Democrat Dilemma: Old, White, Socialist, Rich, Men
By Harold Pease, Ph. D.
For three years the Democratic Party media outlets: MSNBC, NBC, ABC, and CBS railed against old, white, rich, men. These, represented by Donald Trump, were viewed as the enemies of the people. But look at their presidential contenders, mostly old, white privileged, rich men.
President Trump took office at the age of 70, the oldest president in U.S. History. But on the Democratic stage of February 7, all seven still debating were old or white privileged. Ironically all claiming racial injustice by their own race, something none had personally experienced. Of these: Bernie Sanders 79, Michael Bloomberg 78, Joe Biden 78 and Elizabeth Warren 71, all would be older than Trump when he took office.
What about wealth? In the February 7, presidential debate Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced himself,“As the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or a billionaire.” This was confirmed by Forbes Business Insider who reported the net worth of those still running, including spouses, as Michael Bloomberg $64.2 billion (the 8th most wealthy individual in the U.S), Tom Steyer $1.6 billion, Elizabeth Warren $12 million, Joe Biden $9 million, Bernie Sanders $2.5 million, Amy Klobuchar $2 million and Pete Buttigieg, $100,000. Mayor Pete’s husband Chasten’s wealth was not included so his total is yet unknown(Grace Panetta, Feb. 29, 2020).
Bloomberg credited himself as having, through his donations, changed the majority of the House of Representatives to Democrat returning Nancy Pelosi to power. He said: “They talk about 40 Democrats” needed to return the House to power in 2018, “Twenty-one of those were people they [Bloomberg’s group] spent $100 million to help elect. All of the new Democrats that came in, put Nancy Pelosi in charge, and gave the Congress the ability to control this President, I boug[ht]… I got them” (Dan Merica, “Bloomberg catches himself from saying he ‘bought’ House races in 2018,” CNN, February 25, 2020). Despite the rhetoric, Democrats love the money of the rich.
So Democratic presidential hopefuls are vastly white, rich, and men, three among the oldest and richest contenders in U.S. History, but are they Socialist? Bernie Sanders is the only one who openly admits he is a socialist. He spent his honeymoon in the USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republics) and has demonstrated a long history of favoring communists countries, notably Cuba and Venezuela. Outside support of violence (excepting Antifa which he does not denounce) to obtain his objectives their is little difference between Marxist ideology and his. This is why Democratic moderates do not want him representing their party.
Even Pete Buttigieg in his February 7 debate said respecting Sanders, ”It’s true that I was into Bernie before it was cool,” emitting a chuckle from Sanders and the crowd. “The qualities I admired then are qualities I still respect a great deal,” His primary criticism of Sanders was how he was going to pay for Medicare for All, not the program itself. Elizabeth Warren is the most ideologically comparable with Sanders. But aren’t they all socialists?
“We Are All Socialists Now” said the front cover of the liberal magazine Newsweek, Feb. 16, 2009, eleven years ago. Editors Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas wrote, “Whether we want to admit it or not, the America of 2009 is moving toward a modern European state,” toward socialism, they observed, “even before Barack Obama’s largest fiscal bill in our history.” The magazine cover had a red hand (Republican) shaking a blue hand (Democrat) in favor of socialism. Both parties accepted the “growing role of government in the economy,” they observed. “The U.S. government has already—under a conservative Republican administration—effectively nationalized the banking and mortgage industries.” Moreover, “it was, again, under a conservative GOP administration that we enacted the largest expansion of the welfare state in 30 years: prescription drugs for the elderly.” The “sooner we understand where we truly stand, the sooner we can think more clearly about how to use government in today’s world,” they noted.
Newsweek associated the “growing role in government” as the most accurate measure of socialism. Under Barack Obama and Joe Biden such accelerated dramatically as the federal government obtained a controlling interest in General Motors, absorbed 1/7th of the economy under Obamacare, and expanded the power of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to oversee most homes in America. This does not count the controlling influence over all businesses by the Obama administration’s eighty thousand new pages of bureaucratic rules and regulations descending upon businesses annually that effectively managed most everything else.
None of the remaining contenders on stage would disavow any of the above. All would expand the role of government in our lives, as for example, the Green New Deal and Medicare for All—even for those coming into our country illegally. Thus there are no moderate Democratic Party Presidential contenders remaining. They may not openly embrace socialism but they also do not openly oppose it. Bernie Sanders is just the most honest socialist running.
Today the four remaining Democratic Party candidates are still what the Democratic Party media’s said for three years they most hated—the oldest in U.S. History (average age 76.5), white, socialist, rich, and mostly men. Except for socialism, which the Republicans under Trump vigorously oppose, they are in these variables worse than the Republican Party they oppose.
Dr. Harold Pease is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College. Newspapers have permission to publish this column. To read more of his weekly articles, please visit www.LibertyUnderFire.org.
