Firstly, it bears noting that progressives in both countries have a fair amount to thank both men for—both have shifted their previously centrist parties towards leftist platforms that are genuinely popular with voters tired of the Blair-Clinton “third way.” These include policies such as Sanders’ Medicare for all, free college tuition, and $15 minimum wage, and Corbyn’s push for a “green jobs revolution,” railway nationalization, and an end to abusive hiring practices. They have driven a considerable amount of activism and enthusiasm, with Sanders racking up extraordinary levels of small-dollar donations and Labour membership surging under Corbyn.[...]
Equally damaging is how the two have reacted to the rifts, showing uncannily similar levels of stubbornness. Many Clinton supporters blame Sanders in part for her loss to Donald Trump, suggesting his refusal to throw his weight behind her—and his holding out on conceding the race after it was clear she would win—led many Sanders voters to either stay home or even back Trump. Corbyn, meanwhile, simply refuses to engage with his critics. Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson has begged for him to treat the MPs’ departures seriously, but Corbyn has merely said he is “disappointed,” without acknowledging the legitimacy of their grievances.[...]
Sanders, who surrounded himself with largely white male advisers, has systematically declined to seriously consider racism and sexism as problems in their own right, instead viewing them as outcomes of widespread economic inequality. Unsurprisingly, Clinton trounced him among minority and female voters.[...]
Corbyn tarnished his self-declared feminism in his first week as Labour leader, announcing a shadow cabinet with no women in the top three posts. Instead of acknowledging that he hadn’t properly considered the matter beforehand, as seemingly revealed by an interaction between Corbyn and a lieutenant overheard by journalists, Corbyn accused critics of “living in the 18th century.” His claim: that those jobs are now no more important than less prominent shadow cabinet posts like health and business secretary. A year later, when Labour named a roster of white men as its candidates for big city mayorships, a backbench Labour MP wrote: “I suppose feminism is out of the window when your brothers in arms want the jobs.”
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