Matt Welch is the author of an article on the Los Angeles Times entitled “Bernie Sanders already moved Democrats to the left. Why is he running again?” published on February 20, 2019. Matt Welch is a self-proclaimed independent who is editor at large for Reason, a libertarian magazine and previously served as editor in chief from 2008-2016. Welch has covered many political topics and even references previous articles he’s written in this article. I say all this to say, who is Welch writing to in this case? I believe he is directing his commentary towards the Democratic party; perhaps those who might be rooting for Bernie, excited to see him take another shot at the presidency. Or perhaps he’s simply writing to those who are also asking, “Why is he running again?”
Seeing that Welch is an independent, I wasn’t surprised to read that there are some Bernie policies he supports, and some that he disapproves. Welch feels that Bernie got to where he did in the previous presidential race due to the fact that he was more genuine than Hillary Clinton. He states that most Democrats didn’t, and still don’t, truly agree with Bernie’s proclamations for free education, single-payer health care, a higher minimum wage, etc. But because Clinton was more calculated with her approach, Democrats were flocking to the option that seemed more authentic. Bernie truly believes in his platform and Democrats were starving for that sort of passion.
Welch claims that Americans feel the policies Bernie advocates for are not cost effective. He points out that Vermont passed single-payer healthcare and then promptly did away with it due to cost. He also points out that Maryland tried the “Millionaire Tax” which proved ineffective because those millionaires would simply move away. Welch paints doubt in the hope that Bernie could win the election and succeed in delivering on his hopes and dreams for America. This can reasonably cast uncertainty into the minds of some supporters.
Matt goes on to say that Bernie’s platform has inspired enough Democrats that small positive changes can be seen already and that should be a win in Bernie’s book. He says that progressive Democrats will not see the success that more moderate Democrats can achieve. I’ve seen this argument before. “Slow and steady wins the race,” the idea that you can get farther with small compromises rather than large and rapid reform. And this may be true. But I have also heard the argument that our current system doesn’t need small fixer-uppers here and there, we need massive reform to see true, long-lasting change. And change is what we need because what we have going on now clearly isn’t working.
I don’t know if Mr. Welch’s opinion could sway anyone to look at Bernie’s presidential race any differently. From what I know of Bernie fans, they “Bern” hard for him. Many millennials already lean to the left and would love nothing more than to achieve the things on Bernie’s platform. If nothing else, we love a candidate who cares about the things that we care about and is fighting to make sure that more than the rich and white thrive while living in America. That’s something worth voting for in my book. For those against Bernie, all this did is reaffirm their reasons for voting against him because Welch certainly didn't pose him in a positive light overall.
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