Why Bernie Sanders Matters
Book
Review by Kam Williams
Why
Bernie Sanders Matters
A
Nation Will Not Survive Morally or Economically
When
So Few Have So Much and So Many Have So Little
by
Harry Jaffe
Regan
Arts
Paperback,
$17.95
238
pages
ISBN:
978-168245017-8
“What is the source of
Bernie Sanders' appeal? How did he become a socialist? How did he
develop his ability to excite crowds? How can he make an audience
forget that he talks like a deli guy and sometimes looks like a
rumpled old man ranting about rich people?
He first started talking
about the gap between rich and poor in America and the disappearing
middle class in 1970, 45 years before he announced his White House
bid. He was considered an anomaly and ignored.
Most politicians would
have changed course at that point... Not Bernie. Every speech, every
appearance, he hammered away on the economic and political forces
that were killing America's middle class.
He did it when it was out
of fashion, when Republican conservatives scoffed at him, and when
the Democrats dismissed him. Now income inequality and saving the
middle class are the economic issues of the day.
That's only one of the
reasons [why] Bernie Sanders matters.”
-- Excerpted from the
Introduction (pages xi-xiii)
A
low point in Senator Berrnie Sanders' presidential campaign arrived
last summer in Seattle when a couple of sisters representing the
Black Lives Matter movement stormed the stage and snatched the
microphone away from him before he even had a chance to speak. The 74
year-old Senator from Vermont ended up leaving the event without
addressing the crowd.
Today,
Bernie is giving his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a run for the
money, but still isn't getting much respect from the African-American
community.After
all, the Congressional Black Caucus recently endorsed his opponent,
including Representative John Lewis (D-GA), who specifically
questioned the veracity of Sanders' civil rights credentials.
Nevertheless,
the truth ought to matter, and if you prefer to decide who to back
based on the facts, you might like to check out Why Bernie Sanders
Matters, a fascinating biography of the inveterate socialist running
for the Democratic nomination.
This
informative book was written by Harry Jaffe, editor-at-large at
Washingtonian Magazine. Earlier in his career, the reporter served as
Press Secretary to Patrick Leahy, Vermont's senior Senator, which
means the author has close ties to the state Bernie represents.
Jaffe
traces the arc of Bernie's life, starting with his working-class
Jewish roots in Brooklyn where he was first exposed to socialist
ideas. We learn that he had his consciousness raised at an early age,
having been influenced by the untimely demise of his parents as well
as the rise of the Civil Rights Movement in the Fifties.
While
attending the University of Chicago in the Sixties, he became a
student organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality. In that
capacity, he participated in the very first sit-in in the history of
the Windy City, a protest of the school's segregated housing policy.
Bernie
has remained committed to progressive politics ever since, whether
demonstrating against the Vietnam War, railing about income
inequality or calling for universal healthcare. A longtime advocate
for radical change who has never flip-flopped on the issues.
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