Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will swear in Mayor Bill de Blasio for the Mayor's second term on Monday, January 1, 2018. Former President Bill Clinton swore the mayor in for his first term back in 2014.
I'm not quite sure if Bernie coming to town for de Blasio is good news or bad news. Sanders being seen with Governor Andrew Cuomo as he introduced "free" college tuition for public colleges in NYS and coming back on Monday for the Mayor's second inauguration shows that Bernie is really serious about courting mainstream Democrats for his likely 2020 run for the presidency.
Cuomo and de Blasio want to be seen with the progressive Saint Bernie to show their authentic left wing credentials if either of these two decide to run for the oval office. The thought of either the Governor or Mayor as POTUS is I guess a bit less nauseating than the current occupant of the White House getting another four years.
No matter how we slice this, it's kind of creepy Bernie playing to the Democratic establishment or de Blasio and Cuomo playing to the left wing base of the Democratic Party. Cuomo has been anti-public schools and anti-labor from the start and de Blasio has only been slightly better.
I've kind of liked Sanders but always felt he should be a much stronger supporter of K-12 public education so I do not count myself as an enthusiastic Bernie fan but my wife and I did vote for him in the primary in 2016.
I also voted for Bernie. Don't worry about others trying to paint themselves as progressive. Bernie has 50 years of history to look at. When we look at the history of others, we can see who they were aligned with.
ReplyDeleteNext stop Wall Street.
ReplyDeleteAbigail Shure
Bernie Should do NOTHING for any establishment DEM. What did they do for him...? They all fell in line to get behind the annointed Hillary during the primaries...and fix the outcome with "superdelagates." Bernie would have beaten Trump in the rust belt (polls had him beating Trump easily in Mich, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) and carry every state Hillary won. Yes, Bernie would HAVE won. Do you think Neil Gorsuch would be on the SC or this municipal employee killing tax
ReplyDeletescam would have passed if he did?
Are you guys out of your minds????
ReplyDeleteMayor and Bernie stand for nothing!!!!
Reformative justice? No discipline in schools? Raise taxes for corrupt bogus programs? Anything goes attitudes?
Get over it!
Looking for the glory days that never were!!!
We are not doing so well in NYC in the Trump days that are 9:01.
DeleteI agree with Anonymous 8:53. Establishment democrats have done nothing for teachers or other unionized workers and therefore deserve zero support from us. Roseanne McCosh
ReplyDeleteIts a lost cause.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick history note: William Jennings Bryan enjoyed the same status as Bernie for most of 1877 and 1878. In the end, almost every single issue he fought for was lost. But hey, he sure did enjoy some power within his own party!
ReplyDelete(Meanwhile, his party didn't get back into power for another 16 years.)
So, yeah. Yay Bernie.
But how many of Bryan's ideas eventually made it? Since all manner of health care is doomed to fail and since college tuition is a joke some of Bernie's ideas may be seen eventually after the big crash - just as the New Deal came in the same way.
ReplyDeleteActually, Norm. Zero.
DeleteZERO
He rallied for a Silver based currency. Do we have a silver based currency today? Haha. No. Ours floats. He rallied for an empowered agrarian class. Are American farmers empowered today? Haha. No. Agrabusiness, maybe but not farmers. He rallied against the policies of the indistrial elite (yesteryear's version of the Silicon Valley elite). Did you think he beat back the Belmonts and the Edisons of the world? That's as inconceivable as any pol beating back the Theils and Musks and Bezos of today.(whom I'll point out, no one took on last year).
Oh, one more thing; Bryan lost only because the Republican he ran against, McKinley, focused on the Midwest vote, where Bryan was a bit vulnerable. Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree with Roseann McCosh and anonymous 8:53 - Bernie should not be giving them the time of day. Going to call Bernie’s Office right now, just to point out that Bill De Blasio ain’t no progressive.
ReplyDeleteCalled Bernie’s Office in Burlington, VT about this. Was referred to campaign office because that office set this up. Burlington said they have received many phone calls about this. Campaign office was not as welcoming as Burlington Office. Campaign office phone number is:
ReplyDelete802-862-1505.
I gave my opinion that neither De Blasio nor Cuomo can shine Bernie’s shoes. Also mentioned teacher contract.
I want more "free" stuff so I approve.
ReplyDelete--sent from one of Bernie's three homes
I would have thought Randi would have payed for the honor. It would have been nice to hear Bernie tell her to kiss his tuchus.
ReplyDeleteI hear Bernie is making nice-nice to Randi these days.
ReplyDeleteWhy would he do that? Next you'll tell me he thinks Hitler is misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteIf you think any Democrat still supports unions your obviously not paying attention, to put it mildly. To be blunt you are a naive fool.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing unions have gotten from democrats is LIP SERVICE. And that dosnt pay the bills. The democrats follow the marching orders of BIG MONEY DONORS. And you know how the rich feel about paying for labor. If they could hire uneducated illegals to teach school,you know they would.
Sorry folks, but your savior Bernie only worships the dollar.
And btw, the republicans are no better.
I don’t see any difference between them. Schools as we know them now will cease in 3-5 years.
DeleteBernie is a start. It is an uphill battle against the rich, mega-donors. But, it's a start.
ReplyDeleteBernie 2020
Yes Pogue! Yes Bernie!
ReplyDeleteNo Schumer
No Pelosi
No Gilllibrand
No Booker
No Feinstein
all sellouts
Time for a third party. 💫
Looking at the 1896 Democratic Party Platform. Yes, we did not get that silver standard but look at the platform Bryan ran on:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29586
Some portions:
"The absorption of wealth by the few, the consolidation of our leading railroad systems, and the formation of trusts and pools require a stricter control by the Federal Government of those arteries of commerce. We demand the enlargement of the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission and such restriction and guarantees in the control of railroads as will protect the people from robbery and oppression."
Looks like we did ok there. TR and Taft picked up that mantle a bit.
"We favor the admission of the Territories of New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma into the Union as States,"
We got these.
"Sympathy for Cuba
The Monroe doctrine, as originally declared, and as interpreted by succeeding Presidents, is a permanent part of the foreign policy of the United States, and must at all times be maintained.
We extend our sympathy to the people of Cuba in their heroic struggle for liberty and independence."
We fought a war over this one a couple of years later.
"Third-Term Resolution
We declare it to be the unwritten law of this Republic, established by custom and usage of 100 years, and sanctioned by the examples of the greatest and wisest of those who founded and have maintained our Government that no man should be eligible for a third term of the Presidential office."
This one happened eventually with the 22nd Amendment.
"We hold that tariff duties should be levied for purposes of revenue, such duties to be so adjusted as to operate equally throughout the country, and not discriminate between class or section, and that taxation should be limited by the needs of the Government, honestly and economically administered. We denounce as disturbing to business the Republican threat to restore the McKinley law, which has twice been condemned by the people in National elections and which, enacted under the false plea of protection to home industry, proved a prolific breeder of trusts and monopolies, enriched the few at the expense of the many, restricted trade and deprived the producers of the great American staples of access to their natural markets.
Until the money question is settled we are opposed to any agitation for further changes in our tariff laws, except such as are necessary to meet the deficit in revenue caused by the adverse decision of the Supreme Court on the income tax."
We got the income tax with the 16th Amendment and tariffs for protection are not used in most cases now.
Judging from my look at the 1896 Democratic Party Platform, they didn't get everything but eventually some of this stuff made it into law and the Constitution.