On Friday, Bernie Sanders, seeking the democrat nomination, will step in from of the Democratic National Committee to express his views of Establishment politics. Establishment politics are conventionally known as a closed group of elites in the government. Sanders seeks to denounce these ethics and strive for a smaller elite. Sanders strives to convince the democrats that we must not follow the elite groups like Wall Street or big banks. However, Sanders has never spoken in front of the DNC so his views could easily be dismissed.http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/27/politics/bernie-sanders-establishment-politics-dnc/index.html
Everywhere I have read, the Democratic National Committee is said to be the most establishment meeting there is. Sanders is putting a high risk on himself by ripping establishment in front of a crowd that could easily shut him down.(http://www.kcci.com/politics/sanders-to-rip-establishment-politics-to-dnc/34963334).
Sanders has been pushing a anti-establishment view on the government in fundraisers; however, this is the first real risk he is taking. Sanders understands that he needs to gain the support of smaller organizations for his nomination. Sanders is taking a calculated risk, but I feel that it is necessary for his nomination. I feel that the attention in the democratic campaign has been tied to Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden. Sanders needs to take a risk to get his name out there.
Sanders is attempting to get the support of the lower class. He wants to implement a $15 per hour minimum wage and free tuition for college.He realizes that to gain nomination he needs to please a certain group of people with opponents like Hilary Clinton having control over certain parts if the democratic party. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bernie-sanders-chicago-fundraiser-met-0818-20150817-story.html
Sanders view of the government ties in to how the Articles of Confederation attempted to bring down the power of the elite. Sanders seeks to give the lower class a higher influence in the government and seeks to please the. The Articles attempted to help the minority also by giving each state equal power and prevented taxing without unanimous decisions. Sanders is going away from the founding fathers view that there needs to be an elite class for a government to work. Sanders feelings that an elite class will hinder the government and society from moving forward.
10 comments:
In regards to the DNC meeting on August 28, Sanders did denounce "establishment politics." However, I do not think that this was much of a risk for him because it remains in line with Sanders's self-proclaimed socialism. Also, Sanders framed the argument against establishment politics as a problem for the whole Democratic Party because establishment politics is what drives down voter turn out of younger and minority voters who would be more likely to vote for the Democratic Party. “The Democrats lost that election because voter turnout was abysmally low, and millions of working people, people of color and young people gave up on ‘politics as usual’ and stayed home,” he declared. “Let me be very clear. In my view, Democrats will not retain the White House, will not regain the Senate, will not gain the House and will not be successful in dozens of governor’s races unless we run a campaign which generates excitement and momentum and which produces a huge voter turnout,”
(http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/bernie-sanders-2016-election-dnc-campaign-213146#ixzz3kKHdmWze).
Although Sanders does cite the need for the DNC campaign as a whole to change, I think Sanders is also using this call for change for his own advantage. Sanders has a lot of support from younger and minority voters, so if the DNC changes its establishment politics to encourage more voter turnout, it will likely benefit Sanders by increasing the number of peole who vote for him in the primaries.
I agree with Carolyn, his idea of making "establishment politics" weaker should not phase the DNC campaign, or seem as if it is a risk. Bernie Sanders has made it clear through his ideas as becoming president, that he is a socialist. His idea of having an extremely pro-America is where he stands out compared to other politicians. In my opinion, for one to say that this might hurt his chances as becoming a top voted man in the Democratic campaign is harsh. The reason why he has become very popular with numerous groups is because of his socialist aspect. He also uses a good strategy of targeting groups that contain lots of people within them. For example, African Americans. In one speech, he announces, “We must value black lives,” Sanders said. “Force should be the last resort, not the first resort.” (http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/07/31/sanders-it-is-too-late-for-establishment-politics/). I would think that this would help him greatly in his campaign, for he is Democrat, and it is a fact that many African Americans populate southern states (which is majority Republican), so if he is able to appeal to large groups of certain types of people in largely Republican areas, this would not hurt him. Perhaps, this would make him more successful. His push for equality is in perfect timing, for this is a large issue right now in America with gender equality, race equality, etc. So, I think him discussing a smaller group of establishment politics and dissing wealthy people is not a huge risk.
As for putting his campaign "at risk," this will absolutely not impact his campaign negatively. No way. It only makes him more popular and seem more "honest" in the eyes of the voters, whether that is true or not. Anti-"establishment" talk certainly seems to be the best technique for winning votes so far in this election, as proven by the unexpected success of Donald Trump, and by the more recent success of Republican candidate Ben Carson. A couple of other Republican candidates, notably Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, have made it a major aspect of their campaigns to criticize the current Republican establishment and to assert that they are a new breed of Republican politicians. Donald Trump has built his entire campaign off of mudslinging. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/trump-republican-establishment-120713
Bernie Sanders can certainly do the same, if that's what it will take to knock Hillary off of her pedestal. Given the current political climate, that won't turn away voters at all.
If one of the things he wants to do is implement a $15 minimum wage as well as make tuition for college free is this a technique that will actually get him many votes? This seems to look great, especially to teens and young adults who often have minimum wage jobs and/or are still in college yet we are the least likely to go to the voting ballot and actually vote. any opinions on why this is his tactic?
@Monika,you actually answered your question right there. "This seems to look great, especially to teens and young adults..." That's exactly why he's using this tactic. It ensures him votes from that specific demographic.
You guys have all been bringing up good arguments for the fact that Sanders' statement might help rather than hurt him in the primaries. Seems like a lot of candidates this year (Grant, you mentioned this) are relying on radical positions to awaken bodies of voters that have previously been dormant citizens.
But Casey also brought up a valid perspective in pointing out that Sander's statement is rather radical. Might it affect other Democratic candidates (like the Republicans mentioned in the Trump v. Walker post) and nudge them towards radical strategies as well? Casey also mentioned the Articles of Confederation. Is it fair to say that the Articles resembled a socialist document? Is Sanders the Articles incarnate, or is Sanders actually targeting (as he seems to be, in my opinion) a small, influential group that really is in the public's interest to dissolve?
I'd like to see more elaboration on those points.
And realistically speaking, how much of their promises are these candidates planning on carrying out? It's all good to theorize about how political statements will affect voter turnout, but these might not end up being very happy voters in the long run...
I like the idea of $15 minimum wage and free college, but that doesn't sound doable. I may not know anything about anything but if you made anyone double their payroll (even if over time), they would need to seriously increase profits or the price of the product/service. Free college tuition, at the community level, seems like it would require a lot more taxpayer money. Sanders' ideas sound amazing, but don't seem practical to be accomplished anytime soon. I know Sanders is appealing to us liberals, but I think appealing to the common man will only get him so far.
Sanders' goal to raise federal minimum wage to $15 seems impossible, and if possible, very adverse to our economy. I know minimum wage is currently nearly impossible to live off of in some areas but going straight for $15 would adversely affect the economy. Products/services would greatly increase in price and inflation would become huge, I think. I think free college tuition, at the community level, sounds great but there a lot of scholarships and financial aid available for students determined to further their education, apposed to kids going onto college just because it's free. I like Bernie because he appeals to the liberal in me, but I'm just too skeptical.
Sanders' goal to raise federal minimum wage to $15 seems impossible, and if possible, very adverse to our economy. I know minimum wage is currently nearly impossible to live off of in some areas but going straight for $15 would adversely affect the economy. Products/services would greatly increase in price and inflation would become huge, I think. I think free college tuition, at the community level, sounds great but there a lot of scholarships and financial aid available for students determined to further their education, apposed to kids going onto college just because it's free. I like Bernie because he appeals to the liberal in me, but I'm just too skeptical.
Bernie Sanders is not taking a NEW risk. He has been anti-establishment his whole political career. He began his political career in 1971 running for office in the Liberty Union Party, which was anti-war and anti-establishment. His ideas about minimum wage and making college tuition free are not ideas he just came up with to gain publicity for his campaign, they are ideas he has had for a while. Also Sanders does not want a smaller elite, that would just make the elite more elite. He wants no elite due to his socialist views. However I do agree that Sanders' views do relate to the Articles of Confederation and a fear of a small group of people having too much power.
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