The Hillary Clinton candidacy represents a lose-lose situation for us.
If she becomes president, she will be Obama with lipstick. (Isn't it time for us to face up to the fact that Obama has more in common with Reagan than with Roosevelt?). She will rule from the same ivory tower from which Obama peers down at us, and continue to cavort with billionaires and kings whose only agenda will be to continue to enrich themselves at our expense.
On the other hand, she may lose to a republican (I believe that she will be a weak candidate and may indeed lose, but that is another essay), which would be worse for us. If she loses, it would mean that Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul or some other robotic, eager purveyor of bigotry, greed, ignorance, and hatred would rule (I intentionally use the word rule. Our presidents no longer govern, they rule). Nuclear war would become a real possibility. Even the mention of climate change would become illegal (as it now is in Florida and other republican-ruled states). Life as we know it could very well end.
Enter Bernie Sanders.
The neoliberal reaction to his candidacy is visceral. "He unelectable," they say. "America is still fairly anti-Semitic. He is also a socialist; socialists do not stand a chance in capitalist America. He will lose."
They fear that his candidacy would hand the election over to the republican party on a gold platter; a party fueled by hatred -- hatred of Moslems, socialists, immigrants, unwed mothers, free thinkers, atheists, agnostics, unions, Black people, Hispanic people, the poor, the Chinese, Putin, Castro, Cuba, feminists, gays, Pope Francis" whatever works to get us to look the other way so they can pick our pockets.
On the other hand, republican "pudits (lol)" see Sanders' candidacy as opportunity. They realize that if he runs as an independent, he splits the vote, and hands them the election. If he runs as a democrat, his socialism would make him a very easy target for the filthy smear tactics, lies, trash-talk, and fear mongering for which the republican machine is famous.
Very scary thought indeed.
We lost the Senate to these extremists. We lost the House. They took the Supreme Court. We can't afford to lose the White House.
On the other hand, Hillary is no cause for great hope.
Her positions on issues such as taxing the rich, secret trade agreements, waging endless war, violating of civil liberties, use of assassinations, mass surveillance, militarization of police, or regulating banks, Wall Street, and big pharma are identical to those of republicans.
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