Bernie Sanders has every right to stay in the race, but the longer he stays in, the more trouble he is causing within the party itself, and therefore the greater chance Donald Trump has to be President.
In early May, the Nevada Democratic Convention saw violent outbursts following an announcement that a slight majority of the state’s delegates would be allocated to frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Some supporters of the Vermont Senator in attendance expressed their displeasure with this by throwing chairs, screaming, and threatening state party chairwoman Roberta Lange.
Sanders response to these violent outbursts from his supporters is more worrisome than anything.
While he condemned it, he did not do much to convince his voters from refraining from it in the future.
The chaos in Nevada led some to predict similar reactions to the National Democratic Convention in Philadelphia come July.
To this idea, Sanders did not dismiss the extrapolation that such ferocity erupting at the convention would be terribly damaging to the Democratic Party as a whole.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Instead, the senator told the Associated Press that the convention could be “messy.”
“I think if they make the right choice and open the doors to working-class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic Party needs, it’s going to be messy,” Sanders said. “Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic party should go.”
The messiness that Sanders speaks to here was elaborated on more by the senator himself further.
“So what? Democracy is messy. Everyday my life is messy. But if you want everything to be quiet and orderly and allow, you know, just things to proceed without vigorous debate, that is not what democracy is about,” Sanders said.
This idea sounds nice. But his adage that his candidacy is going to change democracy is a tad overzealous.
He is not a bad candidate by any means, but it is becoming clearer every day that he simply does not know when to quit.
Clinton holds a ten percent lead in California, according to Real Clear Politics.
It is a key state should Sanders wish to stage the comeback he believes he can, but so far it looks as if that is another empty dream just as so many other states quickly became over time.
What gets Sanders and his supporters so angry is their unending insistence that some sort of foul play must have taken place and that it makes for the only possible reason that Sanders is not going to beat Hillary Clinton.
However, there is no real evidence of that actually happening on a scale large enough to make a difference. While it may seem that everyone and their brother is voting for Bernie, the results in many contests throughout the country show us that it is simply an untrue assessment of this race.
Now Clinton is by no means a perfect candidate and it would be unreasonable to expect all Bernie supporters to worship the ground she walks on once she wins the nomination, but the candidate himself citing this election, should it come down to Clinton and Trump, as a choice between the lesser of two evils is troublesome.
That statement along with so many others that have been made over the election will make it incredibly hard for any sort of endorsement of Clinton by Sanders in the future to seem genuine.
Clinton is simply not the lesser of two evils. Electing Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States would make the country a laughingstock.
Photo Credit: Phil Roeder/ Flickr (CC by 2.0)
His brash and offensive campaign is not indicative of real American values and thus the notion that Clinton is somehow only slightly better than him remains utterly ridiculous.
Obviously Sanders wants to be president, but it becomes more evident every day that that will not become reality.
As he continues to attribute his losses to corruption within the system or other seemingly outlandish claims, it shows that he is unable to come to the realization that his “revolution” simply did not work.
Likewise, the violence that some of his supporters are inciting shows that they too are a part of the problem.
Of course, a majority of Sanders voters are sensible and will vote for Clinton come November even if it is done so begrudgingly.
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But the longer Sanders stays in and the more he claims that corruption has persisted because he has lost based in part on rules that have existed for decades, the more fuel it adds to the fire for the Bernie Bros and their Bernie or Bust mantra.
The Bernie Sanders Revolution, if it can even be called that, is not strong enough to make a lasting claim. While he has pushed the party and Clinton herself further left, it remains that that is all will come of his candidacy.
While whether or not the nominating process is fair is a worthwhile debate, there is just absolutely no substance behind the claim that the system is rigged to hurt Sanders in this election.
Successful politicians own up to losses and show an ability to compromise. That is what Clinton did when she lost to Barack Obama in 2008.
She swallowed her pride, accepted the loss, and even took a position in the cabinet of the very man who beat her to realizing her dream of becoming president.
Sanders is not showing an ability to do that here. His attacks on Clinton only become harsher over time, rather than a tad softer as it becomes clear he has no real path to the nomination.
While he cannot give up the values he has attested to so strongly throughout the campaign, he must do what every other runner up has done and show he has a strong enough ego to begin to work with his opponent rather than still trying to tear her down this late in the game.
If the polls as they stand today emulate any results that come out of California on June 7, it will become even clearer that Sanders needs to accept that he will not win the nomination.
But it remains important to his legacy that he does so sooner rather than later so his image as a sore loser can begin to be erased and so that his ideas can stand as his real legacy.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Phil Roeder/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Shame On Us: Why America Should Never Forget Our Refugee History
The following is the opinion of the writer of this piece and not necessarily of Rise News.
In recent weeks, I’ve seen a few of these analysis pieces speaking towards the economic and security benefits of allowing Syrian refugees into the United States.
Growing up, the community where we lived was largely Section 8 housing.
This resulted in a host of refugees from Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) coming to live in my complex.
Those were all countries where the United States had engaged in ‘suppressing communism’. I don’t recall being indoctrinated by one of these refugees, nor do I recall one of them engaging in militant or subversive activity against the interests of the United States.
Yes, they were different. They dug holes in the ground to relieve themselves, despite have toilets in their apartments. They hung their sink washed laundry from the eaves of their decks and porches, rather than using the washer and dryer in the laundry room. The food they ate was different, and no one could understand a word they were saying. But it worked. Eventually, things ‘normalized’.
“I’m not a terrorist sympathizer – anyone who knows me, knows that. But I am a human being – and neither my conscience nor my God will allow me to turn away the least of these simply because they could be dangerous.”
I’m related to refugees. I’ve known members of both families for over 20 years. Neither are terrorists. Neither are engaged in conduct that is subversive to the interests of the United States. The children of those refugees are both productive members of American society, in fact one is Iranian, and a United States Marine that was deployed and fought against militants and terrorists.
The other is Vietnamese and Chinese and works in a capitalist industry serving the risk management interests of businesses and citizens alike.
In fact, aren’t most of us refugees? Weren’t the founding fathers refugees? This country is made up of generations of people who fled their home countries coming to this shining beacon of hope in order to escape religious persecution, the hopelessness of famine, or war and tribulation. You know, that whole American dream thing?
There are security implications, as is obvious based upon what we’re seeing in Europe. It is inarguable that people who entered Europe through the influx of refugees have ‘slipped through the cracks’ in the security mechanisms and engaged, or are planning to engage in jihad against innocents.
The threat of that is unfolding and intelligence gathering and the security apparatus are tightening in on many of those threats. Many are likely still in waiting. As is always the case, there are bad apples in every basket. Are the vast majority of these migrants terrorists? I doubt it. Is there an inherent need for effective screening? Sure.
The overall tone of the rhetoric and vitriol I keep hearing from folks as it relates to ‘refugees’ is, in my estimation, largely unwarranted and based on the fear mongering that our media is inciting among us.
I’m not a terrorist sympathizer – anyone who knows me, knows that. But I am a human being – and neither my conscience nor my God will allow me to turn away the least of these simply because they could be dangerous. Loving and accepting people tends to generate a much different response than despising them because they’re different.
Cover Photo Credit: Tom Thai/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Big Brother Time: China in Process of Creating “Social Credit” Scores
China is in the process of creating a nationwide database of “social credit” in order to not only rate the financial strength of their citizens, but also their trustworthiness.
Unlike the US or UK, China does not have a nationally recognized credit score system. However, also unlike the aforementioned countries, China’s new initiative will not only determine how good people are at paying bills. It will also be used to rate how obedient they are to the state.
Currently, this plan is in somewhat of a beta stage, as eight Chinese companies have set up sites to issue these credit scores.
Possibly the most high-profile of these is called Sesame Credit, a joint venture between Alibaba, Asia’s largest online retailer, and Baihe, China’s largest matchmaking service.
However, neither company will reveal how they determine or calculate the scores, nor will they directly speak to Western media out of fear of losing the lucrative government contract.
Conversely, they will admit that shopper’s purchases will be taken into account. As Li Yingyun, Sesame’s technology director, told the Chinese magazine Caixin:
“Someone who plays video games for 10 hours a day, for example, would be considered an idle person, and someone who frequently buys diapers would be considered as probably a parent, who on balance is more likely to have a sense of responsibility.”
This is a very controversial point, as it leaves the door open to the government deciding who can do and buy certain things based on subjective, and possibly stereotyped, life decisions.
From a different angle, this type of credit system is being valued as little more than another authoritarian propaganda tool.
In the extensive government planning outline, the Chinese government states in Article 5, Section 1 that it will actively encourage competition between citizens to work for high scores by incentivizing trust-keeping and punishing trust-breaking.
Many Westerners are beginning to see this as China hiding an Orwellian “big brother” behind the façade of a game. For more on that angle, there is the relatively short, but oft-linked video from Extra Credits on the matter.
Watch:
As of now, the system is opt-in. However, as part of China’s most recent Five-Year Plan, the “social credit” system, in one form or another, will be mandatory in 2020.
Cover Photo Credit: Danny Mekic’/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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First Weekly Miami Shores Farmers Market Proves To Be A Hit With Community
What’s New With This Story:
-The first weekly Miami Shores Farmers Market was deemed a success by the organizer.
-Over 1,000 people attended the four-hour event.
-Over 20 booths were filled with local vendors and businesses.
-The event organizer hopes to extend the hours of the market by three hours starting next week, although no official announcement has been made.
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The Miami Shores Farmers Market opened Sunday to strong community support, a sign that the village may be able to maintain a successful weekly open-air market for the long haul.
According to Claire Tomlin, the organizer of the market, the event drew more than 1,000 people to Optimist Park (NE 94th Street & NE 2nd Avenue) in Miami Shores.
Tomlin runs The Market Company, a South Florida based organization that runs 15 markets across South Florida.
Tomlin has had her eye on Miami Shores for over a decade.
Claire Tomlin, owner of The Market Company, the organization that runs the Miami Shores Farmers Market. Photo: RISE NEWS
She said at one point in the mid 2000s, she approached the Miami Shores Village Council for approval to start a market on NE 2nd Ave, but was turned down.
But she said that the new Village Council has been much more welcoming towards her ambitions.
“The town manager and the council are aware that the Village has changed and that young families want a place to come together,” Tomlin said. “The reception has been phenomenal. It’s been such a successful day.”
Over 20 different vendors had booths set up around Optimist Park, including those selling fresh fruits, vegetables, hot foods, soaps, jams, plants and flowers.
The Miami Shores Farmers Market will run each Sunday at the Miami Shores Optimist Park (at the corner of NE 94th St and NE 2nd Ave).
While the market is officially set to be open between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM, Tomlin told RISE NEWS that she hopes to extend the hours to 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM for next week.
She also said that there would be live music next week.
Photos: Scenes from the first weekly Miami Shores Farmers Market. (Credit: The Market Company)
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