To the editor:
I often agree with Heidi Dawidoff but was taken aback by her attack on Bernie Sanders last week.
Bernie’s been an elected politician almost continually since 1981 so the idea that he can’t work with anyone is absurd. The idea that voters don’t want a “Bernie Sanders-style revolution” ignores the support he got in 2016. That success forced the Democratic party to move left. Indeed, as of mid-October of this year, Bernie had raised more money than any other candidate and he has done it through small donations. Those are real voters speaking.
Bernie wants to focus on investing in America and Americans, reclaiming America’s promise and vitality. He wants to invest in our infrastructure, our national health and in higher education for all (a cornerstone of future economic growth). He absolutely is focused on stopping climate change, concerned that the Paris Climate Accords have not gone far enough. He is not “isolationist” but understands that bombs don’t bring peace or foster cooperation. He knows that the cost of our war-mongering is a vast transfer of wealth from ordinary Americans to titans of the military-industrial complex (it also hasn’t made us safer).
We are facing at least three existential crises: a climate crisis, an inequality crisis and a crisis in democracy. Timidity and more of the same will not solve these problems, which have been growing for years. Real change takes a courageous leader with vision and passion – along with equally courageous voters. “Revolution” may be too inflammatory a term for some but we face extraordinary challenges.
I would never claim to know what “voters” want but I do know that there are many committed voters who believe in Bernie’s way forward. We need a leader with a passionate vision for America now more than ever.
Tricia Saenger
Temple