Why I still don’t ‘feel the Bern.’ And I’m not alone in purple Florida | Opinion
Four years later, no, I still don’t “feel the Bern.”
Not even a little bit — and I’m not alone in purple Florida.
Here’s why.
You may love Bernie Sanders in Iowa and New Hampshire, but the road to the presidency passes through Florida, where the Republican Party has successfully installed socialism as the pallbearer boogeyman of 21st Century politics.
The best thing that could happen to President Donald Trump’s reelection bid is for the blustery, self-described “democratic socialist” to become the Democratic nominee.
Adiós to the Cuban-American vote.
Hello, four more years!
Worst yet, if Sanders becomes the nominee, say goodbye to the hard-fought Democratic majority in the House, as flips made in 2018 may flop to Bernie backlash.
Progressives can scream, but wait, look at Sweden and Finland, how happy they are with their social democracies, happiest countries in the world! But what voters in Florida hear, what they see, what hundreds of thousands have lived through, is Cuba and Venezuela.
Progressives counter, but we said we’d take a doorknob of a candidate over Trump, any Democrat will do.
People who have fled socialism say #NeverBernie with the same fierceness some Republicans vowed #NeverTrump.
Political ‘revolution’
The Independent senator from Vermont launched his 2016 presidential bid with talk of “political revolution,” and after the R word, all people heard about the promises of free higher education and Medicare for All pointed south to Cuba’s failed experiment.
Education that comes with indoctrination, forced labor in the fields, and mandated employment as payment. It ain’t free at all. Free medical care that comes with substandard conditions and practices, and the same level of corruption as capitalism when it comes to access. No, thanks.
And the ultimate test: If all the free stuff were good stuff, they wouldn’t be fleeing in anything that floats or trekking through dangerous countries to get to the U.S. border.
Do you see the disconnect with Sanders’ radical messaging?
The populist’s big promises of leveling the playing field with still no concrete plans on how to achieve or pay for the education and healthcare he’s offering only sounds like he’s the ideological flip side of Trump.
Key voters in Florida are thinking: We’ve heard this BS before. What’s wrong with the Democrats?
Yes, the GOP fearmongering is wrong. But, why hand Republicans, who have denigrated everything from the Medal of Freedom to the dignity of the office under Trump, this kind of candidate on a silver platter?
Because the Democrats have their own profound party split and their own brand of extremism going on with Sanders and his followers, despite evidence of the political cost of the dalliance. It may work in the Bronx but not in Little Havana.
The mere suspicion of or association to socialism is enough to do irreparable harm in any election.
Fearmongering is a time-tested ruse here, perfected by the Trump-loving GOP in the 2018 race for governor, and here to stay.
They’ll have a field day with Sanders.
Sanders and Gillum
Just ask former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, whose endorsement by Sanders may have helped him win a tough primary against a favored centrist with political pedigree but killed him in the final race against congressman Ron DeSantis.
By less than a single percentage point.
DeSantis, a devoted Trump servant in Congress, milked Gillum’s association to Sanders. His surrogates working precincts were constantly reminding voters: “Remember what happened in Cuba and Venezuela.”
This, as terrible things were happening in both countries.
Cuba’s new leader rolled back reforms and cracked down on dissent, and Nicolás Maduro dismantled democratic institutions in Venezuela.
With Sanders in his corner, Gillum didn’t stand a chance.
We have the same scenario in 2020.
As things stand today, voters have even more evidence of how terrible a turn to socialism would be for this country.
And Sanders, with good reason, is seen as the personification of the American extreme left taking us there, a man with a record of being an apologist for Latin American leftist regimes like Nicaragua’s.
That makes him the dream Democratic nominee of the GOP establishment, an easy win for Trump in swing-state Florida.
Loathed by considerable numbers of moderate Democrats and independents, too many would pick Trump and their 401Ks over Sanders in a heartbeat. Or not vote, if those were the only choices.
A Bernie Sanders nomination is a gift to Republicans.
He’ll burn and crash the Democrats in 2020.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Why I still don’t ‘feel the Bern.’ And I’m not alone in purple Florida | Opinion."
