Did Bernie Sanders Just Win The Election?

Editor’s Note:
This is the second in a series of articles chronicling the grassroots growth of Senator Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign.

No one will dispute that Barack Obama’s historic win in 2008 was due in large part to the collapse of Wall Street and the devastating effect it had on the American economy. Republicans ran the country for almost a decade and told us that less regulation on the banks was good for everyone. And then we had to give them trillions of taxpayer  dollars so they could pay their CEOs enormous bonuses while we got the shaft. The resulting, and entirely justified, anger at the banks was both bipartisan and still simmering right below the surface to this day.

Should there be a repeat of 2008’s bailout debacle, the American public will be out for the blood of the banking industry. They will look to whichever candidate promises them the heads of Wall Street fat cats that profited upon their duplicity, and that candidate is Bernie Sanders. Whatever you think of him as a politician, Sanders has always been crystal clear that the Big Banks are a clear and present danger to the country and that message will resonate across party lines if another catastrophe happens in the aftermath of Congress eviscerating and repealing many of the protections that were recently restored through Dodd-Frank Financial Reform measures.

So, could we see another Wall Street implosion? It’s already in the early stages:

Stocks in the United States tumbled on Monday, Aug. 24^th, as another sell-off that started in China roiled markets around the world. Immediately after the opening bell in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 1,000 points — one of the most precipitous such plunges in recent years. Even though they bounced back a few points days later, overall the market is flat for the year.  Investors’ concerns over China’s economic slowdown and a souring view of emerging economies have rattled financial markets around the world in recent days, and showed no signs of letting up.

China has been in trouble for a few years now, as they’ve propped up their economy with a very heavy, and poorly thought out hand. It’s been steadily getting worse and economists like Paul Krugman have been sounding the alarm over it for literally years.    Wall Street should been preparing for this long predicted disaster, but that requires long term thinking and the financial industry is mainly about short-term gain these days.

Republicans should be very concerned because it will be incredibly difficult to spin China’s collapse as something Obama is responsible for (not that they won’t try). The President of the United States is many things, but King of China is not one of them. Add to that the GOP’s very vocal and very public resistance to any and all Wall Street reform that could mitigate the fallout of a new Wall Street implosion and you have a very angry electorate that’s not going to buy into propaganda. Unfortunately, Republican candidates would apparently rather french-kiss Michelle Obama than say something critical of Wall Street.

So that leaves the Democratic Party and, really, just Sanders. Sure, Hillary Clinton has been banging the populist anti-bank drum this time around, but Bernie has been banging it louder, longer and much more convincingly.

If we’re all very lucky, China and Wall Street won’t drag us into another recession. If we’re all very unlucky, we’re looking down the barrel of yet another economic disaster that will destroy the lives of millions of people.  The silver lining (and a very wide one at that) would be that Bernie Sanders would serve as the avatar for bringing some logic & discipline into the financial industry.

Barack Obama rode into office on a wave of discontentment with Republican incompetence. Bernie Sanders would easily be able to harness the renewed rage at the largest transfer of wealth to ever occur in American history through the financial debacle of 2006-2007 and take the White House and finally put a muzzle on the rabid greed of Wall Street.

Upcoming Bernie Sanders Campaign Activities in the        Great Lakes Bay Region

• September 8^th is Bernie Sanders’ birthday. To wish him a Happy Birthday, you can send him a contribution of $8.00, or any amount, to Bernie 16, PO Box 905, Burlington Vermont, 05402 or through his website Berniesanders.com

 Bay County:

• “Bernie Shave”, reminiscent of the old Burma Shave advertising campaign, will start on September 12^th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Sanders’ supporters will hold up signs at major intersections in Bay County.

Bay County for Bernie is having an Open House at its headquarters 513 N. Madison in Bay City on September 18, from 4 to 7 PM. All are invited.

• Bernie Sanders supporters are tentatively planning a rally to be held on October 17^th on the Mall in Washington D.C.

• Call 989-249-3741 or stop by the Bernie Sander’s Headquarters for more information about these events or to volunteer to work on the Bay County for Bernie Campaign.

Bernies Debate Watching Parties - Oct 13, 2015.  

Mark your calendars - more details in the next Review.

Saginaw:

Sept 8, 2015 6 to 7 PM EDT
Bridgeport Twsp Library (Saginaw, MI)
An important meeting will be held at the Bridgeport Twsp Library for serious Bernie Supporters, to talk about how we can help him win the Michigan Primary (March 8, 2016). Also, we will have flyers for people to take to give to interested voters. Please attend. Directions:  Take Dixie Hwy South to King Rd (stoplight).  Turn right to the next stoplight (Williamson Rd) turn left and the library is on the left.