Biden, Buttigieg and Corporate Media Are Eager for Sanders and Warren to
Clash
By Norman Solomon, Reader Supported News
13 January 19
Corporate Democrats got a jolt at the end of last week when the highly
regarded Iowa Poll showed Bernie Sanders surging into first place among
Iowans likely to vote in the state's Feb. 3 caucuses. The other big change
was a steep drop for the previous Iowa frontrunner, Pete Buttigieg, who -
along with Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden - came in a few percent behind
Sanders. The latest poll was bad news for corporate interests, but their
prospects brightened a bit over the weekend when Politico reported: "The
nonaggression pact between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is seriously
fraying."
The reason for that conclusion? While speaking with voters, some Sanders
volunteers were using a script saying that Warren supporters "are highly
educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic
no matter what" and that "she's bringing no new bases into the Democratic
Party."
At last, mainstream journalists could begin to report the kind of conflict
that many had long been yearning for. As Politico mentioned in the same
article, Sanders and Warren "have largely abstained from attacking one
another despite regular prodding from reporters."
That "regular prodding from reporters" should be understood in an
ideological context. Overall, far-reaching progressive proposals like
Medicare for All have received negative coverage from corporate media. Yet
during debates, Sanders and Warren have been an effective tag team while
defending such proposals. The media establishment would love to see Sanders
and Warren clashing instead of cooperating.
For progressives, the need for a Sanders-Warren united front is crucial.
Yes, there are some significant differences between the two candidates,
especially on foreign policy (which is one of the reasons that I actively
support Sanders). Those differences should be aired in the open, while
maintaining a tactical alliance.
Sustaining progressive momentum for both Sanders and Warren is essential for
preventing the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination from going to the
likes of Biden or Buttigieg - a grim outcome that would certainly gratify
the 44 billionaires and their spouses who've donated to Biden, the 40
billionaires and their spouses who've donated to Buttigieg, and the
oligarchic interests they represent.
It would be a serious error for progressives to buy into corporate media
portrayals of the Sanders and Warren campaigns as destined to play a
traditional zero-sum political game. The chances are high that by the time
the primaries end this spring, Sanders and Warren - as well as their
supporters - will need to join forces so one of them can become the nominee
at the Democratic National Convention in mid-July.
In the meantime, during the next few months, top corporate Democrats
certainly hope to see a lot more headlines like one that greeted New York
Times readers Monday morning: "Elizabeth Warren Says Bernie Sanders Sent
Volunteers 'Out to Trash Me'."
(Sanders tried to defuse what he called a "media blow up" on Sunday, saying:
"We have hundreds of employees. Elizabeth Warren has hundreds of employees.
And people sometimes say things that they shouldn't." And: "Elizabeth Warren
is a very good friend of mine. No one is going to trash Elizabeth Warren.")
Keeping eyes on the prize this year will require a united front that can
strengthen progressive forces, prevent any corporate Democrat from winning
the party's presidential nomination, and then go on to defeat Donald Trump.
Norman Solomon is co-founder and national coordinator of RootsAction.org. He
was a Bernie Sanders delegate from California to the 2016 Democratic
National Convention and is currently a coordinator of the relaunched
independent Bernie Delegates Network. Solomon is the author of a dozen books
including War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to
Death.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
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