Stephan: If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party nominee, at this point in the process, at this juncture, my prediction is Donald Trump will be elected President, precisely because of the social dynamics described in this report in the respected British Financial Times.
In my view the Democratic Party has grossly misunderstood Democratic and Independent voters -- probably because the Democratic leadership is almost as much in the bag to the oligarchy as the Republicans. It's pretty hard not to be when you have to raise on average $14,351 a day to stay in office. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is an iconic example.
That Sanders has not been co-opted is one of the things that makes him so unusual. Another reason is, I think, his programs are the future of the Democratic Party. Sanders understands the deep anger and resentment that has built up over last 30 years of governance by both Republicans and Democrats. The American oligarchy has gutted the middle class like a field-dressed shot deer. Sanders' programs are the only ones that will take a different path. He has made wellness the first priority.
I can see Hillary voters moving to Sanders, but I think the shift would be much smaller the other way -- Sanders to Hillary.
Sanders has the added benefit of being completely consistent in his positions across decades, and free of scandals, while Hillary Clinton is the opposite. I think this matters because just listening to the news today it is obvious that if it is a Trump Clinton match-off the entire election cycle will be fought in the sewers with one outcome: The Great Schism Trend will reach a crisis point, and social instability will increase.
The United States will not survive as we have known it, if the devastation of the middle class is not just stopped but pro-actively reversed. The 2016 election is going to decide which path we take. High voter turn-out in favor of the compassionate and life-affirming outcome is essential.
More than four-fifths of America’s metropolitan areas have seen household incomes decline this century, according to new research that exposes the politically charged reality of middle-class decline at the heart of this year’s presidential election. (emphasis added)
The research on urban centres that are home to three-quarters of the US population shows that median household incomes, adjusted for the cost of living in the area, grew in just 39 out of 229 metro areas between 1999 and 2014.
The figures, prepared by the non-partisan Pew Research Center and shared with the Financial Times, cast light on the drivers of the economic discontent that have fuelled the rise of Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, and Bernie Sanders, the challenger to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Both men’s campaigns have tapped into deep-seated concerns among middle class voters on the right and the left. Pew’s research illuminates one source of that anxiety and raises questions about even […]
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