RHETORIC MATTTERS! BERNIE OUGHT NOT SOUND LIKE LENIN!
Last night at the debate in Nevada, Bernie was asked if he should win the nomination if he goes to Milwaukee with more votes than any other candidate but not a majority.
Bernie said “yes,” because that was the will of the people.
He scared me.
Bernie could go into Milwaukee with about 30% of the delegates. This would place Bernie #1 among all the candidates. but not give him a majority.
Mr. Sanders said his plurality means the Democrats should choose him as their candidate becausehe is the choice of “the people.” He went on to demonize the wealthy as buying votes and not serving “the people.” This scary rhetoric has a name .. Bolshevism.
As post czarist Russia fell apart in 1917, several parties were fighting to take control. Lenin’s party was part of one of these, a Marxist party called the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). There was a fight for control of RSLDP. Lenin’s group got more votes and used their majority to eliminate the minority part of the RSLDP .. including Trotsky. From that point on the policies of the RSLDP were defined by Lenin and only Lenin. The word in Russian for majority group was Bolshevik and the idea of total rule by one party .. at least as long as that party wass the “right” party, was called Bolshevism.
The Bolsheviks never gained the majority of any elected bidy in Russia. Instead they overthrew the elected Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky. Ruling “in the name of the people,” the Bolsheviks became the only party inthe Soviet Union.
Bernie musst know that history, yet he talks like Lenin. So here are the rules of the Democratic party. First off, Bernie is currently at 27% of the popular vote. This is 20 points lower than the Sanders delegate share in 2016. Despite the rhetoric, Senator Sanders is not gaining in share of the vote!
As in Trump’s taking the GOP niminaton in 2016, the oppostion vote to Sanders is split. Under the rules of the Democratic Party, nobody wins on first ballot if nobody has majority delegate count. If remaining candidates form a majority coalition ticket of 73% on the second ballot, the game is over.
At this point this is all academic. Bernie could go to the Democratic party convention with a majority on the first ballot.
Issues within either national party is not the same as parties vying for control of the nation.
A brokered convention has not happened in over 50 years. Going into the convention with 30% could well mean Bernie is the eventual winner. If all the other candidates form up together to prevent Bernie getting the nomination could happen. Still it won’t happen on a second or third ballot as some of those running may want to the parties candidate. There is always the possibility that the party could split into two or even more factions with two or more candidates coming out of the convention..One of them being the official Democratic candidate, and those dynamics are present in the mix if Bernie does not get a majority and the mainstream does not believe he could win,and are afraid of his politics. Bernic may come out and tell you screwed me once, but not again which maybe what he really meant, as normally a candidate going into a brokered convention with 30 percent and no other candidate being close to that will come out the winner, after 5 or 6 ballots, and one other candidate will want to be Vice President and be on the ticket with Bernie. And there are the other cabinet posts, which suggests issues with some of the proposed changes to cabinet posts should Warren get elected out of a brokered convention, as no one getting a seat promised during the convention is going to want their power reduced.