President Donald Trump in the White House in Washington
on Jan. 24, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)
The Democratic Party presidential race these days appears
to be tilting toward Sen. Bernie
Sanders.
It could turn into a runaway if Bernie wins by solid
margins in the rapidly approaching Iowa
caucuses and New Hampshire primary. His chances in the Feb. 22 Nevada
Democratic caucuses, which are traditionally dominated by the unions, aren’t
bad either.
A lot of people are alarmed, not the least of whom is
Hillary Clinton, who branded Bernie as “disliked” in a new documentary and is
reported as having the “urge” to run herself. (When has she not?) More
substantively, mainstream Democrats, even those who lean pretty far left, such
as New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait, are concerned they could be headed for
“McGovern II”—in other words, a blowout.
I am pleased, not just because of the potential for an
electoral college Armageddon that may or may not take place, or even because
such an election would quickly put the bogus impeachment trial in the rearview
mirror, but because, for the first time in decades, we would have a true
election of opposites.
This wouldn’t be a so-called “uni-party” election
resulting in minor differences in the tax code, as it usually does.
Trump versus Sanders would be capitalism
versus socialism!
And Sanders’s version of socialism is the real deal, and
not socialism “lite,” amounting to a couple of instances of tweaked welfare
legislation. Bernie is the man who chose to have his honeymoon in the Soviet
Union and who still refuses to brand Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro a despot.
Trump, of course, is a businessman-turned-president.
There have been others, but, as never before, he is capitalism personified.
It’s high time that something this serious, this
contrasting, were put before the public. I say, bring it on.
The battle would be epic. Sanders has remarkably devoted
supporters who have been with him for two elections. His fundraising
capabilities are legendary. He is the master of the grassroots, a leftwing rock
star who overcame a coronary, seemingly in minutes. In a very real sense,
Bernie will have deserved his nomination.
The challenge to Trump wouldn’t be simple. Merely calling
Sanders “Crazy Bernie” would not suffice. Indeed, as yesterday’s strategy, it
could well backfire by seeming to trivialize important distinctions.
Socialism is taken seriously by a large portion of
America’s youth over several generations now. They have been taught that way
from kindergarten through doctorate by an educational system that is largely
socialistic in structure and ideology.
The media has reinforced this viewpoint, as has the
entertainment industry. Would Robert DeNiro, Rob Reiner, et al., be supporting
Bernie over Donald, despite that being contrary to their class interest? Well,
we know.
Whose side would The New York Times and The Washington
Post finally be on if it were Sanders versus Trump, not to mention the
networks? They may have misgivings about Bernie, some of these outlets anyway, but
their entrenched enmity for the president would undoubtedly prevail. They would
“give socialism a shot.”
Trump will have to counteract all this. He’ll have to
explain to the public why the ”fairness” and “social justice” that’s seemingly
so attractive in socialist rhetoric is misleading and that capitalism is a
better way to uplift the lower and middle classes, and that societal wealth
isn’t a zero-sum game.
This won’t be easy for Donald—as a businessman, he’s a
doer, not an educator—but he will have to learn how to do it, to slow down and
perhaps be a bit didactic. He should explain, as Friederich Hayek did over a
half-century ago, why socialism so often leads to totalitarianism.
He owes that to all of us, especially our miseducated
youth.
Timing, however, will be on Trump’s side. This is a
unique moment in history to resolve this eternal conflict, at least
temporarily. Via capitalism, America has a boom economy, with salaries among
the poor and middle class growing faster than for the upper classes. We are
largely at peace and have been for a while.
Trump would win this epic battle, and it will be better
for the country in the long run.
Epoch Times senior political analyst Roger L.
Simon’s new novel, “The GOAT,” is available in
multiple formats on Amazon. He tweets @rogerlsimon.
