Are Warren and Sanders the Same?
The first Democratic debates will take place next week. While viewers won’t get to see Warren and Sanders debate directly, many will be watching to see if they represent different politics or just different styles. More at Vox.
A lot of people who I think are serious socialists in some more profound way put a lot of stock in the putative ideological contrast between Sanders & Warren, but Bernie keeps making it clear that his “socialism” New Deal liberalism just like Warren’s politics.
But the starkest apparent point of contrast lies in how the two candidates describe themselves ideologically. Sanders calls himself a socialist; Elizabeth Warren identifies as a capitalist. The two ideologies, as traditionally conceived, are, on paper, diametrically opposed. You either believe that the productive constituent parts of the economy should be controlled by workers themselves or the state or you do not.
The angry, old man socialist routine isn’t working out so well for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). As I’ve been anticipating for several weeks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is catching up to him, at least in two polls. In the Economist/YouGov poll, since last week former vice president Joe Biden is down one point but leads nationally with 26 percent; Warren, however, gained five points in a week and Sanders lost four, leaving them at 16 percent and 12 percent, respectively.