Tony Brasunas

The “lesser-of-evils” argument might not work for independent voters this year.

For those who hope for swift unity in the Democratic Party, there are reasons to believe it won’t happen if Hillary Clinton is the nominee.

While there are serious policy differences between Clinton and Bernie Sanders, a deeper fault line must be acknowledged between their supporters.

Certainly the two candidates remain far apart on issues that matter to progressives and independents — fracking, the TPP, tuition-free public colleges, universal single-payer healthcare, racist policing, militarism in the Middle East — to name just a few. Indeed, based on policy and political strategy, many independents and Democrats see Clinton as more like a traditional Republican. Many even see it as indicative of privilege if one supports Clinton over Sanders, given the current state of the economy and the environment. Many intelligent progressives see the two candidates as representing different social classes.

Nevertheless, a debate about policy differences only partially explains the disconnect between Clinton (more…)

It has never been more important to ‘think global, act local.’

The movement in Britain to leave the EU and the movement to elect Bernie Sanders in the US share an underlying cause. Across the world today there is massive dissatisfaction and anger with how global capitalist rule is converging into smaller and smaller units with more and more power via elite agreements — NAFTA, WTO, TPP perhaps, and yes, the EU. These elite agreements are driving down wages for nearly everyone, destroying the environment, and starting or abetting wars.

There are several responses to this dissatisfaction and anger.

One shortsighted and simplistic response is xenophobia and isolationism. This response is manifest in the appeal of the Brexit vote and in the appeal of Donald Trump. If you can tell yourself that it’s your neighbor — rather than unregulated global corporate rule — that is making people you know lose their healthcare, their jobs, or their homes, then you can close a symbolic door to the world.

The more challenging response is manifest in the rise of Bernie Sanders — and also in the push to radically democratize the EU. People across the world (more…)

Are you a democratic socialist? If you haven’t already thought about it, yes, you probably are. In my experience, most decent people in the United States today are democratic socialists, even if they don’t know it yet.

Democratic socialism is the main reason we’re not living in a fascist or feudalist country right now.

Essentially all developed countries on earth today, including the US, have a mix of two basic economic systems: socialism and capitalism. Let’s look at these two fundamental approaches to distribution of wealth and power.

socialist — in the interest of society
capitalist — in the interest of capital

Capitalist policies favor people and corporations who have the most wealth or capital to invest to create more wealth. If left unattended, over a few decades, a purely capitalist system will crystallize a small .01% of a population who are (more…)

It is a rare, historic moment right now in the United States. There is a political movement to take our democracy back from the giant corporations that have been running things, a movement aligned with the great progressive movements of history, a movement to tackle society’s most pressing problems, a movement to spread wealth and power more broadly among the American people.

In this rare moment, Double Happiness is proud to make its first-ever political endorsement: Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.

Here are four reasons Bernie Sanders and this movement are uniquely positioned to do great things for this country and our planet.

1. Bernie Sanders doesn’t accept corporate contributions or run a “Super PAC” to bundle corporate money. In our corrupted political landscape, this is amazingly rare, essentially unique. Because of this, Bernie Sanders will be able to be his own president and not be beholden to the giant banks and corporations that normally fund candidates’ campaigns for office. This will enable him to take action nimbly (more…)

The Vermont Senator is poised to arrive at the Democratic convention as the stronger candidate to take on Trump.

Senator Bernie Sanders would defeat Donald Trump relatively easily in a general election, according to the latest polls. An average of the three most recent major polls predicts a victory of more than 14 points, which would be a landslide in modern presidential politics.

• CNN/ORC, May 1: Sanders obliterates Trump by 16 points
• IBD/TIPP, April 28: Sanders defeats Trump by 12 points
• USA Today/Suffolk, April 24: Sanders defeats Trump by 15 points

As the country adjusts to the notion that a xenophobic, racist billionaire will be the Republican candidate for the presidency in November, no doubt many hope the strongest candidate emerges from the Democratic Party to defeat him.

The polls are clear on who that candidate is.

And at this point, it isn’t just (more…)

The most popular politician in the country is up against all three facets of the American political power structure, and he has already defeated two.

After weeks of inspiration and joy, there was anger and sadness this past week in the Bernie Sanders movement. After historic rallies throughout the state, Hillary Clinton’s apparent victory in New York left millions in the movement wondering whether it was the corporate media or the Democratic National Committee that was screwing them over. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but it’s a third culprit who deserves their scorn.

Yes, the DNC has actively worked to rig this primary for Hillary Clinton, by minimizing and delaying the debates, by counting superdelegates as if they vote before July’s convention, and by surreptitiously funneling money to her campaign that was solicited for down-ticket candidates.

Yes, there have also been countless instances of blatant propaganda in the corporate media, most galling perhaps the ones appearing daily in the New York Times and NPR — the so-called “N-axis” — where many thoughtful urban Democrats get their news. So tendentious has Paul Krugman become, for instance, one can only assume he’s angling for a position in a Hillary Clinton cabinet

But the Bernie movement has it’s own sources of news, thanks to the Internet you’re using right now, and the campaign has its own sources of funds, too, thanks to the number 27.

The Elephant in the Room

The obstacle that the movement has to confront right now is something else: the voting system itself. (more…)