After the first four primary contests in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination sweepstakes, one thing was clear: It was down to two old, white men, both of whom were well past the point of diminishing returns.
One was an old party hack who could be used as a puppet by socialists, the other was an old socialist hack who could be used as a puppet by the party. What, pray tell, was the difference?
Itâs difficult to give you an exhaustive list, but Friday nightâs âReal Time with Bill Maherâ provided at least one stark contrast. President Joe Biden is so old that he doesnât know what heâs telling you. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is so old he doesnât know when heâs accidentally telling you the truth.
Maher â that liberal whom conservatives occasionally like because he not only realizes, as Orwell put it, that âo see what is in front of oneâs nose needs a constant struggle,â he periodically makes that effort â decided to ask Sanders about two words that factor heavily into the modern leftist mindset.
The host was reading from an audience question: âAre we confusing equality of opportunity with trying to guarantee equity in outcomes?â
âThatâs interesting â because I think this word âequityâ has come into the language in the last few years, and before that, we didnât hear it a lot,â Maher said.
âA lot of people hear âequityâ and they hear âequalityâ like itâs the same word, and itâs not the same word and the same concept,â he continued.
And he turned to his left â naturally, Bernie was seated to Maherâs left â and asked: âSo, how would you differentiate between equity and equality?â
Then there was that pause.
Those who have followed politics for any length of time will recognize the italicized pause: That deer-in-headlights moment that hangs in the air when the only answers are bad answers and, whatâs worse, the politician being asked doesnât even have any of them.
It can last only a fraction of a second. It can last until cricket eggs laid in the venue as the question was being asked hatch some two weeks later and the hatchlings begin chirping, calling even more attention to the awkward silence. No matter how long it lasts, however, itâs there and itâs noticeable.
So there was that. Then, with a smack of the lips, Bernie attempted an answer: âWell, equality, we talk about, wellââ
Another in-italics pause. Then: âWell, I donât know what the answer to that is.â
That didnât stop him from going on, though.
âCome be to think of it, âequalityâ is equality of opportunity,â Sanders said, apparently disregarding the fact you canât use the word youâre defining to define the concept itself.
âWe live in a society where we want all people to have to have, whatever color your skinââ
Maher then interrupted: âAnd equity is more guarantee of outcome, is it not?â
That, of course, is the answer any conservative would have given.
âYeah, I think so,â Bernie responded, confronted with an argument he couldnât win.
Oh.
To be fair, Sanders said he came down on the side of equality, at least in Maherâs presence. Donât tell that to his campaign, though, which stated:
âThis campaign is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring, in programming, and in all other aspects of the work we do. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are deeply connected to our mission, our success, and to serving the American people. Some organizational priorities include:
Or Bernie himself:
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Notice, pay equity, not equality. Itâs not a matter of what job you do or anything like that â equal pay for equal genders, however many of them there are today. Thatâs equity. Which Bernie Sanders isnât behind. Except when he says he is.
And that brings up the question of whether Bernie was lying to Maher to hide the dark truth that he really doesnât âbelieveâ in equality at all.
To be as fair as possible, Sanders isnât the kind of drum-banger on equity that younger Bernie-influenced politicians are, but he still supports the concept in name â until heâs asked to define it, realizes his definition sounds a lot like life in Maduroâs Venezuela or Ortegaâs Nicaragua (not like heâd support any of those regimes ⌠oh wait), and goes with âequality.â
Fridayâs âReal Timeâ was a glimpse into an alternate reality where then-House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn didnât act as a deus ex machina and save Joe Bidenâs floundering campaign by endorsing him before the pivotal South Carolina primary. Instead of a Democrat too far gone to talk, weâd have one too far gone to lie.
Rest assured, however, that if Bernie Sanders had taken office as the 46th president of these United States, weâd have more equity than weâd know what to do with â no matter what comes out of Sen. Waldorfâs mouth now that heâs not in any position to make that happen.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.