This isn’t going to end well — for somebody.

Just as Thursday’s Democratic primary debate was getting started, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made a declaration that should have had all adult Americans reaching for their wallets.

And Democrats of a certain age getting very scary flashbacks from the past.

Under questioning from NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, the proud democratic socialist from Vermont acknowledged that middle-class Americans would certainly be paying more taxes under his crackpot “Medicare for All” plan.

But he swore we’d be better off for it.

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Check it out here.

Savannah Guthrie to Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Can I get a direct question? Will you raise taxes for the middle class in the Sanders administration?” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/TnJ2ci3DxR — NBC News (@NBCNews) June 28, 2019

“People who have health care under Medicare for All will have no premiums, no deductibles, no co-payments, no out-of-pocket expenses,” Sanders said.

Will this statement doom Sanders' chances in 2020? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 94% (136 Votes) 6% (9 Votes)

“Yes, they will pay more in taxes, but less in health care for what they get.”

Now, some listeners might be willing to give Sanders marks for honesty — it’s not every politician who will admit taxes on the middle class will go up under his proposal.

But that would ignore the fact that, as numerous news outlets have noted, before Guthrie finally put it to him, Sanders actually dodged the question for a full minute:

“We have a new vision for America … blah-blah-blah … more wealth … blah-blah-blah … real change … blah-blah-blah …Medicare for all … blah-blah-blah … education is a right … blah-blah-blah … eliminate student debt … blah-blah-blah … Wall Street.”

And then the howler:

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“Every proposal that I have brought forth is fully paid for.”

Is fully paid for. Democrats love the passive voice when it comes to picking up the tab.

For all that anything Sanders actually said in that minute-long word salad, he might as well have promised unicorns and lollipops and rainbows and that every day will be everybody’s birthday.

The only thing that really matters is that Guthrie made Sanders acknowledge the American middle class will pay more in taxes with him in the White House.

(After the debate, Sanders even said Americans would be grateful for the privilege.)

Now, every adult American – even liberal adult Americans – know that when a Democratic politician says he’s going to raise taxes, he’s going to raise taxes a lot more than he’s admitting. That’s why they should have been reaching for their wallets.

And Democrats of a certain age might also remember the man from Minnesota, Walter Mondale, soberly promising Americans in 1984 that he was going to raise their taxes just as soon as he swept Ronald Reagan out of the White House.

By the grace of God and the good sense of the American voter, Reagan won a 49-state landslide in the 1984 election.

That didn’t just change the course of the United States, it set the stage for victory in the Cold War, ultimately freeing millions from the deadly grip of the kind of Soviet communism socialists like Sanders admired.

(He can claim otherwise now, but nobody decides to spend their honeymoon in a place they hate — not even a crank like Sanders.)

It might seem unlikely that Sanders could actually win the Democratic nomination, but Mondale won the nomination in 1984 — and the Democrats of 1984 look positively normal compared to the rabble running the party in the 21st century.

It might be hard to believe, but some Democrats probably do have enough sense of history to know that even if Mondale couldn’t have won the 1984 election, this “raise taxes” business certainly didn’t help him.

That means Sanders’ statement to Guthrie might mean his bid for the nomination doesn’t end well at all for Senator Redistributionist.

If he does win the nomination, the chances are very good that his Pied Piper act will fall flat on its face once he tries to compete with President Donald Trump for voters in a general election.

That means a Trump victory, which would be great thing for the country, of course, but a miserable, miserable stage of existence for the Democratic Party.

And if, God forbid, Sanders does win the nomination and then the actual presidency?

It would be a disaster that would make a Mondale victory in 1984 look like a blessing for the U.S.

In any case, Sanders’ statement to Guthrie isn’t going to end well for somebody.

Conservatives have to hope, pray and work like the devil to make sure that that somebody is Bernie Sanders — and his socialist followers.

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