Bernie Sanders’ barnstorming tour of the nation stopped over in Bakersfield last Tuesday, then went on to Folsom for an evening encore. Tens of thousands of people showed up for both events. In Folsom, there were reports of lines three miles long.
The huge crowds for Sanders and his new sidekick, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have gathered even in strong Republican states like Idaho. At Folsom, a plane flying a banner that read “Folsom is Trump Country” reminded onlookers that even in left-leaning California, many voters favor Donald Trump’s “burn it down” makeover of the federal government.
But even as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are drawing headlines during their “Fight Oligarchy” campaign, the United States is becoming ever more divided along fault lines that fracture traditional political foundations. Today’s political differences just as often spring from inhabitants of separate realities as from different viewpoints…