Anytime Bernie Sanders is asked about his affection for Castro, the USSR, and Marxist regimes, he replies with the usual line about condemning “authoritarianism” anywhere in the world. This is a variation of the line that Islamic organizations began using after 9/11 of condemning “extremism” in all religions. It’s not an answer, but a diversion from the issue.

Authoritarianism is not an ideology. It’s like saying you condemn punching people in the face, but not the reason for the attacks.

Bernie’s distinction is that he supports all the wonderful things the Soviet Union or Castro did, like subway chandeliers and literacy programs that teach you to sing Castro’s praises, but not the authoritarian aspects of the regimes, as if the two were separate.

Indeed, Bernie’s platform is all about forcibly doing one thing or another, taking away people’s health insurance or money.

You can’t centralize or confiscate things without authoritarianism. Bernie’s insistence that he condemns authoritarianism is not only false, indeed he defended crackdowns by socialist regimes, but his entire agenda is based on authoritarianism.

What Bernie is really doing is playing the old game of insisting that he’d like to compel people without the compulsion, only to then turn around, when his plans don’t work, and go for compulsion. That’s the game every lefty regime has gotten good at playing.

“If only they had obeyed, instead of sabotaging the revolution.”

You can’t separate mass confiscation and centralization, socialism, from the means of enforcing it, through authoritarianism.