My Thoughts: Bernie vs Hillary

As we enter the beginning of the end of the primary season I cannot begin to fathom just how messed up the United States is. We're a country that seems to like and have an obsession with power (and to a similar extent, greed).

Despite Bernie Sanders' recent poll numbers looking very good as of recent, the mainstream press still considers Hillary a shoe-in. Take this piece from my former NBC affiliate via CNN:

"I am also a Democrat and have been a proud Democrat all my adult life," Clinton said. "And I think that is kind of important if we are selecting someone to be the Democratic nominee of the Democratic Party."

Madam Secretary, let's keep this in mind: the Democratic party has strayed from the days of FDR. Your friend, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been considered the worst leader of the Democratic National Committee in its modern history. Your husband's years as president continued America's manufacturing downward spiral, which only became worse thanks to NAFTA.

A few days ago on a blog site, Trever LaFauci wrote a counterargument to Matt Taibbi's counter to Rolling Stone magazine's endorsement of Hillary (saying that it isn't the time to choose someone like Bernie Sanders). Here's what my fellow millennial doesn't quite grasp: Hillary has been on the wrong side of history quite frequently. Among independents (the voters who can swing an election) she's wildly unpopular. Unpopular candidates don't win general elections. They lose them, and badly. Trever, smears, while questionable can be argued on their validity, hold merit and Americans buy those smears. And as for your questions towards Bernie Sanders that the press has refused to ask, well, some of them have been asked. He opposed bailing out Wall Street, not the auto industry, even though the bailout went towards the auto makers. The same argument has been made against many of his votes. And I think Bernie knows that universal healthcare won't be accomplished in one term. But the facts are there: the current system, even with Obamacare, is still broken.

Okay, all in Bernieland isn't perfect. His ideas are a little overwhelming in a country used to self-reliance. And my girlfriend is partially correct in saying that Bernie's supporters are a lot like Donald Trump's supporters. Several of them have tried sending messages of disgust to Democratic superdelegates, behavior I do not condone. And when it comes to Bernie himself, he is the worst of politicians when it comes to giving a straight answer.

Here's what everyone forgets to understand: no situation like the one America is going through right now can stay permanent. The cracks have been showing for years now (hint: Occupy Wall Street). The Russian nobility didn't take heed, socialist revolutionaries took the upper hand after some time and heads rolled. Yes, I'm comparing Nicholas II to America's 1%.

Jann Werner (the publisher of Rolling Stone) forgets to note that 2016 is not like 1972. McGovern was a weak candidate. The problem is me and other liberals feel that Hillary is too vulnerable, despite the polls. I question the judgement of my fellow Americans in that they would let a self-fulfilling prophecy happen, in letting another Clinton administration into the White House. This is an argument I have an issue with this:

Clinton is far more likely to win the general election than Sanders. The voters who have rallied to Sanders during the primaries are not enough to generate a Democratic majority in November. Clinton will certainly bring them along, and add them to the broad coalition that Democrats have put together in the past to take the presidency, as did Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Interesting. Real Clear Politics has a different take: The polls have shown (yes, surprisingly) that Bernie has the upper hand. I'm in the position right now that the Republicans will have a brokered convention and either John Kasich, Ted Cruz (both who are still in right now and I can see getting the nomination, as Trump would sink the party and Republicans aren't that stupid) or it could be even Paul Ryan. In case of Kasich (which is highly realistic) Clinton would lose badly. This is not the time in history for a "protest vote." This isn't a protest vote. This is the concerns about the fact that Hillary isn't all that electable. There are people who simply won't vote for Hillary, and I don't blame them. (Now if the Democrats draft Elizabeth Warren, I think MANY people would flock to support her, both Bernie and Hillary supporters. Crazy shit comes out of brokered conventions).

Recently Uruguayans had a dream president. José Mujica by one account left Uruguay in very good shape, with a stronger economy, drug problems partially addressed through the legalization of marijuana and with a popularity that many South American presidents could only dream of. I would hope that a Bernie Sanders presidency does the same thing to the United States. Us young people are inheriting a country that's on the verge of collapse, both figuratively and literally. 2016 is a year that politics are not the usual, and the establishment has been ignoring that.

And as I close this blog post, I'm not the only person who feels this way.