How John Adams Predicted Bernie Sanders and His Acolytes

americanthinker.com ^ | 2/3/16 | William Sullivan

[cotton1706]

There is something incredibly curious about the Bernie Sanders's faithful. On the one hand, we're told that they’re incredibly well-educated. Indeed, academia and its young charges support him more than other candidates, some say.

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Allow Founder and second U.S. President John Adams to explain.

In 1787, Adams published his three-volume work, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America. In the opening chapter of Volume III, he predicts, with eerie precision, the why and how of Bernie Sanders and his acolytes.

In brief summation of its entirety, this introductory chapter is an argument for a nation built upon a separation of powers and laws based upon unalienable individual rights, in contrast to a nation built upon a single, unchecked legislative body of representatives that could impose the will of a mob.

Here, Adams responds to seventeenth-century journalist Marchamont Nedham, who makes the contention that a legislative body, enacting the will of a majority, is a suitable means of governance, because people, in general, "never think of usurping over other men’s rights, but mind which way to preserve their own."

"[I]f the people never, jointly nor severally, think of usurping the rights of others, what occasion can there be for any government at all?" Adams asks. "Are there no robberies, burglaries, murders, adulteries, thefts, nor cheats…. Is not a great part, I will not say the greatest part, of men detected every day in some disposition or other, stronger or weaker, more or less, to usurp over other men's rights?"

[RobinOfKingston]

Were almost ready to start all over some place new.

Therein lies the problem. In the 1880's my paternal grandparents headed West, and crossed the plains in covered wagons, looking for freedom, opportunity and prosperity. In 1910 my maternal grandparents did much the same, moving out of Iowa on a train across the Northern tier of states.

Things are different now, there is no more "West." We fight it out here, or we lose. Ironically, even our current "enemies" and their progeny will ultimately benefit by "us," those who seek liberty, winning. All will be the poorer if they win.

[RobinOfKingston]

Reparations for slavery is, I think, clearly on tap and will be heavily backed by the American people, who don't want to be called "racist" for opposing such a plan.

And, as surely as it happens, the profligate will spend "theirs" with abandon, and it will soon "need" to be done again.

[Theodore R.]

And, as surely as it happens, the profligate will spend "theirs" with abandon, and it will soon "need" to be done again.

That's a given! The American people are particularly generous with other people's resources.

[driftless2]

Yeah...I knew quite a few of them. I worked with a lot of them. The common denominator in the equation was that most of them were union guys. They were taught by the unions that Republicans were their enemy. Evil, conservative Republican bosses/corporations were always trying to cheat them out of their rightful wages. Or so they thought.

The ironic thing is that many of the guys were socially conservative and patriotic. Many were veterans. They don't understand that as white males, they are hated by virtually every other segment of the Dem Party. If the leftists ever totally take over, those Dem-voting white males will be just as oppressed as conservative white males.

I've lost a few friendships when I switched from voting for Dems and went to Republicans. Couldn't live with the progressively leftist tilt of the Dem party. Slept a lot better after the switch.

[T-Bone Texan]

Every time I am in the supermarket and see my fellow humans I pray for the EMP.