Sanders on 60 Minutes

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

No one gets to serve in high US elected or appointed office unless vetted to assure continuity.

Sanders has been part of the dirty business as usual system for nearly 40 years — as Burlington, VT mayor, mostly as a House and Senate member.

He's America's most popular con man, time and again saying one thing and doing another in public life — proving he's like most others in Washington, figures to be opposed, not supported.

His record in Burlington and Washington showed that his soul is for sale at the right price.

His frontrunner status in the 2020 race for the White House is unrelated to his voting record, going along with other undemocratic Dems most of the time to get along.

That said, he stands out among other Dems as the best of the worst among array of presidential aspirants resembling an FBI most wanted list, Tulsi Gabbard the sole exception — out of contention because of her anti-war/progressive agenda.

In 2016, Sanders was a stealth Hillary supporter all along, proved by not rejecting a primary process rigged against him and endorsing her, a neocon war criminal, racketeer, perjurer – polar opposite what he claims to stand for.

He proved himself unprincipled, morally and ethically tainted, a loyal servant of powerful interests running America.

If elected president in November, a long shot but possible, Wall Street, the military, industrial, security, media complex, and other monied interests will be in good hands with him as head of state and commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces.

Sunday on 60 Minutes, his lofty rhetoric was on display for a national TV audience, along with correctly slamming Trump as a "fraud" and "pathological liar."

He tried having things both ways on Cuba, saying:

"We're very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba (sic), but…it's unfair to simply say everything is bad."

"When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?"

Fidel was one of the great redoubtable 20th/early 21st century leaders — from 1959 until retiring in February 2008 for health reasons.

When he died at age-90 in November 2017, I explained that he resisted US imperialism for half a century, surviving hundreds of CIA attempts to kill him. 

He provided world-class healthcare, education, and other vital social services to all Cubans. 

To this day, the country's most important exports are peace, goodwill, doctors and teachers.

If America was run like Cuba, world peace, equity, justice, respect for the rule of law, and cooperative relations with other nations would replace endless US war on humanity at home and abroad.

Sanders falsely claimed Cuba wages war on political dissidents. He slammed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, falsely calling him "a murdering dictator."

Neither he, his father, or grandfather attacked another nation preemptively throughout North Korea's post-WW II history, a nation seeking cooperative relations with other countries, not confrontation.

In response to false claims that Russia is helping his campaign, no evidence suggesting it because none exists, Sanders lashed out at Putin irresponsibly, saying:

"Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend." 

"He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia (sic)." 

"Let's be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election (sic)."

Neither Russia or any other country aims to undermine the US system. Nor can any nation, group, or entity undermine what doesn't exist.

Democracy in the US is pure fantasy, the way it's been from inception. What Sanders and others in Washington know they won't ever admit publicly.

Throughout his political career, he's been a progressive in name only.

His voting record exposed what he stands for, most often supporting America's dark side – notably its imperial wars, one-sided backing of Israel, and commodifying healthcare, a fundamental human right.

During the debate on Obamacare before enactment, he was the only Senate member rhetorically supporting universal healthcare – then voted with Dems for what Ralph Nader called a "pay or die" system – a healthcare rationing scheme that benefits insurers, drug companies and large hospital chains.

Tens of millions today are uninsured, most other Americans way underinsured because healthcare the way it should be is increasingly unaffordable — double or more what it costs in other developed countries.

If Sanders stood for Medicare for all, he'd have voted against Obamacare, demanding something better at the time.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, he rejected opposition to Obamacare, claiming he "helped write it."

It's a measure healthcare industry interests love. Big Pharma and insurers wrote what benefits their bottom line, not Sanders, or most Americans under a system that prioritizes profits at the expense of what works equitably for all Americans.

Sanders is an undemocratic Dem Trojan horse, a con man fooling supporters.

There's nothing progressive about supporting Washington's imperial interests over peace and the public welfare.

More opportunist than populist throughout his political career, he's been a loyal servant of powerful interests like other Dems, pretending otherwise.

If he wasn't part of the dirty system, he wouldn't be presidential material. 

He's part of the problem, not the solution, a dirty politician like most others in Washington. 

The 2016 Dem party platform he endorsed ignored US naked aggression, war-profiteering, Wall Street grand theft, putting privilege and profits over the general welfare, while turning a blind eye to growing censorship and tyranny.

His voting record revealed the true measure of the man, notably going the wrong way when his vote could have made a positive difference.

Going along to get along in Congress showed how he'd operate as president if elected — continuity assured with him in high office.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html