The\nmainstream media has already written off Bernie Sanders and crowned\nJoe Biden as the Democratic candidate to challenge Donald Trump\n(despite the primaries being far from over). But that hasn\u2019t\nsilenced the Vermont senator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders has long seen himself as more than just a conventional politician and acts as the voice for a movement. This last week, he laid out a socialist programme for the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanders\nbegan with a recognition of the severity of the crisis, saying that\n\u201cthe crisis we face from coronavirus is on the scale of a major\nwar, and we must act accordingly. Nobody knows how many fatalities\nwe may see, but they could equal or surpass the U.S. casualties we\nsaw in World War II.\u201d American casualties in that war exceeded\n400,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike\nTrump, Sanders started with idea of community<\/em>,\nof this being a shared problem. \u201cNow is the time for solidarity,\u201d\nhe says, using a word rarely uttered by American politicians but\nfamiliar to the labour movement. \u201cWe must fight with love and\ncompassion for those most vulnerable to the effects of this\npandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanders\nlaid out what he means by the most vulnerable, the people for whom we\nmust show compassion. These include, in his view, \u201cthose in\nnursing homes and rehabilitation facilities, those confined in\nimmigration detention centers, those who are currently incarcerated,\nand all people regardless of immigration status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These\nare fighting words in a country that criminalises immigration and\nthat practices mass incarceration (with more people in jail than in\nChina). Among Sanders\u2019 opponents on the right, there is little\nsympathy for immigrants or prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nwas clear in his condemnation of the Trump administration.\n\u201cUnfortunately, in this time of international crisis,\u201d he said,\n\u201cthe current administration is largely incompetent, and its\nincompetence and recklessness has threatened the lives of many\npeople.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And\nthen he laid out his programme, a socialist programme, for the\ncoronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\ndemanded that a national state of emergency be declared and that a\ngroup of experts be convened to direct a response to the crisis that\nis \u201ccomprehensive, compassionate, and based first and foremost on\nscience and fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanders\nwas also demanding that the government be completely transparent and\ncalled for \u201cdaily information – clear, science-based information –\nfrom credible scientific voices.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nIf\nit sounds like he\u2019s making a lot of use of the word \u201cscience\u201d,\nthere\u2019s a reason for that. In the US, especially in the Republican\nparty, there is considerable resistance to taking a scientific\napproach to anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanders\nhas long fought for universal health care, but even now, before such\na system can be set up, he demanded that the \u201cgovernment must be\nclear that in the midst of this emergency, that everyone in our\ncountry – regardless of income or where they live – must be able to\nget all of the health care they need without cost.\u201d In other\nwords, the same core principles of Medicare for All could be applied\nright\nnow<\/em>,\nin the midst of the pandemic crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nlisted some very specific proposals, including a guarantee that a\nvaccine or treatment, when it becomes available, must be delivered\nfree of charge to all. He called for emergency funding for paid\nfamily and medical leave. He demanded an expansion of community\nhealth centres across the country. And in a country whose President\nis fond of boasting how it leads the world in everything, Sanders\ndared to speak the unvarnished truth: \u201cThere are other countries\naround the world who are doing better than we are,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\nshould be learning from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And\nwhen speaking about the pharmaceutical industry, Sanders said\nsomething no other politician in America dares to utter. Those\ncompanies, he said, \u201cmust be told in no uncertain terms that the\nmedicines that they manufacture for this crisis will be sold at cost.\nThis is not the time for profiteering or price gouging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could go on about his plan to address those suffering from the \u201cglobal economic meltdown,\u201d as he calls it. But I think in looking at what Sanders says about the coronavirus pandemic, we are hearing the voice of an authentic democratic socialist, who draws not only upon the practical experience of other countries, but also from the moral foundations of the labour movement. It is a programme based on the ideals of solidarity, compassion and love \u2013 words which Sanders is not afraid to use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n