Summary
Sen. Bernie Sanders is touring Iowa and Nebraska to rally against “the oligarchy,” aiming to energize progressives rather than launch a 2028 presidential bid.
At 83, he seeks to shape the Democratic Party’s future, arguing it lost in 2024 by neglecting working-class voters.
He hopes to influence budget battles and the 2026 midterms, targeting GOP lawmakers in battleground districts.
With Democrats lacking clear leadership, Sanders’ prominence and focus on economic inequality could define the party’s direction in the Trump-Musk era.
The sudden rush of tankies in the comments indicates to me that this is a strong enough move to make some oligarchs worried.
Is a tankie someone who blindly supports the military indistrial complex? Or is it someone who loves tank sized SUVs?
They’re blind apologists for the various left regimes that have identified themselves as leftist, anti-imperialist, anti-western, sometimes even including North Korea and Cambodia under Pol Pot. Often they align themselves with right-wing governments like modern Russia and Iran, because they’re against the geopolitical west.
The term was coined after the USSR rolled tanks into Hungary in the 50’s to squash pro (Socialist) democracy protests. Some leftists stuck with the Soviets as they matched into Hungary and Praugue, and others spoke out against what they saw as tyrannical repression of democracy.
tankie is one who says all the mass murders, genocide, rape et all communists have done historically didnt exist\was okay.
have done historically didnt exist\was okay.
More like “didn’t exist, but was okay even if it did” lol.
83 and he’s still got that dog in him.
While I feel bernie wants to save capitalism from itself rather then replace it, I have to admire the persistence. I would have died 3 deaths of despair if I would have gone through what he has. And to just watch the nation melt around you no matter what you do or say.
Bernie Sanders is a stronger man then me
Once again he’s gonna dog anyone who supports him.
Yep, he won’t bite the hand that feeds him. He’s a good doggy. Barks loud but when it matters he does exactly what master says.
He’s never been anything other than a sheepdog for the DNC.
If you look at his vote record he hasn’t bowed to anyone, even when he’s been the only senator voting against something
he’s been the only senator voting against something>
I have literally said this in another comment. He and other fake progressives do this when they are absolutely sure it will have no consequences. Not when it’s possibly a close call. Pure empty virtue signaling.
I’ll copy another comment on his voting habbits tho :
VOTED in favor of almost every US invasion in the following nations: Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Yugoslavia,2, Bosnia, Haiti, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, and Ukraine. Even parroting the regime narrative that drones ‘are sellective’ and ‘take out the people they should’ while 90% they killed are innocent people. Be a “I am 100% pro-Israel” genocide supporter. VOTES in favour of the US aid to the Zionist settler-colony every time. VOTED in favor of a resolution that “reaffirms the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 . During the 2014 assault on Gaza, blatantly biased Senate resolutions S. Res 498 and S. Res 526 that fully condoned the Israeli assault and characterized it as “self-defense” were passed by unanimous consent. Although Sanders did not co-sponsor either resolution, he failed to register any formal objection (a resolution passes by unanimous consent if no objection is raised; as such, no vote is taken). To be clear, this is not the first time Sanders failed to speak up in Congress against Israel’s brutal assault of Gaza. In 2012, Sanders failed to register any objection against biased Senate resolution S. Res 599 that couched Israel’s bombing of Gaza as “self-defense” and that passed by unanimous consent; according to Human Rights organization B’Tselem, 167 Palestinians were killed, including at least 87 civilians (vs. 4 Israeli civilians). In 2009, biased Senate resolution S. Res 10 backed Israel’s assault on Gaza and yet again justified it as Israel’s “right to defend itself” without garnering any objection from Sanders (it passed by unanimous consent); according to B’Tselem, 1387 Palestinians were killed, including at least 773 civilians (vs. 3 Israeli civilians). In 2006, Sanders actually supported the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza and Lebanon during the war that killed 1191 Lebanese civilians per Amnesty International (vs. 43 Israeli civilians killed) when he VOTED Yea to House resolution H. Res 921.
He can speech, object, condemn or whatever he does. It’s empty words.
You mean THIS house resolution 921?
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/921
H.Res.921 - Honoring the 30th anniversary of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program. 118th Congress (2023-2024)
I think I smell bullshit
NO, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-109hres921ih/pdf/BILLS-109hres921ih.pdf from 2006.
Nice try tho.
You’ve got nothing
You’ve got a shit attitude and folks won’t listen until you fix yourself.
If they can’t take the truth it’s their problem. They have been screwing themselves for centuries continuing this uniparty BS and their token progressives. AOC can take over from him and they can continue for centuries more. Me personally am doing great and none of this, whoever wins anything affects me in the least. I just don’t get how people can vote against their own interests. Then again there’s black and latinos for Trump so there doesn’t seem to be much logic in people’s reasoning.
How in the hell are you hating on Bernie Sanders of all people you could hate on?
I hate hypocrites more than the ones not even pretending. This rat has just as much blood on his hands as Genocide Joe, Copmala, Trump or whoever.
Please give examples lol
I think usually Bernie means well, but I think Democratic party is far beyond saving. We will have no significant progress no less opposition to fascism, until they are gone.
Electoralism is largely a dead end under the duopoly.
This strategy is literally how you resolve that issue though. The Democratic Party is just a vehicle, it literally used to be a pro-slavery party. It can be remade just like Trump remade the Republican Party in his image. Bernie is doing exactly what needs to be done. It’s by no means the only strategy, but it is an important one to pursue.
Defeatism sucks.
It’s not defeatism, it’s an acknowledgment that we need to look beyond electoralism within the Dems. Mutual aid, dual power, direct action. If electoralism, build a grass roots infrastructure for a new third party or help an existing one rise.
Third party success won’t happen with just running someone for president every four years. It has to start at very local level, and engage with the public between elections.
Yes, it’s a crisis now that his party is out of power. Sad to see you fall Bernie.
Bernie wants to drive working people and our movements back into the graveyard of the Democratic Party.
What movements? As an outsider watching the US, are there any notable workers’ movements over there at the moment?
Refusing to support warhawk neoliberals like Biden and Harris seems to be a hell of a movement.
I mean, sure, but what else? I wouldn’t call ‘not voting for a candidate you don’t like’ a movement
Oh cool another wannabe gerontocrat
Cultivate an ideological successor please Bernie.
It’s not AOC, she’s a sell out.
Unless the democratic party’s platform becomes deny the oligarchy access to the levers of power, defend the working and middle class against the billionaires, and depose those who would enact political violence via law or pen, I’m not interested.
Good News:
He’s not a Democrat
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it must be a mother fucking duck. He talks one thing while asking us to support his good friends, the oligarchy.
right, the only person in washington trying to get money out of politics is for the oligarchy. the one person who brow beats against the oligarchy, is actually for the oligarchy. you’re a straight up moron, my dude.
Someone who talks about oligarchy and then tells us that we need to support his good oligarchy buddies is a tool.
Bernie 2016
Bernie 2020
Bernie 2024Fuck the Democrats
What? Fuck the Democrats but not this one in particular?
Democrats as in the DNC party, who in their corporate interests refuses to promote and push for candidates that have fought for the people.
Also Bernie is an independent who works closely with democrats, because unfortunately we’re essentially stuck with a two party system.
That corporate wing of the party, the clintonites, etc, are losing power.
The writing on the wall can’t be any more clear than it is right now.
In 2016, 2020, and 2024, they could still argue that people wanted a more middle ground. That ship is sailed.
Right time. Wrong guy.
What does this even mean?
Not the person you responded to but, Bernie is great and we really need this kind of stuff right now. Unfortunately, he’s 83 years old. We could really use some new blood on the left.
I think that’s the point of this tour. He isn’t running for president. He’s trying to build a support base for a real alternative.
That’s presumably AOC but it’s still too early.
The democratic party is dead. Go green.
Jill Stein is a grifter
The Green Party is tiny and has tinier primaries. It doesn’t have to be Stein.
Bernie Sanders has said ZERO about voting against RFK and Tulsi Gabbard. What a shame. I know there are a lot of Bernie and AOC dickriders on Lemmy but you all should know Tulsi getting shafted by Bernie really feels like a stab in the back to MANY of his 2016 supporters.
Bernie Sanders has said ZERO about voting against RFK and Tulsi gabbard
Thats just flatly not true. Bernie grilled the shit out of RFK where others on the committee gave him a pass, and then Bernie voted no on confirming him. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-statement-on-voting-no-on-rfk-jr/
and if you google “bernie speaks against rfk” and “bernie speaks against tulsi gabbard” theres endless pages of results you can look through.
On Gabbard, he spoke for her in 2019, but then she then knelt before the maga throne because the dems were done with her. Since then Bernie voted against her confirmation and is against her.
Even after they have repeatedly backstabbed him, Bernie has always showed up for the dems like clockwork. He’s more reliable a dem voter than Biden and the dem centrists.
bernie speaks against tulsi gabbard
oh? link one. he’s said nothing.
I… already did in my previous comment, did you not see the convenient link?
There are no quotes in this article shill
too little. too late. and for what? americans chose idiocracy. we need to respect their selfdemolishion. maybe all this evolution thing was a bit too fast for them so nature adjusts.
At this point some Democrats need to splinter off with the simple litmus test of opposing the oligarchs.
That much splintering won’t leave much tree remaining
That’s the point…
cool, another 4 years of the heritage foundation picks then
As someone in my 50s let me just tell you this - if you are over 40 and live in the US, you ain’t seeing normalcy in our government again in your lifetime. Mark my words. And if you are under 40, you might, but it’s gonna be a rough ride for awhile.
So if Democrats need to use this upcoming lengthy period of upheaval to come out of the other side with a party actually interested in resisting the fascists and the oligarchs, that can be the sliver lining to the decades of struggle that have now begun.
PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COST
From what? Most of the attacks against him come from behind him.
Attacks? He is playing his role like AOC and the rest of them. The dems need these harmless larpers to pretend they have something progressive to offer. When it comes down to it, every time they vote for war, zionist genocide and endorses the big oligarch choices in his horrible party.
Anyone else remember years ago when all Democrats hated Bernie. But now that he toes the party line for four years, they love him.
Rrriiiight after the Democrats lose the election.
There was no anti-oligarchy candidate during the last election.
There wasn’t even an election this last election, there was an installment.
I love Bernie and I admire his tenacity even at 83. But it is not nearly enough by a mile and we should not be relying on 83 year old to generate paradigm shifts. Please, for the love of God, other decent people with influence. Step up.
AoC has been highly visible in news and media so she’s also giving it a go. I think one of our real issues is that leadership wise Jefferies is alright but Shumer is downright depressing.
Over the next two years we’ll see a constant push by establishment dems to push out the progressives because centrist politicians on both sides want to keep a pro-corporate status quo.
She looks great, but is it worth risking more MAGA on America voting for a woman? A third time? They think they were radical voting for “the black man”. Voting a woman seams beyond America even if the other choice is Trump or not voting. God know what the state the world is going to be in by the time another US election is due, let alone if it’s allowed to happen and be remotely free and fair.
She looks great, but is it worth risking more MAGA on America voting for a woman? A third time?
Questions no one would be asking if she were a corporate ghoul.
I honestly don’t think it matters how great or not she is. I just don’t think America will vote for a woman yet. They prefer a rapist fashist narcissist.
I honestly don’t think it matters how great or not she is.
I honestly think that all the handwringing about a woman not being able to win is because the party hates AOC and everyone she stands for and will happily hold all women back to prevent her from being able to run.
Around the world, countries voted for change last year, not just America. Not necessarily good change, but people were unhappy and didn’t like the way things were. When Biden dropped out, there was massive excitement that maybe Kamala would offer good change, but eventually she promised more of the same.
I’m not saying sexism wasn’t a factor, it was. But it wasn’t the only factor. And Trump’s margin of victory wasn’t so large that we should just write off all women because Trump won against two women who allowed him to be the “change” candidate.
And Trump’s margin of victory wasn’t so large that we should just write off all women because Trump won against two women who allowed him to be the “change” candidate.
“Women can’t win” is an excuse to shut out AOC and nothing else.
Kamala’s biggest weakness was trying herself with Joe Biden. She should have taken a more radical approach and sweeping changes.
I would argue the biggest factor is the lack of a primary. Kamela didn’t get to prove her 2024 chops, along with not having nearly enough time to organize a campaign. Biden and his handlers really screwed the pooch.
What it really comes down to, though, is corporate donors. Never forget that most of the high democratic leadership are a feckless and dependent lot. Kamela, like the rest, listened to the demons.
I mean, not having a real platform beyond business as usual, ignoring the cost of living crisis, and expressing a commitment to continued genocide were particularly large factors.
Harris raised 50% more than Trump. It’s hard to pin this one solely on big money influence.
Harris raised 50% more than Trump.
That just tells me she was paid to take a dive.
Her messaging changed midway through her campaign, to one that was friendlier to a center-right disposition. She lost a good deal of her mojo because of that, since she became Biden v2.0. While obviously better than Trump, she was rejected for being more of the same. Many politicians across the globe felt a backlash in 2024 for not trying to rock the boat.
I was higher on Jeffries until I heard him interviewed by John Stewart. He said a bunch of nothing just like the rest of the party.
AOC’s interview was significantly better.
From Jon’s podcast? Wasn’t that a horrible interview? Jon starts put saying “what’s the plan instead of just saying you have to get the message out” and Jeffries doubles down on “branding”.
Its really disheartening to see that bullshit gaslighting is still the MO of the Democrats going forward. Every word of that interview was more of the same old shit, and unfortunately Jon didn’t push back on him at all.
Yes it was a bad interview hence me saying he said a bunch of nothing.
Jeffries is horribly corrupt and a total stooge for monied interests. Don’t let his PR team fool you.
But but but he rhymes at times like johnnie cochran when he’s on and rockin!
Surely, that makes up for being a corporate drone that helps keep status quo fascism in place.
AOC is now old enough to run for president. I can see her running in 2028 and getting the grassroots support that Bernie enjoyed.
If anyone can get the youth out to vote she can. they need to focus hard on getting people registered though.
I also really REALLY hope she doesn’t campaign with a fucking Cheney
So watch them run a pair of old white men, or find another member of the Clinton family that hasn’t had a go yet.
Kerry/Manchin.
Well if we cant get Chelsea Clintin we can tap Hunter Biden right.
On a more serious note though, I would be comfortable with Michelle Obama from the getgo if she ran. I dont think she’d be easily controlled by the party. She had no time for their bullshit even when Obama was leading the party.
She might be a popular option but she doesn’t want the job.
She’s another dnc sheepdog like Bernie.
The biggest hurdle for AOC is she’s a woman. She is an attractive woman, so that’s beneficial, but I think America has made it abundantly clear that we are happy being misogynistic assholes that can’t trust women with important decisions.
Gender has absolutely nothing to do with it. She is neoliberal garbage like the rest of the party
Can we pleas stop repeating this narrative? Hillary lost because she is an evil ghoul. Harris lost because she kept saying how she will continue the work of Biden who equally is an evil ghoul. And Harris invited Cheney to campaign with her, who is the father of evil ghouls in the 21. Century US politics.
There is countries more conservative than the US, where women have been Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors.
Far right and Nazis also dont have an issue with women leaders any more when it comes to elections. Look at Le Pen in France, Meloni in Italy and Weidel in Germany. Ffs Weidel is the nazi candidate in Germany and she is in a lesbian marriage with an Asian immigrant and raises two adopted children.
Gender has nothing to do with Harris loss and this narrative is kept being peddled to not face why people are alienated by her political program, character and donors.
You’re correct that Hilary was awful and Kamala was uninspiring, but that’s still glossing over the fact that they both lost to Donald Fucking Trump, and Kamala did so with the benefit of hindsight.
And she took that hindsight and ignored it
We told her how to win. She needed the working class. Instead she tried to win suburban wine moms and “sane” republicans.
America will vote for a woman if that woman doesn’t look down on them. Harris lost at that rally where she shouted down protesters with “I’m speaking”. She told us all she wasn’t listening.
Then maybe they shouldn’t have run awful people.
The party pilloried Sanders in 2020 because he allegedly said the same thing to Warren. Now, since the party doesn’t want to run AOC because they hate anyone to the left of Dick Goddamned Cheney now, suddenly the electorate isn’t ready for a woman? Fuck that. Democratic voters no longer want yet another status quo military industrial corpodem.
Repeat yourself.
AOC is now old enough to run for president.
She was old enough during the last election as well.
aye, but there were no Democratic primaries in the last election
How about that.
Which is why he’s recruiting.
Please
Ok, good opener, I’m listening
for the love of God
Eh. Fuck that asshole sideways.
other decent people
We’re back on, yeah!
with influence.
Ah. That’s a no-go, sorry. Especially not in this fascist-breeding-pit climate…
Step up.
Hunh. Might be why the only guy stepping up is Bernie. He’s so old, he’s in Death’s phone contacts under “guy @ work”. 🙃
Democratic Socialists had a pretty serious recruiting campaign for the 2018 midterms. Cold-called potential candidates, offered training for both speechifying and organizing. Put up actual progressive candidates against incumbent dems in carefully chosen districts. That’s where “The Squad” came from.
Then they just kind of disappeared.
My point is that there are people out there willing to step up, but probably not thinking that they could be a “real” candidate and win, put up with the hassle and harrasment. People who would answer if called, but aren’t ready to jump in unasked. Bernie’s asking.
“Disappeared”? The Squad was literally targeted by the same fascists dismantling our nation this very moment (and those other cowards fired before them) until The Squad’s efforts were off the first few pages… and relegated to those who actually read (the Venn of that group and fans of The Squad is almost a single circle). FWIW, “disappeared” is exactly what the opposition prefers us to believe. Don’t.
Of the 5 current US reps with DSA history, DSA only endorsed 1 in 2024. They don’t even support AOC anymore. Maybe they’ve just refocused their efforts on state level races - which are definitely more ‘winnable’ and definitely an important part of building a pipeline to national office - but far less visible to people who don’t live in any targeted districts. To my view, they’re not the national joke that the Green party is, but they’re much harder to see than they were six years ago.
Fuck the Democrats™, in office or otherwise; they’re not your friends or neighbors, and have shown they’re capable of nothing more than jerking the ripcord when the Turd Reich yells “Pull!”
How many clays get launched before we legit recognize this isn’t just for practice? Sub-question: how many rounds would you guess before your “turn” down the slide, into the sky and their iron sights, fellow pigeon(s)?
✊🏼 The revolution may not be televised, but if anyone out there is waiting to catch the reaction vids first before forming an opinion? You’re not in traffic, you are the traffic. Pick a lane.
The Democrats succession planning was/is terrible, which is why an 83 year old independent is one of the few that can rally a crowd. I wish they had done better.
Yeah, it’s not bad planning.
They continue actively keeping the progressives and the younger leaders out of power.
(This is about AOC, not Bernie, but we all know they did him dirty at least twice already.)
In German class, in Arizona, my German teacher taught us teenage edgelords about Hitler. About his speeches. About his Charisma. He was a cult of personality. He could rally a crowd. If there aren’t videos comparing trump rallies to Hitler, I suggest you make you’re own comparison, and use your own judgment. There’s a reason fascism wins. Hate doesn’t prosper under progressives.
I have a friend who’s really into serial killers and cults, like, he’s listened to the recordings of the final moments of the Jamestown Massacre where you can hear them forcing the Flavor-Aid down people’s throats as the rest gasp and choke and die in the background, and he says that Trump sounds just like Jim Jones. From his speech patterns to the tone of his voice, it gives him chills just how alike they sound.
Jonestown, or as I just learned it was also called, the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project
Thanks, I have no idea why my phone auto corrected to James.
the democratic peoples republic of temple
