Is Bernie Enough?

I support Bernie Sanders for President. I downloaded the BERN app, I send money, and I’ll certainly vote for him. Bernie Sanders has personally advanced American political thinking more than anybody in history since, at least, Eugene Victor Debs.

I don’t think he will be elected President, though. Even if he did, I don’t think he could implement his progressive program. Even if he got elected and carried both houses of Congress, he couldn’t.

I also support Our Revolution and the rest of the Bernie movement. Bernie himself says that the movement is more important than he. Bernie never claimed that he could implement all his progressive ideas by getting elected. He says it would take a gigantic mass movement, and it would.

Those who think they are going to get Bernie elected and that he is going to solve America’s problems are ignoring the class nature of American society and everything we have learned about class struggle.

Changing America is not just a question of getting people to start voting, or even about getting people to be smarter about their voting. Changing America is a matter of overcoming the people who run America now. Before those people would relinquish power, they would maneuver the election system into uselessness. They have already weakened democracy considerably. If they thought it was necessary, they would try to cancel elections. If they thought it was necessary, they would try to cancel democracy altogether. Don’t forget, it’s been done!

The ruling rich have to be confronted and overcome. That’s how change will come to America. It’s the only possible way.

Who Can Do It?

The only class of people who can successfully fight the bosses is their employees. We have shown, in battle after battle, that organized workers can defeat powerful corporations. Informing and organizing America’s workers is the way to success.

How?

The Bernie campaign is certainly an asset. People are learning a lot from Bernie, and we are also learning a lot about Bernie’s unscrupulous enemies. At least one major union has come over to the Bernie side already, and more will follow. Giving the Bernie movement a chance to recognize labor’s leadership is a great step in the right direction.

Let’s keep building the progressive movement and, as much as we can, show it that the working class must take the lead.

Electing Bernie sounds easy. Informing and organizing America’s working class sounds difficult. But it’s the only thing that will work.

–Gene Lantz

I’m on KNON’s “Workers Beat” radio talk show every Saturday at 9AM Central Time. If you are curious about what I really think, check out my personal web site. Contact me.