Is Bernie Sanders part of the problem or part of the solution?

Edward Bauman: Pragmatist.

“Enlightenment is seeing the world and life for what they are, not what we want them to be. Pragmatism is the antithesis of ideology — bringing intelligence, ethics, awareness and wisdom to life’s many complex issues. There is no black and white, there are no universal truths.“

Sanders has the issue common to far left liberals of not having a detailed plan to pay for the hugely expensive versions of healthcare and education he promotes for everyone. That’s because raising taxes for everyone, not just the wealthy, would be required, and his gullible followers do not want to hear this. Idealism is nice in theory but quite a different matter in reality. AOC also needs to learn the difference, as she is equally guilty of idealism that defies pragmatic realities.

There are three fundamental issues the DNC needs to solve. And, yes, the party must take charge of what it can and also look to moderate conservatives for cooperative help.

The far left is not going to win general elections for the Democrats. That is the reality. The majority of voters are moderate, have no great interest in politics per se and no interest in political ideology. The far left and right each represent only 6–7 percent of voters. Democrats consistently poll for moderation and getting rid of Trump, the supreme incompetent-in-chief. Democratic candidates for president are not helping themselves with far left, highly progressive stands on issues. The party elite need to manage this or else…

Moderate conservatives have lost their own role in Republican politics. Indeed, the cover story for the July 6 2019 Economist is “The global crisis in conservatism.” Far right populists and nationalists/supremacists have exerted control over what used to be moderate, thoughtful conservatism. Moderates need to work with Democrats to move the Republican party back toward center-right by voting for moderate Democratic candidates. The Republican party losing elections will create momentum to do so.

The far left and right are antithetical to functional democracy. In the US, the Democratic party is, by default, the centrist party. Given the utter disaster of Trump and his supporters, that’s where the Democratic party needs to make its stand. And voters need to vote in 2020.