The Cult of Success: A defense of Bernie Sanders
By: Doug Ecks
Tags: MSNBC, Bernie Sanders, Progressive Politics, Success, Celebrity

Photo by Jeremy Beadle on Unsplash

On December 5th Stephanie Ruhle challenged Sanders as being out of line in daring to want more stimulus money to go directly to the American people. This was on MSNBC so I believe this had more to do with Sanders challenging Pelosi and the establishment Dems than it had to do with the joy in human suffering that lights up Mitch McConnell’s face every time he’s asked about Corona relief.

Specifically she said “Given that record, and how dire things are, as you just laid out, do you need to find a different lane or take a different approach here?” referring to his record of being the primary sponsor of over 400 bills where only 7 had passed. Reported by The Hill Dec 9th. And it is this piece of verbal effluvium that irritated me enough to take to the keyboard and write this diatribe against the cult of success in America and also an apologia for Bernie Sanders, though I can’t think of any politician in America this side of AOC, who should less need defending.

Let’s start philosophically: Is it better to try and do good and fail or to try and do harm and succeed? Less generally is it better to be the lead sponsor of good laws that don’t pass or to sponsor craptastic laws that do? Is the current bill which doesn’t provide direct stimulus checks but does protect businesses from being sued because they didn’t try to save their worker’s lives going to make our lives better or worse? Are we better off with it passing or not passing? Judging a senator based on the percent of bills passed without considering the quality of those bills is like judging the merits of an artist by the number of works they’ve produced and not their quality. By that metric an illustrator for Hallmark would far exceed Michelangelo and Van Gogh.

Photo by Jean Carlo Emer on Unsplash

It is true that Bernie Sanders has found that he can have more of an impact to drive the country left in the public realms than inside the chambers of congress, but exactly whom is that an indictment of? Rep. Mark Pocan perhaps put it best “He hasn’t had anything done, which is why every candidate now is talking about Medicare for All or universal health care.”per the Daily Beast Mar 2 2020.

Bernie Sanders may not have achieved a legislative victory for a Federal 15 dollars an hour minimum wage but he forced Amazon and Disney, two corporate behemoths to bend the knee (obligatory Game of Thrones reference.)

“By summer 2019, all but a handful of the members of the Democrats’ new House majority had voted for legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15, and none other than Amazon — Sanders’ corporate bête noire — had decided to raise wages to that level for a good chunk of its employees.” The Daily Beast Mar 2 2020.

Bernie Sanders also earned the title of “Amendment King” as he relentlessly pushed to make bad bills better. He filed over 500 amendments, and although only 1 in 5 passed, that’s still comes out to over 100 improvements, how many lawmakers in the Senate can claim as much?

It is absolutely in keeping with the zeitgeist of MSNBC and the political establishment, and indeed of America in general to worship at the alter of success rather than merit. As one Salon article put it “in a society that worships wealth, those with wealth are worshiped as well.” Sean McElwee Salon 2014.

Or as a Next web article warning of the dangers of worshiping entrepreneurs put it “Idolizing entrepreneurs for their brilliant tech ideas or their accomplished business decision-making can also make us more likely to make excuses for their unethical behavior.” Thenextweb.com Aug 9 2018.

Uber and Lyft used their wealth to finance an immense political campaign that secured them an exemption from California Independent Contract law reform, reforms aimed squarely at their poor treatment of their workers, laws which they ignored for eleven months that other industries had to follow, and with a wave of their wand (specifically the spending of 180 million dollars) they are now above California law.

Donald Trump of course paints us an indelible portrait of political and entertainment success built on the bones of business bankruptcies and decades of unethical and allegedly illegal behavior.

Despite this, Americans love and gravitate to wealth, power and easily quantified success. I would say, as hyperbole, that Americans would even love serial killers if the body count is high enough, but the rampant number of high successful media about serial killers makes this not hyperbole at all, merely an observation of contemporary culture.

To conclude this defense of a man who shouldn’t need defending, Bernie Sanders has been tremendously successful as a Senator at improving the conditions and life of Americans who are not already millionaires and billionaires. He has done this through amendments in the chambers of Congress and through bringing political and social pressure outside the chambers because those inside can’t or won’t hear the voices of their constituents over the dollars of their donors. And it is not the number of works that make an artist or a legislator, but their quality. To do much that is evil is no reason for praise. If the bills Bernie has brought to improve the lives of the majority of Americans are ignored or rejected by the rest of Congress, including establishment Dems, then too bad for them. That is to say, than we need a Congress worthy of Bernie Sanders, and with the rise of Progressives like AOC, we might get one someday.