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Bernie Sanders

One of the reasons I voted for Bernie in the primaries is because if more people have access to education that's not ruiniously expensive, those people are then suitable for jobs compatible with their skill set. Plus, they won't be saddled with student debt for a couple of decades. Remember: Bernie said free public college for those whose families make less than $125,000 per year. Not the same as everyone getting college for free. As for free health care, that's a no brainer.
 
Poor Bernie. Hillary stole the Democratic nomination from you, you did not stand up to her or were complacent and allowed this to happen, and you could have changed things. :(
 
No you can get it, but you have to invest in yourself IE pay for it. Nothing is free/ 'free' college devalues the college degree even further.

All the education in the world won't matter when there are no jobs, and they import/ export the labor force.
This is very true. Way too many people get a university or college degree, or multiple degrees that they never use, or attempt to use.

This is not the case with me but I know and have met a lot of people who have a college or university degree or advanced degrees, and they have never used them ever.
 
So Americans, tell me, is Bernie going to try for the Presidency again in 2020? Or is the progressive/socialist baton being passed on to someone else like Elizabeth Warren?
 
So forgive my ignorance (because it is yawningly vast, I assure you ;) ) but do candidates not start posturing almost immediately after the last election?

I guess I don't really understand how it goes as we don't have a presidential system and we (usually) already know who our next prime minister could be 4-5 years before the next general election.
 
Whaddya know, Bernie has a thread too!


Though, honestly, I don't see him getting another chance. The socialist sizzle he had has been usurped, and he just doesn't wear it as well as AOC.
 
And...I was wrong..

He's In For 2020: Bernie Sanders Is Running For President Again

Sen. Bernie Sanders has confirmed to VPR that he is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

His official announcement video was posted online Tuesday morning.

"I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first," Sanders told VPR's Bob Kinzel. "And what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of ? a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings ? that's what I'm going to carry all over this country."

Listen to Bob Kinzel's interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders above.

Sanders said he is running to oppose President Donald Trump, and to enact many of the progressive ideas ? including universal health care coverage, a $15 minimum wage and reducing student debt ? that he championed in 2016.

"I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country," Sanders said. "I think he is a pathological liar... I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants."

Sanders said his campaign hopes to enlist one million people in a "grassroots movement of people prepared to stand up and fight."

Sanders acknowledged he will encounter a "very different campaign," than in 2016, when he emerged as the sole serious challenger to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and won 23 primaries and caucuses.

A diverse Democratic field includes more than a dozen candidates who have either formally declared or expressed serious interest. The challengers include five of Sanders' colleagues in the U.S. Senate ? Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.

When asked by VPR's Bob Kinzel about concerns that he no longer best represents "the face of the new Democratic Party," Sanders, 77, said:

"We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age," Sanders said. "I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for."

Sanders also touted his health and "energy level."
 
It's interesting your first thought is attacks from Reps. I don't think they'll view him as any kind of threat. Certainly not enough to warrant any acknowledgement, much less criticism.

I'm just wondering how the Dems will handle him. They bumped him out last time for Hillary. She hasn't put her name in for 2020...yet. At the same time, they have the younger, sexier, socialist in AOC that can give them a longer run - if they are willing to go the socialist direction, which I don't think a decent portion of their base is willing to do. (Yes, I know she's not old enough). I imagine he'll get sidelined early with poor results and drop out, then enjoy the rest of his years representing Vermont, who seems to love him.
 
It seems like Bernie probably had his chance (sort of - actually he got robbed but you know). What we need is to get a candidate who has the broadest appeal and inspires the most confidence, so that we don't have Dems who decide they can't vote for (insert "socialist" here - I use quotes because none of them are really campaigning of true socialism, but rather democratic socialism, more like just using taxpayer money to pay for social services to a much greater extent than we do now). I support Bernie and if he makes it, I'll vote for him for damn sure. But my sense is a different candidate (and not AOC even if she was old enough) would perform better. If there's a level-headed experienced candidate towards the center, we may even pull a significant number of Repubs away from Trump, who are dissatisfied with his performance.
 
I was referring to the ageism of my fellow progressives. The ones who'd rather have a more centrist candidate like Harris or the others. It happened in 2016 and it will again.

Bernie is a true believer of his cause, most others I've seen are just trying to formulate an identity they think will be most popular. Bernie is a real guy who believes the same things he did decades ago , for the most part.

all the polls showed him beating trump by a significantly larger margin than Hillary leading up to the convention.

im still #bernieorbust. I honestly just don't trust the others very much. I think he should seriously consider running with Beto either as president or VP if shit don't work out.
 
I agree, I feel the same way, I just have a feeling it wouldn't play out as well as some others. Especially because of the smear campaign against using tax money on things that benefit the people (they call it socialism and liken it to communism, drawing on the fear from the Cold War era, and they've only increased these efforts since the 2016 election). Enough that a significant portion of Dems, I think, would be less likely to support a candidate running on that platform. It's a damn shame, too, because 99.9% of all of the people would benefit from these "socialist" policies... free health care, education (actually I support reasonable prices for higher education again, rather than free education for everyone - make it so you can work part-time while getting your degree and not end up in debt, like it used to be). Money spent on social safety nets and infrastructure instead of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. But no, that's SOCIALISM = evil = fear.

We need to be building the middle class back up. Our most successful time as a country was when the middle class was strong. The way we're going, squeezing out the middle class for the benefit of the elite, is unsustainable. The elite don't care, but the rest of us certainly should.
 
Centrist Dems are a busted flush now the overton window's shifted leftwards. I think this is going to be a really interesting period for the Dems.
 
you're being uncharacteristically coy.

you're saying you think he does not have integrity? care to elaborate on that?

or are you trying to say i have no integrity but you don't want to say it publicly?

alasdair
 
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