Why Comparisons Between Sanders and George McGovern Are Wrong

Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Dr. Stephen Zunes, who is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies.

He also serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. He is also an associate editor of Peace Review.

His latest article in Truthout is entitled Sanders Is Not Another McGovern. I Know – I Worked on McGovern’s Campaign.

As fear mounts among establishment Democratic Party leaders of a potential Bernie Sanders nomination for President, the idea persists that only a centrist who can appeal to right-wing voters can win.

To illustrate that idea pundits often invoke the Democratic Party’s 1972 nomination of the progressive candidate George McGovern who lost to incumbent Richard Nixon.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently asked

If history is in the process of repeating itself, as many center-left Democrats fear, with Sen. Bernie Sanders assuming the mantle of Sen. George McGovern, the furthest-left presidential nominee in modern history. The parallels between McGovern’s policies and political game plan and those of Mr. Sanders are striking.

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