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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARcH 15, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
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PRO-CON
Is Sanders the Democrats’ best
bet to beat President Trump?
AP Photo/Matthew Putney
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a rally at the Iowa state fairgrounds in Des Moines.
PRO: Sanders’ high energy
level and loyal followers make
him the Dems’ front-runner
CON: Sanders would spell
disaster for America — and
Democrats, too
DALLAS — Vermont Sen. Bernie
never run a private sector business.
Sanders: He was the best of Democratic
And Sanders is a principled politician
presidential candidates, he was the worst
— although many people disagree with
of Democratic presidential candidates.
his socialist principles. Trump’s principles
Let’s start with the worst. Sanders isn’t have shifted frequently over the years,
even a member of the Democratic Party.
though he seems committed to a mostly
He is officially an independent.
conservative agenda today.
It would be unusual if the Democratic
With money pouring in, experience,
presidential nominee weren’t actually a
widespread name recognition and a polit-
ical party increasingly eager to embrace
Democrat. But these are unusual times.
Another issue is Sanders’ age. He’ll be
socialism, Sanders may be the Demo-
crats’ best chance to beat Trump. But that
79 years old when the 2020 presidential
doesn’t mean it’s a good chance.
election takes place, making him the old-
est president if he wins, five years older
It’s very difficult to beat an elected
than Donald Trump.
incumbent president. Ronald Reagan
On the other hand, even at their age no
defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Bill
one can accuse Sanders or Trump
Clinton defeated George H.W.
of being “low energy.” He cer-
Bush in 1992. Otherwise, you
tainly would bring much more
have to go back to 1932, when
energy to his campaign than Hil-
Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated
lary Clinton displayed in her slug-
President Herbert Hoover.
gish race for the White House in
All three losing incumbents
2016.
presided over weak economies.
A third challenge for Sanders:
Merrill
The Trump economy is very
No one knows whether the coun-
Matthews
strong — for now.
try is ready for a self-proclaimed
Another issue: Democrats typ-
ically campaign on the left to win
“democratic socialist” sitting in the
the nomination and then move to the mid-
Oval Office.
dle, at least in their public speeches, to
It’s clear Democrats are open to the
idea — Gallup says 57 percent of Dem-
attract independent voters.
ocrats view socialism favorably — but
Sanders is unlikely to make that shift.
what about middle America?
Will that alienate the 63 percent of all vot-
ers who view socialism unfavorably?
Yet Sanders has several factors work-
ing in his favor that make him the Demo-
It’s a long time until the next presiden-
tial election and a lot can — and no doubt
crats’ odds-on favorite, at least for now.
Anyone who can raise $6 million from
will — happen between now and then.
223,000 individuals within 24 hours after
Sanders currently is polling strong
announcing he’s a presidential candidate is among Democrats, who think the country
a political force to be reckoned with.
will be ready to change directions in 2020.
Sanders has name recognition and
And that is surely what Sanders would do.
a large pool of potential volunteers,
But even as Democratic presidential
many of whom are energized, motivated
candidates gear up to win the nomina-
tion, many average Americans observing
and feel the Clinton political machine
what’s increasingly becoming a political
robbed Sanders of the 2016 Democratic
spectacle may see some truth in the rest of
nomination.
Finally, if you think the political pendu- Charles Dickens’ opening statement in “A
lum will swing hard in the opposite direc-
Tale of Two Cities”:
tion of Trump — and most Democrats do
“It was the best of times, it was the
— Sanders is about as far in the opposite
worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,
direction as you can go.
it was the age of foolishness, it was the
For example, Trump had never held
epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incre-
dulity, it was the season of Light, it was
political office before running for presi-
dent; Sanders has spent his entire adult life the season of Darkness, it was the spring
in public office — or trying to get there.
of hope, it was the winter of despair...”
Trump is a capitalist and successful busi-
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar
nessman. Sanders is a socialist who has
with the Institute for Policy Innovation.
CHICAGO — Although the field of
those crazy statements many years ago.
2020 Democratic presidential candidates
No doubt Sanders, along with the rest
seems to grow daily, one name stands out
of the world, witnessed the horrific col-
lapse of communism in the late 20th
at this early juncture: Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers (I-Vt.).
century.
Bernie’s back on the campaign trail
Moreover, some might think Sanders
and drumming up the liberal base for a
has learned from the chaos taking place in
run atop the 2020 Democratic Party ticket. Venezuela and the human rights tragedies
And who knows, with Joe Biden still
in North Korea, two modern examples of
undecided, Bernie sure seems like a solid
socialist and communist horrors.
front-runner.
However, despite the cavalcade of evi-
dence, Sanders continues to refuse to
Despite the fact that Sanders is the
acknowledge the absolute failure of his
leading declared candidate in most polls
— he also raised more than $10 million in socialist/communist ideology.
Sanders would rather double down and
the first week after his announcement —
inflict this horror show upon Americans, if
Bernie would be a disastrous Democratic
he were to somehow get elected to
presidential nominee and possibly
the highest office in the land.
the best thing for President Donald
Just take a quick peek at the
Trump’s re-election bid.
items on Bernie’s policy platform:
Sanders is a self-avowed “dem-
ocratic socialist.” He honey-
Medicare for all: “We must
mooned in the Soviet Union and
expand ‘Medicare for All’ by cre-
ating a single-payer health-care
has a long track record of praising
Chris
system for every American.”
socialist and communist regimes
Talgo
College tuition: “All public
— not exactly something that most
colleges and universities should be
American voters would agree with.
tuition free.”
Bernie’s socialist policies and
Energy efficiency: “The United States
ideology are well out of line with what
must transform its energy system away
most Americans want. Just consider some
from fossil fuels such as oil and coal, and
of the radical things Sanders has said
towards energy-efficient, sustainable,
about socialism:
“It’s funny,” Sanders once said. “Some- clean, and renewable energy solutions
times American journalists talk about how such as wind, solar, and geothermal.”
bad a country is because people are lining
Expanding the social safety net and
up for food. That’s a good thing. In other
increasing access to opportunity: “Use
countries, people don’t line up for food,
revenue from progressive taxation to
rich people get the food and poor people
expand and create programs to help alle-
viate poverty and help Americans move
starve to death.”
forward and contribute to a more robust,
“In 1959 ... everybody was totally con-
vinced that Castro was the worst guy in
equitable economy,” Sanders says.
And these socialist policy proposals are
the world and all of the Cuban people
only the tip of the iceberg.
were going to rise up in rebellion against
Thankfully, most American voters
Fidel Castro,” Sanders said.
still don’t want socialism. A recent NBC
“They forgot that he educated their
News/Wall Street Journal survey shows
kids, gave their kids health care, totally
only 18 percent of Americans have a posi-
transformed the society.” And those are
just a small sample of the “Sanders Social- tive view of socialism.
ism Greatest Hits Collection.”
In 2020, Bernie very well could be the
Given these statements, it is quite
last Democrat standing at the end of the
amazing that Sanders currently holds a
party’s presidential nomination contest.
seat in the U.S. Senate, let alone that he
If he is, Americans will very likely reject
almost won the 2016 contest to become
his far-left policies, as they have for more
the Democratic Party’s presidential
than two centuries, spelling doom for
candidate.
Democrats.
Some might feel tempted to give Bernie
chris Talgo is an editor at The Heart-
the benefit of the doubt. After all, he made land Institute, a conservative think tank.