If Bernie Sanders is nominated by the Democratic Party I will support him. Hopefully wiser heads will prevail. Many of the ideas he campaigns on sound good. But Hillary Clinton's strong progressive policy agenda is 100% more realistic. She understands what Sanders doesn't; to make progress one must work with those who disagree with you.
Sanders is the wrong choice for Democrats and the nation at this time. His stump speech, much of which he repeated in the debate, doesn't tell the whole truth to the American public or his supporters. Waving your hands and yelling doesn't make what you say any more feasible. He is still the politician who made a deal with the NRA to win his seat. As a member of Congress for twenty-five years he knows perfectly well the chance of having his proposals come to fruition at this time is zero. Only in an alternate reality would congress pass legislation to raise everyone's taxes which he calls for to make college free for all and pass a national single-payer healthcare system.
Sanders appears to be doing well in some polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. His rallies are nearly all-white with many young people. It seems many attendees are not heavily involved in politics but responding to his call to change the system. Students love the idea of free college. Poor people feeling anger at the establishment might love the idea of Medicare-for-all which they often misunderstand to be free healthcare. Sanders knows nothing is free. Two hours before last night's debate he released another healthcare plan differing little from the nine he has previously introduced in Congress. One see's right away taxes go way up on everyone to cover its cost.
In his stump speech he talks about economic equality and hollers to the crowds he will raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires. He neglects to mention he will ask everyone to pay higher taxes. Reminds me of speaking to college students on marriage-equality. Two guys said they were going to marry the moment it was legal. I asked if they understood they would be responsible for each other's loans; they were shocked. No one ever told them of the responsibilities that come with marriage. Sanders is intentionally leaving out the costs each person will bear if his programs could ever be implemented.
Bernie Sanders repeated during the debate he is a socialist calling for a political revolution. He has compared the United States to Denmark to promote his revolution. The indisputable fact is when the government pays for college educations and healthcare among other services they need more money to do it. Nothing is free. Snopes.com fact checked and looked at one Dane's view of reality. Dane's pay much more of their income to the government. While personally I am OK with higher taxes in the general election this is a guaranteed loser. Remember Walter Mondale? He suggested raising everyone's taxes by $1,000; or George HW Bush breaking his no new taxes promise; we never had a President Mondale and HW was a one-termer.
Nate Silver of Five-Thirty-Eight gives Clinton an 81% chance of winning Iowa and an even chance to win NH. While the media is trying to pitch the idea of a Sanders surge the latest national polling by NBC/WSJ has Clinton increasing her lead over him to 25%. Democrats understand the views of the left-wing of the Democratic Party are not representative of the general electorate. We went down this road with George McGovern; anyone remember a President McGovern? Believing the American general electorate in 2016 is ready to follow Bernie Sanders into a revolution is delusionary. Not even most Democrats are ready to do that. We saw in past elections primary voters in many early states are not representative of the electorate. Remember Rick Santorum? He won the Republican Iowa primary in 2012. Bill Clinton didn't win Iowa or New Hampshire and he was President.
Then there is the issue of leadership. Bernie Sanders has never been a leader. He would still be totally unknown had Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) entered the Democratic Primary. He was an activist along with others, not a leader in the civil rights movement; is only a sometimes supporter of the women's movement, immigration reform and the LGBT fight for human and civil rights. He was a co-founder of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. There is a reason its leaders have now endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Sanders revolution is focused on big banks but it's Clinton's plan to curb the big banks and fight Wall Street that is considered better by progressive economist Paul Krugman, and been praised by Elizabeth Warren.
Foreign policy experience and a diplomatic demeanor are crucial for a US President. Sanders has neither. When asked to comment on the world situation he reverts to talking about the economy. He attacks Clinton for her vote nearly fifteen years ago to allow George Bush to send troops to Iraq. A vote for which she has apologized. But Hillary didn't decide if and when to send troops. That decision along with mismanagement of the war is all George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Sanders did vote for the "Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in 2001 to grant the President the authority to use all "necessary and appropriate force" against those whom he determined "planned, authorized, committed or aided" the September 11th attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups." That resolution is still in force and what President Obama uses as authority to send troops to the area today.
So nothing in last night's debate changed the fact that while some of what Sanders says sounds nice, American's facing a complex world and a general election for President in ten months, won't choose a self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary. Democrats shouldn't either.