Tariq Ali posted this statement on his Facebook wall:
“New York is vital for the Sanders campaign. If the Bronx rally anything to go by it might be possible. Even now WITHOUT the anti-democratic ‘super-delegates’ the race is closer than anyone would have thought. Regardless of whether or not one agrees with Bernie his victory would be a huge blow against all the enemies of the Left, so grandstanding at the moment is unhelpful. If he can’t pull it off, the big question is whether a sizeable chunk of his supporters are prepared to break with the Democrats and organise independently. That would be Sanders’ lasting legacy. Better still if he carried on the fight as an indy candidate. Utopian? Probably. In these bad times ANYTHING progressive needs to be pushed forward…”
What does that mean? What does grandstanding mean in this context? Does it mean refrain from calling Sanders out for his reactionary views on drones, Israel, & undocumented immigrants? Even if Sanders “carried on the fight as an indy candidate,” are his politics sufficient for the times we live in & the massive crises we face? “ANYTHING progressive needs to be pushed forward”? Does that mean we have to accept campaign rhetoric like it was good coin?
That statement sounds like a battle cry but it’s a whimper of defeat.