This is the weekly BERN (Bernie Election and Revolution News), a collaborative effort of the Daily Kos Group The Political Revolution. Numerous group members have contributed to this effort as an affirmation of Bernie’s campaign motto “Not me. Us.” It isn’t about some of us; rather, it is about all of us.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Join Us and Become a Part of History!
In the international system, countries spend decades to accumulate political, economic, military, and “soft power” to gain influence and advantage over rivals. None of this matters until they can find a way to project this power and make themselves relevant. Emerging as the two dominant global powers after World War II ended in August 1945, both the United States and the Soviet Union did just that. The two countries would tussle in a myriad of ways through surrogates during the decades-long Cold War, using their new-found prestige to affect the course of history. Only one would survive that ferocious ideological struggle, engaging in what was largely a war of ideas and words. Thankfully, to quote poet T.S. Eliot, the Cold War would end in late 1991 “not with a bang but with a whimper.”
In domestic politics, presidential campaigns have to make periodic statements reflective of their growing status. The 2020 Sanders Campaign has not only raised the most money so far (over $18 million in the first six weeks), signed up by far the most volunteers (over one million), and received over 525,000 individual donations. Bernie’s rallies have attracted large, enthusiastic crowds, praise from skeptics and allies, attention from competitors and opposition from establishment types eager to maintain the status quo. Structural change is a serious threat to some of these entrenched interests lest they are doomed to irrelevancy.
Nothing succeeds like success. As a means of showcasing its political organizational strength, over 4,000 house parties will take place this coming Saturday, April 27th all over the country in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, not to mention 19 countries. If you haven’t done so as yet, you can sign up to host a party by clicking this link.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Design by Rob in Vermont
Come together with your friends, family, and neighbors to join our historic campaign to defeat Trump and transform America. Add your name to say that you'll host an Organizing Kickoff for Bernie on April 27.
Bilingual Event: If you want to host a bilingual event in Spanish/English,click here! Student Event: If you are a student and want to organize a Students for Bernie Organizing Kickoff,click here!
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The @BernieSanders 2020 event map is ð¨ LIVE ð¨
Together, as the forces of militarism have kept us engaged in unending wars, we have stood arm-in-arm to fight back. We’re not going to invest in never-ending wars.
The U.S. must lead the world in improving international cooperation in the fight against climate change, militarism, authoritarianism, and global inequality.
Foreign policy is the collective face a nation puts forth for the rest of the world to accept or reject; admire or detest; cooperate with or defy; emulate or ignore.
In the best of times, the conduct of American foreign policy is a delicate (some would say cynical) dance in which the United States has to tread carefully between protecting its own national interest and promoting it self-proclaimed values of freedom and democracy. This tension was brilliantly outlined in this article. Referred to in political science jargon as the “Ideals vs Institutions Gap,” in it the author asserts that American ideals frequently conflict with the actual conduct of foreign policy, sometimes with disastrous results. An example of this disconnect was American support for military dictators and strongmen throughout the Cold War. While that may have advanced, as policymakers are fond of saying, “vital national interests,” the internal consequences were tragic in many instances in several South and Central American countries.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.The Nativist American View of the World
Foreign policy isalsoan ever-changing puzzle of shifting alliances and permanent interests. However, it matters greatly in how any administration responds to international crises for it ultimately reflects upon the people of this country. The objective of foreign policy goals is notjustto advance American interests but also to project our values of fairness, cooperation, and morality for mutual benefit. Consistent with traditions established bybothDemocratic and Republican Administrations since World War II and at least until the end of the Cold War, an important and essential component has been the pursuit of these goals with the help of traditional allies. And yet, during the Trump Years, American foreign policy has been the face of a dominant bully hellbent on intimidating other countries to get in line and support our perverted agendas, withlittle or no success.
In other words, our foreign policy face has been that ofThe Ugly American in recent years. That must end.
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Together with @BernieSanders and many others, we are forming a new foreign policy consensus in the United States that rejects the militarism and interventionism and is rooted in restraint, diplomacy, and human rights. https://t.co/MwV1vbA6XZ
This is an example of the new path that Bernie intends to chart in the foreign policy arena. Less intimidation and more mutual respect.
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Thank you @SenSanders for your kind words. Thank you more for what you have done and are still doing to stop US support to Saudi Arabia for the war in my country #Yemen. TrumpâÂÂs vote is horrible, but it is not the end. We can all still work for peace. #YemenCantWaithttps://t.co/6qH1AhjhFP
â Radhya Almutawakel (@RAlmutawakel) April 17, 2019
Bernie’s resilient support has Donald Trump running scared and while he might put up a brave public face, in private he has expressed serious concern. The former “Blue Wall” of states offer Trump no reassurance that he can win them again in 2020. Taking into account over 300 major national polls, his approval ratings are tanking and a strong Democratic nominee could conceivably evict him from the White House.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Reclaiming the Rust Belt States
To his rally-goers, Donald Trump openly craves a 2020 showdown withSen. Bernie Sanders(I-VT), salivating at the prospect of getting to run against an elderly, self-declared democratic socialist.
But in private, his view of a potential run against the senator is a lot more complex and less swaggeringly self-assured.
Those around the president say he’s been of two minds when the topic of facing Sanders in2020comes up. While he sees the senator as a vulnerable opponent, he also has offered begrudging respect for his political acumen. Trump will—sometimes unprompted—bring up Sanders’s own working-class support, and acknowledge that there is, in fact, potential for the senator to win over Trump voters with his populist appeal, three sources who’ve discussed this with the president tell The Daily Beast. The president has been impressed with Sanders’ ability to ignite his base and draw a large crowd, though not, in his words, as “good as Trump.” The president has also privately discussed thefundraising haulsthat Sanders and his campaign have pulled off, noting Sanders’ impressive track record with small-dollar donors.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.The Benefits We Take for Granted Today Didn’t Materialize Without a Fight and LOTS of Sacrifices
WASHINGTON—Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign is releasing new internal polling that shows him leading President Donald Trump in hypothetical matchups in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
According to theinternal data released to reportersby the campaign, Sanders is up by double-digits in Michigan and Wisconsin (by 11 points and 10 points respectively), and leads in Pennsylvania by 8 points...
The three states were key to Trump's 2016 victory. Before Trump’s success there, the last time a Republican presidential candidate had won any of those states was 1988. Sanders' allies believe his message on economic equality helps him connect to the kinds of blue-collar voters that Democrats lost in 2016. Earlier this month, the senator went on a four-day road trip through the Midwest, highlighting his general-election focus on the region.
But Ben Tulchin, Sanders' pollster, says that the results still indicate that Sanders is in a uniquely strong position to take on Trump. "I don’t think any other candidate is as well positioned as Bernie is in these three states.”
Bernie Sanders has solidified his front-runner standing among members of the progressive political action committee Democracy for America, while Joe Biden and Beto OâÂÂRourke have both fallen back sharply, according to the groupâÂÂs latest straw poll.https://t.co/9wQfs7cVVF
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Thursday announced endorsements from seven black lawmakers in the critical early voting state of South Carolina, a show of force in the first place where African American voters feature prominently in next year’s primary elections.
Sanders’ 2020 campaign made the announcement just ahead of a Spartanburg town hall meeting with members of the state’s Legislative Black Caucus. The backing represents the biggest number of black lawmakers to back a 2020 hopeful to date in this state, which holds the first primary in the South…
The South Carolina lawmakers endorsing Sanders are state Reps. Wendell Gilliard, Cezar McKnight, Krystle Simmons, Ivory Thigpen and Shedron Williams. He’s also being backed by state Reps. Terry Alexander and Justin Bamberg, both of whom backed Sanders in 2016 and served as national surrogates for his campaign.
A newUniversity of New Hampshire Pollfinds Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic presidential field in New Hampshire with 30% support, followed by Joe Biden at 18% and Pete Buttigieg at 15%.
If young people support Bernie with the same fervor that they did in 2016, his campaign is in excellent shape. Recent trends show that youth turnout not only increased dramatically in 2018, but will also do so in 2020.
Washington Post: “Voter turnout spiked to a 100-year high in last year’s midterm congressional elections. Census Bureau data released Tuesday finds turnout rates jumped across nearly all groups, but the shift was particularly notable among young adults who typically stay home in non-presidential years.”
“The Census found that 36 percent of citizens ages 18-29 reported voting in last year’s midterm elections, jumping 16 percentage points since 2014 (when turnout was 20 percent) and easily surpassing any midterm election since the 1980s.”
More young people, particularly those who identify as Democrats, say they plan to vote in the 2020 presidential caucuses and primaries than did four years ago, according to aHarvard University Institute of Politics pollpublished Monday.
Forty-three percent of young voters, ages 18 to 29, surveyed said they are likely to participate in the nominating contests, compared to 36% of young voters who indicated that they’d vote in the nominating contests at the same point four years ago.
The new polling data suggests a continuation of a surge in engagement by young voters from November's midterm election. Youth turnout was 31% for the midterms, a 25-year-high that Democrats said helped pave the way for the party's largest gain of House seats since the post-Watergate 1974 elections.
If you had been thinking of making a donation, tonight might be a good time to reconcile your intentions and deeds. Please contribute whatever you can by CLICKING THIS LINK. As a goal, let’s see if we can surpass $4,000. Many thanks.
The ice cream is free for all of you!
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Vermont’s Best!
