority would end the filibuster, but let's say they did. Now you have him dependent upon the likes of Heidcamp, Mansion, Nelson, Tester, and Warner unless he gets us to 55 then he needs Kaine.

[Armstead]

3. It's the long view

Nothing happens overnight. (though I would say the 35-year long effort to restore progressive liberalism is not overnight.)

Sanders, Clinton, O'Malley....any president is going to face the same equation.

The movement Sanders represents is trying to change the basic equation where corporate "centrism" stifles the more liberal side of the Democratic Party. That doesn't happen with the election of any individual president, but it does make a difference in the symbolic zeitgeist AND policy direction.

[dsc]

5. well that isn't at all what Reich said

he said that Bernie would be able to get things passed if he got enough public support. And frankly that is just plain rubbish.

[Armstead]

6. It would depend on the issue

If Sanders proposed a major new tax to provide Single Payer Health Care immediately, yeah, that would be DOA.

But if he sold common sense step in the right direction that could potenttially become mainstream -- say a modest version of the voluntary "public option" -- and enough Dems supported and helped to "sell it," i could at least move the needle in the direction in the direction of meaningful health reform. And if the GOP (or conservaDems) were forced to oppose a common sense solution, they'd look really bad.

[dsc]

7. How much worse can they look then they look now

at least if it is the GOP you are referring to. And the fact is Dems taking the House this time would be a miraculous result. But the conservative dems in the Senate would have to do to thwart this plan is refuse to remove the filibuster from legislation. Ie, do nothing.

[Armstead]

12. The GOP did a lot better at PR on the health care issue -- Pushback for reform was not there

And part of what is referred to as a "movement" and what I said by the long game is marginalizing the conservative Democrats -- or at least providing more of a clearly liberal counterpoint to them so they can do less damage over time....Push the needle so to speak.

Someone like Sanders is not the cure all -- but it;s a big strp in the right direction. And he does have the chops to be a competant executive. He's proven that.

[Adrahil]

21. The GOP is never afraid of doing stuff that looks rreally bad.

They don't care. The rules have changed for them.

If, by some mirical, Bernie is elected, he will be able to accomplish very little. That's just the political reality of things right now. To effect real change is going to have to happen from the bottom up. I personally do NOT see the emergence of Democratic Socialist majority movment in the country, or at least, a democratic socialist upswell. If we see downticket candidates emerge and challenge party maintstream candidates, ala the Tea Party, then maybe, MAYBE you have a movement that can succeed. I don't see it, personally, not even a hint of it.

Bernie is a unique commodity, and frankly, he can't do jack by himself.

[PatrickforO]

35. No it is not. If we put pressure on those people in congress we have elected to

represent our interests to actually represent those interests, they will do so. Popular pressure is, in the end, stronger than corporate money.

[jwirr]

48. And how is Hillary different?

[dsc]

50. I'm not saying she is

but Reich is saying Bernie is. I have no illusions as to what a Democratic President will do for us barring an epic landslide which I don't see coming. I think if we win the Presidency we will likely win the Senate with around 51 votes. That will give us good appointees, including SCOTUS, and an ability to block horrible GOP ideas. Other than that I think we will be getting about what we are getting now in terms of Presidential action and what we got in 2012 in terms of legislative.

[Ron Green]

4. This is right on. If Bernie as President tells the truth about

bought politicians, lobbyists, ALEC, corrupt officials and crony capital, THE PEOPLE have the opportunity to shake off the system that's plagued us and our global victims for so long.

[Adrahil]

23. It takes more than that...

This kind of thing reminds me of the occupy movement, and why I left it. It consists largely of hand waving and "a mirical will happen" reasoning. People will NOT spontaneously rise up and toss out estwblished politicians. That is not how it works in this country. You need organization, active coordination and recruitment of candidates, intellectual leadership and structure. Oh yeah, and MONEY.

The problem with leftist movements in this country is that so many leftist activists are allergic to central leadership, organization, and the realization that it takes money. I quit my local occupy cell when one group refused to let a meeting proceed because agendas are "fascist."

[kenfrequed]

27. Uhm...

Isn't electing a president the very definition of "doing more than that."

If your assessment on this is rooted in the idea of not taking political action then your analogy is flawed at inception.

[Adrahil]

31. No....

So many people, including even Bob Reich are talking about how Bernie can suceed as President if there is a movement. And for many people, they are arguing that Bernie will be a truth-teller and people will somehow suddenly realize how they've been duped. Bollocks. They does not work. That will not work. It could, if the stars all align, I suppose, get Bernie elected, but that will not transform Washington.

[Ron Green]

42. It's not sudden, and it's not magic.

But a President who tells the truth out loud is a necessary first step. We have one, and only one candidate who's ready to do that.

[kenfrequed]

58. Yeah...

Cause triangulation and cynicism actually changes so bloody much.

Are you sure you are on the right website?

[PatrickforO]

38. That's why every time the left starts winning the establishment starts a war

Witness Congress resisting the Iran deal and McCain singing bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.

That's why when the left begins to win, the soldiers are called out to shoot them down and why the laws are changed against them.

That's why the establishment plants provocateurs in leftist movements, and why the corporate owned media ridicule them.

In the end, though, the people are stronger than all of this.

[Qutzupalotl]

8. It means calling congress many times AFTER the election,

not just sitting around letting Bernie do the heavy lifting. WE — when we're organized — are more powerful than any one politician or even any one political party.

Congress listens when they realize their phones are ringing off the hook, when their office is flooded with letters for one side of an issue. That can be more powerful than big donors or lobbyists, except perhaps for the ones who write their legislation for them.

[Hydra]

9. Bernie can do a lot with just the presidency

Just having control of the AG's office is huge. A lot can be done about the police brutality problem, as well as enforcing the law on Wall St and the environmental criminals. He would also have access to EOs, Military policy and NSA policy.

The idea that the Presidency is some sort of ceremonial position is complete BS- even before Bushco sucked up vast new powers for it, it was the most powerful single office there is. Anyone who can't use it as a "magic wand" is doing it wrong.

[jeepers]

10. Referendum and recall inititives

have been called for as a fix for a broken legislature since the beginning of the progressive movement in the late 1800's.

National referendums allow the people to propose and to vote on legislature without going through congress and to override a congressional vote, a move away from oligarchy and towards democracy.

In order to argue that Bernie will be a lame duck president stymied by an inept congress you are going to have to argue that a populist president with an army of supporters is equally powerless. I dare you.

[dsc]

11. National referenda are like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny

none of them exist.

[jeepers]

17. 23 of the United States have referendum capabilities

as do half of the worlds democracies including Bernies favorites the Scandinavian countries, Norway, Denmark,Finland and Sweden

[dsc]

20. and for us to get one would require an amendment to the Constitution

and frankly, given the history referenda have had in places like California and Colorado, I would be a no vote for that in any case. For every referendum you can point to that has been a good idea, I can point to several that have been horrible. Prop 13 in California, prop 8 in California, Issue 2 in Colorado to name three.

[jeepers]

37. You have a problem with democracy

Lots of folks talking about changing the constitution for a lot of different reasons. The choice is either we make do with a dysfunctional legislature and get comfortable with oligarchic fascism now and forever or we find ways to move this country forward without it. Giving the people the option of recall and referendum has the potential to waken congress (happened in 1913) but if and when that fails the people need the skills and ability to move the country forward.

There are four types of government, the Aristocracy where the king rules, oligarchy the elite rule, democracy the people rule, and tyranny the dictator rules. Three of those forms of government are authoritarian and one is self determining. In America we prefer self determination where the people decide. You want to argue with that?

[dsc]

49. when democracy is used to take away individual rights

Last edited Sun Aug 16, 2015, 01:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Hell yeah I have a problem with it. If we were a pure Democracy sodomy would still be illegal in over a dozen states, gays couldn't get married in three dozen, women wouldn't be able to get abortions in probably about half, heck interracial marriage would still be banned in Alabama. In Colorado gays would be fifth class citizens. Democracy run amok interred the Japanese, brought us Jim Crow, brought us segregated schools in the north, and ended affirmative action in California.

On edit, I note you leave out Republic as a form of government.

[jeepers]

51. We can call America a republic or a representative democracy, it matters not

if you look around you will see that it is in fact an oligarchy. Granted, our leaders are elected and citizens have a vote once every 2 to 4 years but that is not a true democracy. In a true democracy the people vote on the issues and there is no representative between the people and their gov't..

Not one of those ranting points you brought up happened under a democracy unless you want to suggest that there was a popular vote on segregation, Jim Crow, the internment, or interracial marriage. All of those things happened under the authoritarian leadership of an American oligarchy.

As i have already pointed out whether you want to call it a republic or a representative democracy America was designed to be an oligarchy, is and has always been one. The people have almost no voice. I think that is the problem and I think that referendum and recall gives the people a strong voice.

[dsc]

52. So if you don't like the results then it wasn't really democracy is what it comes down to

the simple fact is there is absolutely, positively, no doubt in any serious persons mind that each and every thing I listed was overwhelmingly popular among the people at its point in time. Internment was popular, Jim Crow was popular, interracial marriage was horridly unpopular. And, in point of fact, many of the policies were added to constitutions via some form of popular mandate (that isn't true of internment but it is true of many aspects of Jim Crow and interracial marriage bans).

[jeepers]

55. overwhelmingly popular with who?

Your serious persons mind is about as representative of democracy as is Sante Claus and the Easter bunny.

I bet you have the same reaction to that statement that I did.


Happy trails.

[dsc]

56. you seriously think that Jim Crow didn't have majority support in the deep south

really? If that is the case, then why was it so hard to get juries to convict when whites killed blacks? Hatred of blacks was on the order of a 90-10 issue in the white community at that point in time. Even now, I bet the whites of places like Alabama and Mississippi would reinstate Jim Crow if they could though they wouldn't be a majority of the entire electorate now since they wouldn't have the overwhelming majority of whites now that they had then. Even with full black sufferage in the 1950's Jim Crow would have had solid majorities throughout the South and border states. The fact is democracy is notoriously bad at protecting minority rights. Heck we don't even have to go back to Jim Crow. Over 30 states, via popular vote, either stripped marriage rights from gay couples or codified in their constitutions existing bans on them.

[oasis]

13. C'mon Bob, let 'em have their pie in the sky proposals.

It's the stuff that fills up stadiums.

[Armstead]

19. Nah, let's just settle for continuing to get our asses kicked by Big Bidness and loving it

And giving major league smooches to the Oligarchs who make hundreds of millions (billions) of dollars by paying food-stamp wages.

[oasis]

22. I'm sure Robert Reich believes, in principle, what Bernie's

advocating, so do I for that matter. More power to Bernie and his enthusiastic crowds. It's truly great to see our democracy alive and well.

Reich is simply reminding us that, sooner or later, we all have to read the handwriting on the wall.

[Armstead]

44. To quote an old adage...

If you try you might fail.

If you don't try, you'll definitely fail.

[azmom]

24. Sanders is energizing people. His message is

Crystal clear. If you want to change things, you have to be involved in the process.


People are waking up to the fact that it's not just about voting every four years. I have family members that hated politics and ignored everything I ever said to them about the subject. Now, they are excited and hopeful that their voices will be heard.

[cantbeserious]

28. Why Settle For The Lesser Of Two Corporate Evils - Go Bernie Go

eom

[Vattel]

30. I am glad he noticed this

[SonderWoman]

34. Bernie has policy proposals?

I haven't seen any written policy proposals.

[PatrickforO]

40. Look.

[Armstead]

45. Naw he sprang out of virgin soil with no record or proposals

Google is your friend. If you care, you might give it a try. It;'s spelled S-A-N-D-E-R-S

[gollygee]

46. He has them on his website, just like every other candidate has them on their websites.

https://berniesanders.com/issues/

[Live and Learn]

53. Oh, you want to be spoon fed. Okay.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/progressive-manifesto

Presumably, Clinton will address this question in January, when she is expected to launch her campaign publicly. In the meantime, Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont, who, as my colleague Ryan Lizza recently wrote in the magazine, is also eyeing a 2016 run, is promoting a twelve-step “Economic Agenda for America,” which he outlined on the Senate floor Tuesday. While Sanders has about as much chance of becoming President as I have—i.e., none—he’s doing the Democratic Party, with which he caucuses, a service by issuing some specific proposals, many of which Democrats of all stripes can rally around.

Plenty more in article and at Bernie's site as well.

[WillyT]

57. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!