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Bernie Sanders Is Pushing the Democratic Party Towards the Far Left

Former Adjunct Fellow

While Republicans are receiving the most attention for their contentious race for their party鈥檚 nomination, the Democrats are having their own problems. Judging from her team鈥檚 recent behavior, the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, is becoming worried.

Until Joe Biden announces he is going to run -- which may happen soon -- Hillary鈥檚 biggest problem is the surge of support for the democratic socialist candidate, Bernie Sanders. Sanders gets a giant turnout everywhere he speaks, as enthusiastic crowds respond to his Robin Hood message to tax the rich (the one percent) and give the rest to the other 99 percent.

Indeed, the reveal that Sanders is now ahead in that state鈥檚 Democratic primary by 42.8% to Hillary鈥檚 32.3%, a 10-plus spread. show Sanders even with Hillary in the Iowa caucus, where both scored 37.0%. Even without declaring he is a candidate, Biden scores 14.0%. If he does get into the race, he is likely to draw many voters away from both Hillary and Sanders.

Given these results, it is not surprising to learn that the leading Hillary super PAC, David Brock鈥檚 Correct the Record, e-mailed about what it called 鈥渟imilarities鈥� between Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing extremist who now heads the Labor Party in Britain, and Bernie Sanders:

The "similarities" between the two, according to the email, include Sanders' introduction of legislation to terminate the United States' nuclear weapons program, comments that NATO's expansion into former Soviet states is dangerous because it could provoke Russia, opposition to more U.S. funds for NATO, and saying he "was concerned" that proposed new NATO members had shipped arms to Iran and North Korea.

The e-mail also equated Sanders鈥� favoring of an agreement with Venezuela that provided cheap heating oil to low-income Vermont residents, something that six other states also did, with Corbyn鈥檚 support of Venezuela鈥檚 Hugo Chavez, who Corbyn said had 鈥渆lectoral democratic credentials.鈥�

The leftist publication called Brock鈥檚 attacks 鈥渁nti-Bernie Sanders red-baiting,鈥� and the writer of the article, Simon Maloy, went on to accuse Brock鈥檚 group of trying to make Sanders appear as 鈥減art of the international socialist conspiracy鈥� and 鈥渄angerously extreme,鈥� although they had 鈥渘o compelling evidence of their opponents鈥� disqualifying radicalism.鈥�

Sanders is no Jeremy Corbyn, but in fact, his own proposals reveal him to indeed be quite extreme. As Igor Bobic wrote last June in , Hillary鈥檚 supporter, Sen. Claire McCaskill, said on television that indeed Sanders was too extreme, and complained that 鈥淚 very rarely read in any coverage of Bernie that he's a socialist.鈥� Her latter complaint, as we know, has long since been corrected by the media.

However, McCaskill -- herself a liberal Democrat -- is correct in her observation that Sanders wants an expansion of entitlements, and that he seems to have no concern for the increasing debt the United States would incur as a result of his policies.

Sanders, with his proposal for instituting a single-payer U.S. national health system, alone would help lead the country to bankruptcy. got national attention for its front-page news story, in which reporter Laura Meckler revealed that Sanders鈥� proposals would cost $18 trillion in new government spending, including 鈥渁n estimated $15 trillion for a government-run healthcare program that covers every American, plus large sums to rebuild roads and bridges, expand Social Security and make tuition free at public colleges.鈥�

To pay for it, Mr. Sanders鈥as so far detailed tax increases that, according to his staff, could bring in as much as $6.5 trillion over 10 years.

Of course, the Left disputes the 闯辞耻谤苍补濒鈥檚 analysis. argues in The Washington Post that citizens would only be paying 鈥渢hrough taxes for things we鈥檙e already paying for in other ways.鈥� And in The Nation, claims that the Journal article was 鈥渄esigned to shock and awe and discourage voters from giving the social democrat鈥檚 ideas a close look,鈥� and that 鈥淪anders鈥檚 highly progressive proposals wouldn鈥檛 cost the United States a single penny, on net, over that 10-year window. In fact, they鈥檇 cost less, overall, than what we鈥檇 spend without them.鈥�

If you believe this, as they say, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Both writers somehow forget to mention what happened in Sanders鈥� own state, Vermont, when it planned to institute a single-payer system. Gov. Peter Shumlin, the champion of 鈥淢edicare for all鈥� as the solution to our health problems, promised voters to institute universal healthcare. Then, as writes in Politico, 鈥渢he governor admitted what critics had said all along: He couldn鈥檛 pay for it.鈥� He concluded that 鈥渢he 11.5 percent payroll assessments on businesses and sliding premiums up to 9.5 percent of individuals鈥� income 鈥榤ight hurt our economy.鈥欌�

What Shumlin finally figured out is that no social service is really free, and establishing the social-democratic paradise in one state, as would be the case in our nation as a whole, would hurt those with lower- and middle-class incomes the most. Why did Vermont think it would work? It turns out, also reports, that the now notorious Jonathan Gruber, on a salary of $400,000 a year, told the governor there would be no problems. He turned out to be quite wrong. The major problem?

The model called for businesses to take on a double-digit payroll tax, while individuals would face up to a 9.5 percent premium assessment. Big businesses, in particular, didn鈥檛 want to pay for Shumlin鈥檚 plan while maintaining their own employee health plans.

Bernie Sanders will, of course, not get the nomination. But the reason the Clinton camp is trying to red-bait him is simple: many of the liberal programs she supports are as unfeasible as the ones Sanders champions. And if Elizabeth Warren decides to enter the race, she will undoubtedly resurrect the worst of Sanders鈥� proposals without having herself branded as a socialist. Moreover, she will quickly inherit all of Sanders鈥� supporters, as Sanders himself is forced to give Warren his endorsement.

That all the Democratic candidates will be advocating economically unfeasible proposals is a reflection of just how far left the Democratic Party has moved. Clinton, Warren and Biden may not be democratic socialists, but at this point, it鈥檚 a distinction without much difference.