Bernie Sanders Lost, How & Why (2020)

inevitably inexorably Bernie Sanders
lost the primary vote he failed to become the Democratic nominee in the presidential election how and why did this happen for two very simple but I daresay profound reasons that have been discussed at greater length of this channel in the past back when I thought that the analysis might have some small chance of actually changing the course of events as they unfolded with again all the inevitability and all the inexorability of a can of tomato soup rolling down a staircase thunk thunk-thunk first thing is something that Bernie Sanders has in common with myself it has in common with Mitt Romney in this life you often have to choose if you'd rather lose the game playing by your own rules or win the game playing by everyone else's what do I mean well take a look at Mitt Romney there are many many many snippets of interviews you can see here on YouTube from back in the days and MIT Romney had a chance at becoming president of States and they were asking him either politely or employee was he willing to reflect on Mormonism the religion of his forefathers but not the religion of his voters not the religion of his constituency not the religion of the country he was trying to leave was he able and willing to reflect on Mormonism and you know find fault in it admit wrongdoing maybe admit atrocities in the past was he able to criticize or even reject this religion mmm for the sake of that greater good that all politicians are supposed to aspire to represent and Mitt Romney's answer was no no no no Mitt Romney would rather lose the election adhering to his own principles Mitt Romney would rather lose playing by his own rules than win playing by everyone else's if Mitt Romney really wanted to be president noted States he should be willing to reject Mormonism and convert to Judaism he should be willing to go and get circumcised and wear a yarmulke I'm not joking all right if you're not willing to take your personal sense of pride that you still have the same religion as your forefathers and throw it away why are you even playing the game this isn't dirty oh it gets way dirtier than this right if you want to play to win and if if the polling shows that what would really help Mitt Romney would be to reject the Mormon faith and recognize the much more profound truth found in Maimonides and the first five books of the Old Testament he should embrace that wholeheartedly you know see what that does for his vote count support the Republican Party because it was a huge problem that Mitt Romney was attached to this somewhat menacing and genuinely scandalous history of the Mormon faith in United States America the history the historical record the historical reality of what Mormonism was is shameful okay Bernie Sanders is in exactly the same position with socialism to a lesser extent he was in the same position even with his dotted line connections to communism all right would it really have been so hard for Bernie Sanders to do exactly what Elizabeth Warren did and say that no he doesn't represent socials no he doesn't represent communism that no in a meaningful sense he embraces and accepts capitalism right that's not the kind of guy Bernie Sanders has been Bernie Sanders has always been the kind of guy who'd rather lose playing by his own rules than win playing by everyone else's okay so we knew that from day one and we knew that four years ago we knew that ten years ago this has always been Bernie Sanders character what why couldn't Bernie Sanders just join the Democrat Party in case you didn't know Bernie Sanders remained an independent you were mean not a member of the Democrat Party but seeking Democrat humph nation it's completely surreal it's completely absurd so like he wants to cling to this principle where he doesn't recognize he doesn't approve of the very party whose approval he's seeking contention he's seeking this shows the same inflexible attitude he wants to play games with words like democratic socialism and Social Democrat right nobody wants to vote for right he's not willing to come out and say what you know again Elizabeth Warren says or any other politician says he's not willing to come out and say hey socialism and communism may have been the religion of his forefathers in the same sense that Mitt Romney comes from a Mormon background but that's that's in the past now that now and for the future Bernie Sanders represents something different Bernie Sanders maybe represents a version of compassionate capitalism that's not going to be alienating to voters that would have been the way to play to win but from day one Bernie Sanders was deeply committed to playing to lose and I said at the outset this is something he has in common with Mitt Romney I find fault myself in the same way every so often people give me advice on how to have a hit video on YouTube of course sometimes people are just idiots they're giving you terrible advice but once in a while I get a suggestion it's good advice it would work get me ten thousand views there's nothing on a video but I'm not willing to do it like I'd rather lose playing the game by my rules I value my own sense of integrity etc said more than I value winning playing by those other rules whereby and being encouraged by the game okay point two is real simple but the implications for each of us is profound Bernie Sanders started this race not just being further to the left than the majority of the America people he was further to the left than the majority of members of the Democrat Party so right from the outset when you combine that with 0.1 that he's an inflexible unwilling to compromise unwilling to adapt person that he's a person who is unwilling to even adapt he's unwilling to even use new rhetoric he's unwilling to even change the packaging the the wrapping that's on the set of policy proposals he's pursuing right there you have a very clear path to failure and there's really no clear path to victory whatsoever but what do you do let me ask you what do you do in a Democratic Society if you know that now and for the future for your whole lifetime you're always gonna be in the minority you're always gonna be on the losing side now we have a contrast for most of you in the audience you were alive when this happened if you think about the status of gay rights and homosexuality under Bill Clinton and then the status of gay rights and homosexuality under President Obama say moving forward just a few years year by year all the politicians changed their position on this and at the time Donald Trump was elected even Donald Trump made very clear statements that he supports equal rights for gay people gay marriage and so on that he is he's not an opponent of gay marriage and gay rights that was within the Republican Party a somewhat controversial aspect to the candidacy of Donald Trump so on that particular issue he's not he's not right-wing okay um the gay rights issue went from being very marginal powerless weak voiceless a minority within a minority to being a dominant victorious discourse gay for most of us for most of the people in this audience at least the things we care passionately about put us in a voiceless powerless minority within our societies and we know we'll be there definitely for the next twenty years maybe for the next 50 years you know what it sounds absurd to say what happens if you live in a society where nobody cares about Earthcare well you may you know whatever the issues are you care passionately about you know I care passionately about the fact that every day hundreds of thousands of cows are killed with a bolt gun to the head and I live in a society where absolutely nobody else around me cares about that I think it's a very obvious injustice to use an example where I'm really in a small minority I think it's a various very obvious injustice and it's a calamity that gambling is legal and that the government makes money out of gambling I don't see how that's morally acceptable or why anyone should make excuses for it it's even worse that the government makes money out of this as opposed to being a purely private sector a purely criminal enterprise there all kinds of things that to me are outrages and that it seems to me if 51% of people in the democracy had sensible rational detached views about it we ought to make rapid progress on all these issues and above all else let me just say I'm an atheist and more than just an atheist I'm actually a nihilist or a nihilistic atheist so I'm within a minority of a minority of a minority and completely alienated from discourses on all kinds of issues including public education health diet what-have-you ecology and so on right what is the way forward when you know that if you're not going to be dishonest if you're not going to be Machiavellian if you're going to be a person of principle if you're going to be honest and consistent the way Bernie Sanders was where you know that puts you in a position where you'll always lose will always be the minority with a minority and the issues you care about may put you in a much smaller weaker voiceless minority than Bernie Sanders okay if you've been watching my channel for a long time you already know the answer to that question there is a way forward in a democracy right it's the same way forward that was taken by mothers against drunk driving an issue that a puny percentage of people care about almost nobody cares about drunk driving they built one of the most you know effective influential foundations in the history of the United States of America or in the history of the world they really change not just legislation they lived they changed the way people all over America spend their time on Friday Saturday nights they changed the way the taxi industry works the way the entertainment industry works they gradually have changed the the culture of alcohol consumption of driving of reducing the number of deaths and the roads so on and so forth okay it's an issue that only a small minority can care about but within a democratic society within a pluralistic society with freedom of speech and free markets and fundraising and institution building and community building you can make a difference you can play to win but the way to win the way forward is not going to be following in Bernie's footsteps of Bernie Sanders the footsteps of Bernie Sanders from day one clearly and obviously could lead only to failure