Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

Most Americans seem to think that the spectrum doesn’t go beyond “established democrat” versus “established republican”. If those are the two options presented, then those logically define the bounds of politics, right? Well, I’m happy to see at least you, Solidarity64, seem to realise it isn’t that way –

But now, enter Bernie Sanders. Notice I wrote “established democrat”, rather than just “democrat”. It is true, of course, that Sanders runs “as a democrat” – but only because he, too, is trapped in the false dichotomy of “republican vs democrat”. He would undoubtedly create his own party if that meant any chance of winning.

Because let’s now, disregarding that “rascal”, analyse what the parties as a whole stand for on the grand topics of politics and how to govern a country. Both go in for neoliberalism, both for interventionism in foreign conflicts, both are anti-leftism, and so on. They have much more similarities than differences.

And yet – the “lesser of two evils” theory does make sense! Because let’s face it, the very few times that any politician does criticise foreign intervention, or the electoral college, or racism, or homophobia, climate change, it is always the democrats!

But this distracts from the fact that both party are, on a deep, basic level, the same.

“Enlightened Centrism” can actually make sense but only if you fully buy the idea that democrat vs republican is the entire spectrum.

“Lesser of two evils” can actually make sense but only if you fully buy the idea that democrat vs republican is the entire spectrum.

The American public as a whole does not understand there are other options, because the current system does not allow for other options. And the two (lol) current parties are never going to give up this system, and this way of seeing politics by the masses, without a fight. Democrats will, occasionally, mention this stuff, because it nets them votes as “the somewhat more educated party”. They will not ever really do anything about all of it, and they will never relinquish their neoliberal core value – because that one nets them billions by large corporations who don’t like any form of taxation. They need their yachts, yo.

Enter Bernie Sanders, the man who absolutely wouldn’t be a democrat if he had a choice. He’s fucking up the game in just the right way. See the established democratic party struggle to have anyone else elected, anyone who is closer to the established democrat ideal. Enter Joe Biden.