Chapman should speak only for his extreme right base

The Trib's Steve Chapman sure is spooked by the inspirational, revolutionary and utterly unstoppable campaign of Bernie Sanders to end the rigged game of billionaire bought oligarchy in which he is comfortably ensconced.  His gratuitous hit piece "Left and right should reject Sanders" may be the single most insulting opinion piece directed at millions of progressives brought fully into the process of returning governance to the people from the oligarchs. Every criticism he offered of Sanders comes direct from the extreme right playbook designed to trivialize and demonize Sanders. Two false criticisms jump out that deserve refutation: Sanders failure to accomplish anything in a quarter century in Congress, and his call to abolish fracking as one means of combating climate change.   

The phony accomplishment charge is based solely on establishment icon Barney Franks' claim Sanders accomplished nothing because he's unable to compromise. Rather than using a straw man critic supporting Hillary Clinton, Chapman could have done his homework to reveal Sanders:

•  Passed a corporate crime accountability amendment to the Victims Justice Act of 1995  requiring white collar criminals to disclose their crimes to all victims 
•  Passed a competitive grants to colleges and universities amendment in 1998 Higher  Education  legislation increasing grants to schools using cooperative purchasing to save    costs
•  Passed an amendment to the Treasury Appropriations Act of 2003 stopping the IRS from 

            violating current pension age discrimination laws

•  Obtained a hundred million dollar increase for community health centers in 2001
•  Passed an amendment to a 2001 appropriations bill forbidding the importation of goods  made with child labor
• Obtained a $22 million increase to 2004 legislation providing low income energy assistance and weatherization programs
• Passed a 2005 amendment to legislation which prohibited the Import Export Bank from 

           providing loans for nuclear projects in China

• Passed an amendment to 2007 legislation which required a minimum of 30% of hot water needs in federal building come from solar power
• Passed an amendment to 2007 legislation which provided an additional $10 million to beef up National Guard units depleted by serving in our criminal Iraq war. 
• Passed an amendment to 2009 bank bailout legislation which prohibited bailout funds from displacing American workers
• Passed an amendment to 2009 legislation which required reporting on improvements in child care for military parents
• Passed an amendment to 2012 legislation to promote transparency on defense officials entering the revolving door of defense industry employment
• Passed an amendment to 2013 legislation to provide assistance to autistic children of military personnel 

That's more accomplishment than the entire 'de-legitimize Obama' do nothing Republicans put together. 

On the subject of climate change Chapman denigrates Sanders for being against fracking which Chapman sees as the panacea to reducing carbon emissions. Alas, carbon emissions aren't the top priority in fracking friendly Oklahoma. They're too busy grappling with the colossal increase in fracking caused earthquakes which have driven quakes there from 2 a year to 2 a day in just 7 years. 

Chapman got it half right in his Sanders piece. The right will love its anti Bernie fantasy. The left? We're too busy Feeling the Bern soon to turn its heat on the billionaire oligarch class where they sit down.