In response to Van Jones' dialogue with party operative, David Axelrod regarding Bernie Sanders' recent victory in the Indiana primary....Should we be surprised that the apologists for the status quo (Axelrod being a leader of this band) continue in their efforts to minimize and downplay the significance of the Sanders candidacy?! Instead of embracing the emerging movement of which Sanders is reflective, they regard it as a threat to their existence (with some justification) thereby identifying themselves as out of touch with the reality of a powerful alternative voice. They do so at their own peril because the movement is not going away. On the contrary, it will only continue to grow in the ensuing years...either within a traditional structure (looking less likely) or as a new independent party, ready and willing to include all like-minded people within its ranks.
CNN is fond of parading a cadre of Democratic elites and loyalists (Axelrod, Begala, Brazil, Borgia, et al) to defend and support (with varying degrees of nuance) the status quo. The collective critique of Sanders' candidacy often is reductive to a condescending lecture on the political impracticality of real progressive change. This is often effected with a metaphorical pat on the head and a not-so-gentle suggestion that the Sanders people take their proper place at the children's table. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party forges ahead (with the appointed Clinton at the helm) with their neoliberal domestic agenda and the continuation of a neoconservative foreign policy which includes the criminal use of drone warfare, extra-judicial assassination, mass surveillance of millions of innocent citizens, and an ongoing policy of regime change as the centerpieces of their vision for America's future. While Mr. Axelrod and Ms. Brazil might give eloquent lip service to the contrary, make no mistake as to where their loyalties lie and where their influence is likely to lead us.
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