America's not the only place where the party of the Left is swinging toward the progressive wing of the party. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, the Labour Party is going through a similar leadership battle. And in both cases the parties are nominating the most unlikely of characters.
Back in March of 2015, Hillary Clinton seemed to be the shoo-in for the Democratic Party nomination, as she led Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders 58 percent to 4 percent. But though he looks more like a gadfly than a charismatic candidate, liberal voters warmed to his message, as well as his lengthy experience in fighting for such issues. He's now leading Clinton in several states, including New Hampshire, and definitely has the momentum.
Over in the United Kingdom, the country lacks our convoluted primary system with its state-by-state lengthy battle for party leadership. But their nominating system for the Labour Party may be just as bizarre for its uniqueness. And like Bernie Sanders, the British party of the Left is about to pick an equally unexpected candidate.
Longtime Labour Party backbencher Jeremy Corbyn, who like Sanders, toiled for leftist causes behind the scenes, is invisible no longer. According to Jill Lawless with the Associated Press,
Corbyn, the runaway favorite in a contest to lead the opposition Labour Party, opposes NATO and nuclear weapons, plans to apologize for the invasion of Iraq and wants to end austerity, heavily tax the rich and nationalize Britain's railways.
Lawless adds:
Corbyn has said he'll apologize 'to the British people for taking them into the Iraq war on the basis of deception, and to the Iraqi people for the suffering we have helped cause.'...He also favors scrapping Britain's nuclear weapons, has called for Britain to leave the NATO military alliance, wants warmer relations with Russia and opposes air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
The Telegraph also adds that the humbly dressed Corbyn supports a strong government funding for the arts, as part of a plan to improve the quality of life by supporting the BBC, enhancing public access to the arts, and enabling all kids to play musical instruments.
How did Corbyn flank his more Centrist opponents (more like Bill and Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party), seeking to return to the days of Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, when the party was in charge for almost a decade and a half (and when the Democrats were in charge in the 1990s)? According to Nico Hines with the Daily Beast, it all began with the outgoing Labour Leader Ed Miliband, defeated in the 2015 election.
Ed Miliband forced through the new format to try to help the party become more democratic. By inviting the public to join the vote for the cost of a $5 donation, Miliband has certainly done that, with almost 400,000 people signing up. The trouble is, party officials admit they have no idea who most of these people are, and they haven't got enough staff to find out.
Similar charges that Sanders is nothing more than a right-wing plot to discredit a stronger nominee, or is getting votes or poll support that would lead to such an outcome. But as the GOP contest soaks up all of the party's attention, and Sanders improves his standing in head-to-head matchups with the GOP, it looks less like a Republican plot and more like a genuine enthusiastic movement, similar to what we're seeing in Britain.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.