The modern Eisenhower...

Where do I begin with the comparisons? Well, we know Sanders legitimately wishes to raise taxes for some Americans. One can argue whether these levies are punitive in nature or practice until the cows come home because we haven't seen a final bill yet, or even a formal proposal. It's all prognostication until then!

In any event, the Eisenhower administration rode some of the highest taxes ever paid by the wealthiest Americans, upwards into the 90% range! That's according to Wikipedia, anyway:



Credit - Wikipedia

With all that said, let's ask a follow-up question; "what do they (want to) do with the money?" Eisenhower built a massive nation-wide infrastructure network, so we know it is possible. Bernie says he will do the same? Excellent!

Their similarities are weakly humorous, seeing as even "Saint Reagan" is a frequent target of liberal, mocking comparisons. It all feels like it's been covered before. I would rather focus on the differences between the two, anyway, because it's in the contrast where Sanders makes his mark.

...The modern Democrat.

First of all, need I go into party-wide ideological opinion polls? If Democrats are the "liberal" party, Bernie should be winning by a much wider margin. Again, the comedians do the talking - Andy Borowitz quite enjoyably nipped at Hillary's heels recently in his recent New Yorker column. Hillary adopting Bernie's platform to win? Sounds like she's coming in second place in respect to her ideas, even if she wins at the polls.

Speaking of polls! A wildly-heralded (hat tip to fellow DK'er cdub24), newly released CBS/NYT poll declares that 80% of Republicans agree with Bernie Sanders. Well, on the topic of money in politics, anyway. But polls, as Sanders' candidacy has reminded us ad-nauseum, don't even dictate results in elections. Relying on popularity contests to define medium-to-longer term trends is almost madness.

Instead, let's examine the modern day Democrat: Equal rights? Bernie was (literally) on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, even going so far as to get arrested. So that's a Check, then. Bernie has fought for equal rights before, and he'll do so, again!

Economics? We've already covered how Bernie is interested in making the government a stronger force for good within the country, and he's been huge on infrastructure jobs, income-inequality, health care, affordable education, and all of that jazz, so check! Remember, in the olden days (of the 1950's) these were broadly accepted national check-marks by the standards of both major parties!

But, wait; Eisenhower poses a bit of a problem because he was a big-time foreign interventionist. He was involved in such wondrous schemes as the 1953 overthrow of Mohammed Mosaddegh, a popularly-elected Iranian president. This short-sighted decision led quite clearly to Iran's present-day distrust of the U.S.. That doesn't sound like Bernie! So, too, go things like Eisenhower's involvement with the Bay of Pigs. That's not just unlike Bernie, it's unlike the mainstream Democrat.

A New Type Of Democrat

All one has to do is cast aside Eisenhower's neo-Imperialist policies and it's clear that Eisenhower and Sanders occupy similar economic space to the main-stream Democrat. It is hinted at in numerous other articles, such as in Jennifer Memmolo's take on Sanders' "moral values" for Glamor, David Harsanyi's more broad Reason Magazine entry on how Sanders is the Democrats' future, but perhaps the truth lies in his record-breaking crowds and, now, record-breaking number of donors, as reported by The Young Turks, or his record-breaking crowds as reported by virtually everyone, that Bernie Sanders may represent the future of the Democratic Party!

Yet despite all he brings to the table, the chances of him completely redefining a national party are slim. Instead, it must simply be acknowledged that "The Eisenhower Democrat" is the best plausible tradition Mr. Sanders is traveling in. While it's true "democratic socialist" is what Bernie calls himself, that is a tradition better known in Europe. It needs a less "red-scare-ish" name! It needs an American name, because "American" still means something to, uhm, us Americans. Predictably, my suggestion for that name is "Eisenhower Democrat," and here is what is gained should it become widely recognized:

- The legitimacy of old Republican economics as armor to defend against the frequent and silly charges of outright communism, both in terms of tax rates as well as policies of the government having a role in economics.

- The socially liberal and non-imperialist approach that the Democratic party has taken since the Civil Rights age, with some exceptions.

- A union of legacies to create a new path forward for the Democratic party to genuinely follow.

It's an abstract thought, and perhaps a redundant one, but certainly one worth considering! I hope you will, even if you ultimately disagree with me.

When not being a force for good on the internet, Jesse Pohlman writes sci-fi novels. One of them, Protostar: An Automatic Apocalypse, is in its last days of funding crowd-funding at the time of this article's publication. Consider supporting it! Thank you!