Posted on 02/26/2020 12:22:05 PM PST by karpov
Bernie Sanders continues to defend the achievements, trivial as they may be, of brutal and tyrannical governments, namely, Fidel Castro’s communist dictatorship in Cuba.
“When dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans, do something good,” Sanders said during Tuesday’s Democratic debate, Democrats ought “to acknowledge that.”
“Cuba made progress on education,” Sanders continued, drawing boos from the crowd. An angry Sanders responded, “Really? Really?”
The problem, of course, is that whatever good Castro accomplished, if you can even call it good, was completely outweighed by the fear and misery he spread throughout Cuba. Castro might have established a literacy program, as Sanders keeps saying, but it’s difficult to learn how to read when you’re looking over your shoulder, wondering if the government is going to imprison or execute you next.
If Sanders was ever concerned about the consequences of totalitarianism, he has done a poor job showing it.
His refusal to back down in last night's debate, however, might be a part of his broader political strategy. At this point in the race, Democratic voters want to see strength. Standing firm instead of caving could be Sanders’s attempt to give them that.
But it also reveals something about the way Sanders thinks about governance. He didn’t visit and defend Castro’s regime back in the 1980s by mistake. That was a calculated move. He wanted to draw attention to the benefits of socialism, so he sought out the less controversial elements of Castro’s government to whitewash the adverse effects of heavy-handed governance.
“I did not see a hungry child,” he said back in 1989 after a trip to Cuba. “I did not see any homeless people. Cuba today not only has free healthcare but very high-quality healthcare. ... The people we met had an almost religious affection [for Castro].”
Never mind that thousands of people died at Castro’s hands, or that tens of thousands became political prisoners. The only thing that mattered to Sanders, a proud socialist, is that Castro claimed to want the same things: industries united under the government’s umbrella, and an equal society for everyone. How that society was built, though, was and still is irrelevant to Sanders, as long as the moral message aligns with his.
For Sanders, the details have always been subservient to the vision. That’s why he’s willing to excuse the worst parts of Castro’s regime by praising its “best” elements. Even in his own presidential campaign, Sanders shies away from the details. He hesitates to give specific costs when asked about his policies and refuses to answer questions about how he’d work within our constitutional system.
Perhaps it’s time to consider that when Sanders talks about a revolution, he means it.
The Bourgeois Socialist would be slaughtered if Karl’s real devotees showed up.
Sure, Bernie the Commie.
Cuba has “very high quality healthcare”. Guess that is why rich people from all of the world - China, Middle East, Africa, well everywhere - folk to Cuba for healthcare treatment. Oh wait, they all come here and NO ONE EVER goes to Cuba for treatment of anything.
Oh, and Bernie, since Cuba’s healthcare is so awesome, why didn’t you get your stent put in down there?
That simply means they did a bang up job of brainwashing their kids with Marxist theory.
Bernie uncritically accepts Castro’s claims about reading programs, medical care, and so forth. This is a wise policy since we all know Communist governments never, ever lie about their achievements.
He’s been a parasitic fraud on our republic for about 20 years. If not he’d be Crazy Uncle Bern in somebody’s basement.
The Bourgeois Socialist would be slaughtered if Karl’s real devotees showed up.
Just as obama was an indicator for the political mores of our youth, so too is bernie.
Someone needs to directly ask him if he’s a Marxist and if he would publicly repudiate Karl Mark.
They do that to Republcians all the time. “Will you repudiate...”
So ask Bernie.
I’d rather open a vein than listen to this asshole explain his love for communism.
If Castro sent out (Spain) when he needed serious medical care.
Sanders is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
He is a dangerous person in that he pushes a dangerous method of governance if you can call it that!
A tyrannical regime is a HIGHLY efficient method of government - for a while. Then the passive-aggressive kind of subversion sets in, as the productivity begins to plummet, and the tasks get slow-walked if they are performed at all. People without hope of a better tomorrow tend to be surly and have a what-have-I-got-to-lose attitude, even risking severe punishment rather than being compliant, even to the point of death, which only proves the point all along.
Sanders is stupid (or he’s assuming we are stupid) if he thinks that ANY statistics from Communist countries are valid
I think Brezhnev regime in USSR would have designate Bernie far-laft Trotskite and sent him to re-education forcing to read Ayn Rand for several weeks to downgrade to acceptable level Marxist.
That is NOT socialism which is about redistribution of self made profits to all. The above is COMMUNISM when the central government owns/controls production of goods and services and equal redistribution on the back side. I'm so sick of this commie and his fake "democratic socialist" made up title.
…IF YOU SAY OR EVEN THINK THE WRONG THING or fail to turn in your parents if THEY think or say the wrong thing.
We are SO CLOSE to that in the U.S. thanks to Democrats and weak-kneed Republicans. You may not be shot (yet), but you will lose your job, your career, and become persona non grata (i.e., “cancelled” in the popular jargon).
Man I don’t think the democrats have been this angry since Lincoln turned their slaves loose!
Ber-nie! Ber-nie! Ber-nie! Where’s my gubment check?
The people we met had an almost religious affection [for Castro].”...
...sigh...
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