Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:40 pm
It was a terrifying three minutes for the Koch brothers, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took on the Kochs directly and delivered a message of populism that struck at the heart of their oligarchic plot to buy control of the federal government on ABC’s This Week.
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The short segment on Sen. Sanders highlighted the Vermont senator’s anti-Koch message, “It is likely in a very short period of time that the Koch brothers themselves will have a strong political presence than Democrats or Republicans.”
Sanders was asked by ABC News if he thought this was a winnable fight. He answered, “Well, I think that’s a fair question. I don’t want to tilt at windmills. I’ve got so much to do. I just think that out there, there are so many people who are hurting, so many people who disillusioned, so many people who are viscerally upset that they’re working longer hours for lower wages and the billionaires are getting richer, and they need a voice.”
The ABC segment was short, but it was a good introduction for the rest of the country to Sen. Bernie Sanders. An introduction isn’t needed for liberals and progressions, but it was interesting to see corporate-driven Sunday shows give any airtime to Bernie Sanders.
This Week didn’t dwell on whether or not Sanders will run for president in 2016. They devoted much of the segment to his message. It was refreshing to see Sen. Sanders not treated as a novelty or dismissed. As the country has reacted to the Great Recession by drifting left in its economic thinking, Sen. Sanders’s message resonates more with the country’s basic economic populism.
Bernie Sanders is the last person that the Koch brothers want to see on a network Sunday morning show. Sen. Sanders (I-VT) did more damage to the Koch conspiracy to buy control of the federal government in three minutes than almost anyone else could have done in ten.
Studies have shown that the Sunday show guests are mostly white male Republicans. One of the reasons why a potential Bernie Sanders presidential candidacy could matter is it could generate a lot of mainstream media attention for the issues of income inequality, money in politics, and the looming Koch-backed oligarchy that is attempting a hostile takeover of nation’s electoral process.
In a media realm where Republicans dominate, Bernie Sanders sent a lightning bolt of populism through the pro-Koch drumbeat of Sunday morning talk.
Sen. Bernie Sanders remains the Koch Brothers’ worst nightmare.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
