Revolution Expanded

I want to take the time to expand on something I tossed into a post the other day, that is about a political revolution. While I think that I was fairly clear about things, I just want to expand on the subject, because some people simply won't understand, and honestly, I want this spelled out like my reasons for not wanting to vote for Clinton.

“Also, some of her supporters want to throw it in the mud that people want a political revolution, we want meaningful change. They claim it is dying down, that it won't last, but there is something they are neglecting. Sanders run was the eventual outcome of Obama's run. You see, the revolution did not start when Sanders said “I'm running for the position of President of the United States.” It started when Obama said he was running. Even should Sanders falter and fade, come 2020, 2024, and beyond there will be someone to pick up the mantle. The revolution is building, and even if Clinton wins, we will bide our time. We will form coalitions, we will start a new party, we will do whatever needs to be done to get our point across. This is how a political revolution is fought, not with a brilliant flash, it builds slowly over time. Obama laid the seeds we are about to reap. Sanders might well be the culmination of our political revolution, then again, he might not be. Only time will tell.”

In this world there are several types of revolution, and Sanders is advocating, and leading one. He calls his a political revolution, and it is actually. Most people think revolution, and see something like the Arab Spring, where a large group of people overthrow a sitting government, or they see our own revolution, once again where people take up arms and fight against the powers that be. Both are highly visible, they can be gauged by the number of people standing in the streets with firearms, they can be measured by the amounts of people fighting, the numbers of violent acts against the powers that be. The revolution that is coming to pass in the United States is not a violent revolution, people are protesting with their pens and voices.

I said that this political revolution started in 2008, when an insurgent candidate (Mr. Obama) ran against the established candidate Clinton. We saw the GOP jump into the revolution with the Tea Party. After Obama won, he set to work, with the Tea Party continuing to gain ground, whereas the liberal side of the revolution remained static, no, we lost ground in the reformation of the parties. You can say that it was voter turnout, people failing to continue the momentum of the revolution on the liberal side. It is a convenient talking point, you see the system was rigged before this little shindig got started, Gerrymandering took away a great deal of power, being unable to break free of work long enough to vote did not help. It is easy to say that people failed to show up, it is much harder if you want to take into account the reasons why they did not show, or why people lost. Of course, it also does not help that so many people ditched on what they had done over the course of Mr. Obama's term.

As people abandoned what they had accomplished while in office, and lost, the opposition gained more ground, but the problem is, people are starting to turn away from the Tea Party. Sure, they are making a lot of noise, but some of its members are starting to see that nothing has changed, there were empty promises. Have you noticed that only a handful of Tea Party Republicans are gaining ground. Back to the point at hand, we saw both sides of the political spectrum openly run against the grain of their respective parties, the Democratic Party nominating Mr. Obama, the GOP going to the Tea Party. I have long said both sides of the spectrum want the same basic things (fundamental differences being gay marriage, abortion rights, etc), they just see different means of acquiring them.

So here we are in 2015-16, look at who is running. We have candidates who are considered establishment, we have Clinton, Cruz and Rubio (and Bush until he dropped out), who have become insiders in the eyes of many people. We have some Tea Party holdovers like Carson. But we also have those considered to be outsiders, Sanders running as a Democrat and Trump for the GOP. Trump for his party is hamming it up, saying whatever he wants to and a result is that people are eating it up. Sanders is considered a one trick pony by his detractors, but his message is one a plow horse might give, under all the problems we have, it all boils down to specific factors. Both Trump and Sanders are talking about big money in politics, the status quo, and that is where the revolution comes in.

You see, they are arguing against business as usual. They both tapped into something, and change will come with either of them, it is just a matter of what change we get. But even deeper than that, this is not something that will simply go away (even if Trump looses the nomination he is a serious threat to the GOP), and Sanders will not run as an independent, but will be a thorn in Clinton's side for months to come. You also have Bloomberg considering a run as an independent, and that in itself can be considered part of the revolution that is building.

You see, a political revolution like Mr. Obama started builds slowly over time. Many do, but this political revolution runs slow and steady. The United States revolution started slow and ended with a bang, this is not that type of revolution. This is a slowly building revolution that will plod along until we wake up one day with a massive surge, barring any major external influences. Think about it, Mr. Obama came from practically no where to win, the tea party candidates did the same. We now have Sanders a long term representative of the people running strong, and Trump who has never lasted as long, still leading the GOP polls.

The mistake that people are making when they reference the Sanders Revolution is that its not just Sanders leading the dance. You have Trump who is every bit of an insurgent candidate as Sanders is. You have Bloomberg considering a run, and a three way dance could make a mess of things, but will it? What Mr. Obama tapped into in 2008, what Sanders and Trump have tapped into in 2015-16 is the sense of being tired of little change. This unrest created by people continuing to suffer needlessly, a sense that the government, the men and women elected to represent us being unconcerned about the problems we face down on Earth. That is why the notions that Sanders, Trump scream to the masses has taken hold, in their own respective ways they have tapped into our growing concerns, and their warnings should be heeded.

The revolution that Clinton supporters seem to be putting to bed is not going willingly. Its building, slowly as it has in the past. It will continue to grow, as people see this country changing in all the wrong ways (in your view) it will move forward, with people demanding more people who hold their views. I will be the first to admit this might not be the time, it might not be ready just yet, Sanders might falter, he might fail, but the make he is leaving on the souls of his supporters, and his opposition will remain. It will continue to grow, in 2018 we will see it spread, not by much. In 2020 it will be in full force again.

But there is a problem ladies and gentlemen. If you want a political revolution, it needs to grow constantly. It is now, but it will slow down after this election cycle, and speed up again during the next presidential cycle. For a revolution of this type to be successful, it needs to be constant, no matter how the presidential race goes, we need to ensure we make ground in the Senate, and the House. We need to ensure that in 2018 we continue to expand the Senate and House control of progressive values. In 2020 we need to call for fresh presidential candidates, regardless of who is the president. We need to continue this beyond presidential elections. A political revolution of this sort is a never ending battle, we have to grow, continue to grow, then protect that growth, nurture it.

That leaves one other option, the nuclear option so to speak. This is the option of last resort, and I am entirely against it. But there are people who are willing to go that far. They are the fringe, they are the types who will willingly take over a game reserve and camp there. They are willing to turn to terrorism. They are willing to do whatever is required to have their voice heard. They are wrong to go to that length, but in their mind it is their only option. I ask that they consider using their anger at the polls, to influence this government as best they can without turning to violence. God knows we have all the reasons in the world, coin flips and card drawing to select delegates, corporate money dropping into elections like they are going out of style, candidates who switch political views out of expedience, these things need to stop. Say what you will, but the GOP has a point about flip flopping on political views. Yes political views change over time, but there should be a reason more than polls. The ultimate endgame is to achieve those things we hold dear, the betterment of all. To protect that which we have achieved, and to become the leader of the world again, with our ideals. That is something that only one candidate has shown, but only because he sees from our perspective. The boot is stomping on us, and for many we look forward to the day that is our boot, we believe that. It is entirely the wrong perspective, rather than a boot it should be a hand up, with the other reaching up looking forward to the day they can reach down and help someone else pick themselves up. That is what this revolution is about. It is not about free stuff, how many freebies we can get, its about finally picking ourselves up by the bootstraps, standing on our own two feet, and having all the tools to properly do so.

But what do I know? That is my view of it sitting here at the bottom of the scrum. Conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist, I think we all want the chance to advance, to have the chance to make our own way in the world on our own, of our own accord. The power to earn what we want, to enjoy those things, and to finally be free. That is something I do not see with the majority of potential candidates, with them I see more of the same.