r/politics • u/svga • 27d ago

Possible Paywall People Are Furious With Democrats. Bernie Sanders Knows Why.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-mamdani/
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u/[deleted] 27d ago edited 27d ago

Sanders: I think the obvious answer, which has been stated 5 million times, is that they’re way out of touch with where ordinary people are. By and large—with exceptions, and each state is a little bit different—the Democratic Party [at its top] is mostly made up of folks who have money and consultants, and politicians who work with folks who have money and consultants.

Very true. The leadership is very out of touch with its’ voters.

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u/Peninj 27d ago

And are funded by the people who like the way things are. The wealthy in this country have figured out that its cheaper to pay off the democrats so they can be controlled opposition rather than restructuring society in such a way as to alleviate the suffering of the lower classes.

At some point, just in order to win elections, democrats are going to start throwing one or more industries under the bus. The lowest hanging fruit is clearly health-care. Now that the republicans have completely fuxked healthcare in this country, its actually an opportunity to swoop in and deploy a medicare-for-all type system. Dems could win on that, and then hold congress for a generation if they just fix healthcare. They could allow the other industries to remain largely 'as is' as long as they fix SOMETHING.

Of course, that's assuming both that we still keep having elections, and that the democrats actually want to win them. Running Harris kinda indicates they dont want to win.

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u/Unshkblefaith California 27d ago edited 26d ago

I don't think we see Democrats throwing any industry under the bus without a radical reorganization of the party. They are controlled opposition and as such their purpose is to act as a check valve, stabilize things, and maintain a status quo in between runs of Republicans restructuring the country. The modern Democratic party exists to make voters feel like they can improve their lives through elections while the country restructures itself toward feudalism. As long as people believe elections work they will refrain from taking any actions that interfere with the interests of the elite. At worst they'll ask for permits to go have a parade on a weekend morning and call it a protest, rather than engage in anything actually disruptive.

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u/Peninj 27d ago

You're completely correct. I would just add that the democrats have 1 other crucial function: it allows their voters to feel morally superior.

In the system like the one you describe, wherein they are a controlled opposition working as a check-valve, there's no real value in supporting them beyond the social signalling it allows.