Here, at the time of writing, it appears that the GOP has reaped what it sowed and that Donald Trump is well on the way to securing the number of delegates he needs to be the presidential candidate. They are recoiling in horror and have started to disown this former darling of the GOP who attacked President Obama as they gleefully tittered in their hands, egging him on at every turn. Spoiling a man-child with a propensity to be rude was seen as good policy because of their collective hatred for Barack Obama. Now it's backfired because that man-child has no respect for "his elders" in the party.
BERNIE SANDERS AND THE RISE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC LEFT
On the other side of the isle Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has an uphill battle against Establishment candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. She has all but locked up the Black Vote -- a very key constituent to her winning the presidency. That she's to his right, politically, speaks volumes about the Democratic Party. Ultimately, Sander's loss of the Democratic Presidential nomination will be in a very large part due to the lack of support from the Black population in the United States. The ironic thing is that the Black community is in tandem with Senator Sanders on ALL domestic, social and economic justice issues but it votes to the RIGHT of these issues in presidential elections.
Let's take a look at the numbers.
In the Nevada caucus Hillary Clinton won every Black precinct and in national polls she wins three Black votes for every one Bernie Sanders wins. That's not good for Sanders in the upcoming Super Tuesday contests on March 1 when 11 states will have primaries. I predict that Ms. Clinton will perform exactly as she did in the Nevada contest. In South Carolina Blacks younger than 45 years are going for Sanders at 35 percent. But 52 percent say they will vote for Ms. Clinton. And she has the Black vote locked up in voters ages 50 to 78 years.
Without the Black vote and support in the Democratic Party, Senator Sander's political revolution is doomed to fail. That's because the Black vote is the Democratic Party's base; they're that working class, working poor that Senator Sanders is always speaking about. Black people are about 25 percent of the Democratic Party. In a weird sort of way Black people are the most left-leaning, progressive constituency in the United States but that does not translate into support for the most progressive candidates in a national election. As in previous years the Black vote in the United States will be the political bulwark of the most right-leaning wing of the Democratic Party, led in 2016, by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But Senator Sanders could be a change agent for the Democratic Party, even when, as expected Ms. Clinton wins the party's presidential nomination. It was supposed to be a coronation with NOBODY in the Democratic Party, including the Congressional Black Caucus, challenging or questioning the rise of political dynasties in United States politics. At least the Republicans had the good sense to jettison Jeb Bush's candidacy. Sanders is going to lead a large, dissatisfied and angry young constituency on the Left. That's good and will pull a President Clinton II to the center of the party -- if she's going to win a second term.
She's going to have to "give something" to her loyal Black constituency and prove that she's not "just talk." In the absence of any credible Black leader, Bernie Sanders can play the role of "Black representative." Yeah, I know that many Blacks will bristle at this notion. But ask yourselves this: who speaks for Black people today, in 2016? There is NO national Black leader who can force a United States president to keep his or her promises to Black people in exchange for their loyalty to the Democratic Party and its firewall against progressive politics in general elections.
While there is the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), it has very little power in a House of Representatives dominated by Republicans, not to mention the fact that there are no Black members of the U.S. Senate. The fact is that while our first Black president was struggling to enact meaningful and progressive reforms he only had lip service from members of the CBC. His powerhouse of support in the US House of Representatives is Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi -- his most reliable, trusted and staunch ally.
So let us stay tuned as this process plays out day to day.
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