Thursday, November 26, 2015

Bernie vs. the campesinos

From James: "“So when dozens of antiwar activists blocked the entrance to the local General Electric plant because it was manufacturing Gatling guns to fight the socialists in Central America, the protesters expected the mayor’s full support. Instead, he lined up with union officials and watched as the police made arrests, saying later that in blocking the plant, the activists were keeping workers from their jobs. It was a classic example of how Mr. Sanders governed — as a pragmatist. He tended to talk globally but act locally, in this case choosing the real and immediate socialist principle of protecting workers over blocking the making of weapons to fight leftists abroad.”

Let’s be clear: the GE Gatling guns weren’t “fighting the socialists” in Central America: they were being used by the Salvadoran and Guatemalan facists to massacre campesinos. And Bernie’s motive wasn’t “protecting workers,” it was getting re-elected. I lived in Burlington at the time, and it was a sickening spectacle."