In a 60 Minutes interview Anderson Cooper asked Bernie Sanders about his past praise of the Cuban communist regime. Like the stubborn true believer he is, Bernie said it was “unfair to simply say everything is bad” about what dictator Fidel Castro has done to his country and people.
You know, the regime that parked a bunch of Soviet missiles in their territory and almost started World War III. Fidel Castro welcomed the Argentinian vagrant Ché Guevara, who boasted that he’d love to see nuclear missiles slam into the United States.
In the meantime, Florida Cuban exiles and other refugees who fled Castro’s failed socialist policies and murderous tears aren’t buying into Sanders’ advice to look on the bright side of authoritarian regimes. The Cuban refugee population of south Florida remembers that everything actually was bad under Castro and Guevara.
In the self-delusion of his ideology, Bernie doesn’t seem to recall the thousands of overcrowded small boats with Cubans who voted with their feet. Those folks apparently could read the writing on the bloody walls where their friends and relatives stood before Fidel’s firing squads, Sander’s love of the Cuban literacy program notwithstanding.
Even the Democrats are flabbergasted by Bernie’s love affair with Castro. Florida Democrat state representative Javier Fernandez, who wants to move up to the Florida senate next election observed, “If Bernie Sanders is atop the ticket, it’s going to make it tougher for all of us to win in Florida. No one really sees Sanders winning Florida and I don’t think his campaign does either.”
Don’t worry, Bernie’s campaign spokespersons point out, Bernie’s polls show that he’s tied with President Trump in Florida. All that criticism about Bernie being a commie socialist is nothing but modern-day McCarthyism. (Spoiler alert: Joe Biden is also tied with President Trump in a poll that asks the same question based on a “what-if” supposition.)
But loving communism and murderous tyrants isn’t Bernie’s only problem with the Latino community. Florida has exiles from places like Venezuela and other Latin American countries where socialism is the buzz word for revolution. In fact, Sanders’ supporters in South Florida have a new nickname– “Sandernistas.”
Bernie is on record for his high praise of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. His ecstatic praise for government “land reform”—i.e., taking land from land owners and turning it over to those who don’t own it—shows his deep admiration for failed policies of the Soviet Union and China that caused famine and starvation. He defended Ortega’s civil rights abuses by citing Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus.
Sanders also believes that authoritarianism is a great way to stamp out poverty. Here’s what he said about China, “China is an authoritarian country, becoming more and more authoritarian. But can anyone deny, the facts are clear, that they have taken more people out of extreme poverty than any country in history?”
Actually, Bernie, China’s emergence from poverty was due to its embracing free trade and the profit incentive in the 1990s. But that may not track with your socialist world view.
So, Sanders says he’s a democratic socialist, not to be confused with a socialist. He isn’t. Bernie’s policies actually make him worse than a socialist. He is a lifelong communist (I mean who the heck honeymoons in Moscow) and is on record as favoring nationalizing American industry. He has been a consistent advocate for anti-Americanism everywhere he goes abroad.
Democrats have, except for George McGovern, been successful in keeping left loonies in the closet. Bernie could blow that effort sky high if they allow a dopey, bombastic commie to go up against President Trump.
When President Trump shines the light on Bernie’s own words, Bernie’s bombast will turn into tongue-tied stuttering and a classic beat down that could rival Ronald Reagan vs. Jimmy Carter.
