New Ideas?: Bernie Sanders comes to McAllen

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) is coming to McAllen this Friday as a part of his “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.”

Details available online.

The fact that a lot of very wealthy people also dump money into Bernie’s political coffers, which has helped him stay in his U.S. Senate seat since January 2007, is beside the point.

Also, the fact that both major political parties and players are funded by the wealthy is beside the point.

In fact, I would bet money that the majority of people who gravitate to one of Bernie’s events can’t even define “oligarch.”

Generally speaking, the word is defined as a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence.

You don’t get that by being poor, middle class, upper middle class or even a low-rent millionaire. No, you get that with major assets at your disposal. I’d say at least $50 million.

The real oligarchs are in the $500-million-plus range, which is still a long stretch from the $226 billion that Jeff Bezos is reportedly worth. (Source: Forbes.) But even the ultra-rich aren’t tied exclusively to the GOP. Anyone can go to opensecrets.org, look up “elections overview,” and see which millionaire or billionaire is funding money to whom.

Bernie’s ideas for other things, health care for all, sound great on the surface, but who’s going to pay for it? That’s one thing that the Bernster has never been able to answer. If it were up to him, he’d tax the hell out of anyone with serious assets, but how would that help the economy?

He claims he’s anti-war, but actually voted in favor of a watered-down Iraq War resolution in 2003, but with stipulations, which fell to a more sweeping resolution, giving George Bush Jr. complete say in how the war was fought.

Along with some of his Democrat colleagues, this supposedly gave him a pass with AIPAC, which was going to crucify any politician who voted against the Iraq War resolution. The fact that Netanyahu, Bush/Cheney, Colin Powell, and Joe Biden, were all lying to us is beside the point.

In fact, sadly, the only thing that Republicans and Democrats have agreed with over the years is their willingness to launch us into a new war.

The Iranian War Drums sound as I write this.

As a Vermont U.S. representative, Sanders had this to say in 1998 from the House floor:

“Mr. Speaker, Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator who should be overthrown, and his ability to make weapons of destruction must be eliminated.”

Sure, Bernie.

Sanders may despise the rich, at least on the surface, but they’re in his pocket. And why not? It’s the rich who keep the country running.

Does Bernie think the federal government does the heavy lifting? No, the feds steal from the working folk to give either to the rich or the poor. Generally speaking. It’s not the seniors, the middle class, the vets, or the working poor who see much of it.

Bernie and DOGE

The Bern may not like DOGE, but look at the insanity it uncovered with regard to spending money we don’t have.

Instead of being upset about that, he and most in the mainstream media were more upset that Elon Musk had a seat at the table.

Sanders is also pretty much pro open-borders, which only adds millions more poor people onto the balance books of a country already $36 trillion in debt, so how will that help? It’s estimated that approximately 14 million new immigrants were allowed entry into the U.S. under four years of Biden. They weren’t vetted, but let them in. We’re a nation of love. Not common sense, but as long as Catholic Charities is getting money from the feds, we’re all good.

Bernie, like so many progressive politicians, can point out the problems, but they always fail to come up with any rational, meaningful solutions.

He hates school shootings, as does almost everyone else in the country, but does he have a solution to the problem? No, because there isn’t one.

No way, at least yet, to tell when someone is going to go crazy.

Just look at the sad shootings in Minnesota. By all accounts, the alleged shooter was normal, and, in fact, Tim Walz, the man who wanted to be America’s new veep, appointed him to some position. (It’s online.)

When it comes to ICE rounding up dangerous people who are in this country illegally, Bernie Sanders gets upset. Go figure.

Give us solutions that make sense, Bernie, not some shylock, phony, tour that wants Americans to think that only the GOP is in bed with the oligarchs.

Too funny. Like one of the people who has accompanied Bernie on parts of his tour, AOC, pretending she has a clue.

Answers. Trump has a few. Like stopping the other countries from taking advantage of us on almost every trade deal, which should generate revenue. He shut down the border. Is it fair with regard to how ICE is carrying out part of its deportations? Probably not. But neither was letting approximately 14 million new immigrants into this country.

That wasn’t sustainable.

If you want to see the senator from Vermont in person this Friday, the info is available online. Let me know if he has some real solutions to some real problems, instead of waving this false BS flag about oligarchs.

Please.