Vox Terra, Episode 28: 6 Reasons why Bernie is the strongest candidate on climate change and national unity. Serious issues, puppets with funny voices a “free bonus.” Bernie is the first candidate I have heard over my lifetime: 1. Identify and articulate the biggest structural problem, the biggest political problem, our society faces, besides what exists in our hearts: our politics, our media, and through that, in my words now, our thinking, Is dominated by powerful and wealthy interests: fossil fuel, pharmaceutical, insurance industries and the military industrial complex. They aggregate power to shape the game rules of society to their advantage, at the expense of health, lives and planet. Bernie: 2. brings up, and has brought up, climate change, even when no one asks, both in 2016 and 2019. In 2016, no reporter, that I can remember asked a single question about the environment. Yet Bernie brought it up every chance he could. 3. He has most ambitious GND, which even includes organic farming. My words not his: our economy is subsidized. With a GND we are talking about shifting subsidies away from poisoning ourselves with single use plastics, burning fossil fuels, spraying pesticides and an endless race of needless consumption; and toward what I’ve heard people call “good jobs, green jobs.” People say he’s asking for too much, not realistic… 4. Bernie understands the Art of bargaining. Capitalism is a “get what you bargain for system.” 5. He offers a solid and simple narrative that can include everyone, conservative or liberal. Trump and his worldwide allies offer up immigration as the biggest threat. Bernie offers up “too much of wealth going to the top” and the poisoning of our environment as the biggest threat. Bernie has, 6., reached out to religious and social conservatives to find common ground. If your goal is like mine, the long-term survival of our species we need to breakthrough the liberal conservative identity/culture divides.
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