You’d never guess that a Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders match up would be good for the country if you listen to the media. The media elites for each side say their respective candidates would be unelectable. The Republican leaning press claims Trump is too racist, xenophobic, and just plain too obnoxious to win the general election.

The Democrat pundits of course say Sanders economic plans can’t work, he is too liberal, and he is not pragmatic enough to win.

It’s not just the media pundits, it’s the actual party establishment that are saying these candidates have no chance. Ironically these are the exact same things the opposing party will attack them with. The fear of Bernie and Donald coming from the media and political elites is to be expected. Our country has become (if it wasn’t always) a plutocracy. The wealthy run

the media, who hire the pundits to set the story, and the rich are either the actual politicians, or they buy the access to the politicians. So it is no surprise that the defenders of the status quo are attacking the outsiders with such vehemence.

 

That is why I think it is such a wonderful opportunity to have a Trump vs. Sanders election. Both candidates are answering the call of those who have been disenfranchised by the current status quo (the 99%). The establishment candidates hide behind the platitudes of “liberty”, “freedom”, and “real American values”. The establishment stands for keeping things the same, the rich and powerful are kept where they are, while pretending they are changing things for the average American regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in charge. The establishment candidates, Clinton and Rubio are really representing the same people; the beltway insiders, Fortune 500 business, politically connected top 1%, and Wall Street insiders. They do this while pretending to represent you and me.

Look at the tyranny of party — at what is called party allegiance, party loyalty — a snare invented by designing men for selfish purposes — and which turns voters into chattles, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech…

–Mark Twain, The Character of Man, inserted in autobiographical dictation 23 January 1906.

Sanders and Trump do not pretend to work for us while saying, “pay no attention to the plutocracy behind the curtain”. Trump comes out and says he wants an “us against them” America. His vision is a dog eat dog world where people like him (white Christians) will get ahead and everyone else can go to hell. With Trump it’s get a small ($1 million) from Dad and go into business. Since Trump as President will have gutted rules and regulations you’ll be able to crush everyone on your way to the top 1%, where you too can join the plutocracy. As long as you aren’t a minority, or a woman, or a Muslim, or anything that isn’t a WASP.

For Trump there is no hiding behind the establishment curtain, mouthing ideals like “freedom for all” and “liberty and equality”. This is of course the big reason that the establishment hates him, he is robbing them of their fig leaf covering their hypocrisy. After all the establishment really wants this too. The only difference between Republican and Democrat establishment is the Democrats will let the non-white and women top 1% in, the poors need not apply.

Sanders is the opposite. He’s pointing out how the establishment has grown like a cancer eating all the wealth. Sanders points out it’s both Republicans and Democrats that have governed to make the rich richer and everyone else poorer. And he has plans that will force the wealthy to pay for the infrastructure that helps them be rich. Needless to say it’s obvious why the plutocracy hates him more than Trump.

But for America a Trump Sanders match-up is perfect. We will get to decide with no blinders of false platitudes in our face which direction we are taking the country. Will we vote for: “Everyone for themselves” of Trump or “everyone working together to make society better” of Sanders. It is time for we the people to look past the half-truths and outright lies that the Republicans and Democrats serve us every election. With Sanders and Trump we see the stark choices that we as a society must make. Right or wrong we need to make a choice, not continue along with the false choice that the Republicans and and Democrats offer us. That’s why I welcome an Sanders vs. Trump general election.

The people — the people — are the rightful masters of both congresses, and courts — not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.

–Abraham Lincoln September 16 and 17, 1859 Notes for Speeches at Kansas and Ohio