They are Jesse Jacksonizing Donald Trump. Every reporter that covers his story is always sure to say that he can’t win the nomination. Is that so? Isn’t he leading by a wide margin against 15 other candidates, each commanding but a sliver of support? They did the same thing to Jesse Jackson. Every time his name came up, back in 1984 and 1988, there always came the mantra, “Jesse Jackson is unelectable.” I don’t think that word even existed before Jesse Jackson ran for president. It is one thing to write an opinion piece, to editorialize about the news, but to report the news and simultaneously editorialize, is mixing apples and oranges.
Looking at the way Trump is treated today, and the way Jesse Jackson was back in the day, one can clearly see signals being sent out to program the public. Back in February 1983, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Jackson was leading the entire Democratic field, and then the press went to work on him. And they did not stop until the primaries were over. Today, as Donald Trump’s poll numbers rise, so do the bland assurances that of course he cannot win the nomination, notwithstanding glaring evidence to the contrary.
They did a reverse Jesse Jackson for Obama. The media got behind him from the start. It was like they were reading from a script. At first, African Americans were more behind Hillary. They felt she had a better chance. However, once they saw whites were falling into line, they quickly joined the bandwagon.
There are two clear alternatives in the 2016, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Sanders is the avowedly socialist Vermont Senator running against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nod. Never heard of him? Not surprising, the media has ignored him, even though he is drawing even bigger audiences than Trump. Each party talks a good game but neither delivers. The Democrats say they’re for the poor, the middle class and people of color, but they bailed out the banks who ripped off America, and have done nothing to end mass incarceration and police terror. The Republicans stoke the fears of uneducated, resentful whites, but like the Democrats pick a centrist candidate every four years.
Enter Trump and Sanders. Trump doesn’t beat around the bush and use code words, instead he feeds red meat to the mob. Meanwhile, Sanders keeps pounding the theme of income inequality and the means to rectify it, backed by the legislative record that shows he’s not bluffing.
And so how will things shake out? Trump will likely get the nomination, and it would be great if Sanders did too. And then we could have two real choices for America. But Hillary will likely come out on top to face Trump in the general election. And she will likely win.
