Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Campaign 2020 First Bernie Sanders Thread 2020

Good answer!

The way I see it, Gore was heavily backed by the party while Bradley seemed almost a token challenger.

Almost the opposite appears to be happening now. Sanders running as the insurgent against the establishment clown car.

Maybe opposite results in the general?

I feel like we’re in George Costanza’s ‘opposite’ world.

Sanders is the only candidate of either party to ever win the first three states in a competitive election.

I think that's the answer you were really looking for. Gore only did it because he had no competition to speak of.

Backlash from the Clinton administration got us GW Bush.

Backlash from the Obama administration got us Trump.

Stands to reason that backlash from the Trump admin might get us Sanders.

People vote dem/left when things are bad. When things are good, people get selfish and "moralistic" and immediately vote for the GOP/right. Since they don't have bad times to fight, they have to be able to "fight" - or just plain pick on - people lower down the ladder than themselves.

The question kinda becomes when has a far left candidate not won the first three states against 5 moderates? It looks as if Bernie will win it as the moderate crowd (bloomberg, ami, mayor whatever, biden and steyer).

All the moderates have already said they were going to stick it out until the bitter end. Not particularly bright. One would have thought they could have sat down and decided who to run and what positions they could get if he/she won the election. This way, I fear, the Democrats will lose the election and get the opportunity to live with, and accept responsibility for, 4 more years of Trump the Terrible.

Of course there is the inspiration of 5 candidates sacrificing for pride, history and a serious lack of sense.

So Sanders wins the primary.

Then we find out what the national character really is. If the American people put Trump back in, then they are not worth fighting for.

Yep - then the problem becomes beating Trump. Given that Trump has, pretty much, pissed off, or disgusted, just about any group you can think of Bernie may actually have a chance. Bernie's promises are, basically, lies. So, hopefully, folks are already used to a president that lies all the time so they just might forgive Bernie when all his plans goto dust. I am basing this on the simple fact that Bernie is a noted utter failure as a United States senator/legislator and is at the bottom of virtually every measurement in that regard. There is no reason to assume he would change if president.

I am not really convinced that any of the candidates is interested in much, other than just being president. We will, of course, see in the fullness of time. On reflection I suspect Bloomberg, Mayor Pete, Ami, and Steyer might actually want to do something.

Even if President Sanders is way out in left field, he can't pass laws. He can make executive orders, but to make real permanent changes he would need a congress full of little Bernies. He won't get that. Far from it. But what he can do is to sign every bill a Democratic congress sends him. So his "promises" are simply things he would like to do. Nobody is going to blame him if congress doesn't go along.

In particular, the House has to originate every bill that spends taxpayer money. And House Democrats are going to be just that: Democrats, not Socialists.

That is why all this handwringing over Sanders turning us into Cuba is utterly ridiculous, and it doesn't even deserve the dignity of a serious response.
Sanders knows that to be successful, he has to set a rational tone for his administration and sell a rational and workable vision.

I am confident that he can do that.
I am also confident that a couple of others can, too...just maybe not quite as close to what I personally believe would be the best route.
But even so, I think that a couple of the candidates will do a competent job leading the country.

Competence is probably the most important thing we need to concern ourselves with right now, because "right now", we are teetering on the brink of a headlong plunge into authoritarian fascist dictatorship and the end of the rule of law.

What Sanders accomplishes after he's in is secondary, to me.

First you stop the bleeding.