Bernie Sanders 2016?

[RPfan1992]

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on MSNBC Friday morning to discuss yesterday’s landmark vote to curtail the filibuster process in the Senate, but ended up stoking rumors about his own future when he said he would be open to a presidential run in 2016.

The latest round of speculation began earlier this week when Sanders first expressed his “consideration” on Thom Hartmann’s radio show and then told his local Burlington Free Press that he’s “willing to consider making a run if no one else with progressive views similar to his ends up taking the plunge.” When MSNBC’s Chris Jansing asked the senator about his plans Friday, adding, “a lot of liberals would love you to put your hat in the ring,” he reiterated the sentiment.

After reviewing his core issues of the disappearing middle class and income inequality, Sanders said, “These issues have got to be addressed. It will be a great disservice to the political process and the American people if someone is not standing up for working class people and the middle class. Am I the only person talking about those issues? Absolutely not. Might there be better people? Yes, there might.”

Jansing followed this answer be asking whether his decision might be affected by the presence of presumed frontrunner Hillary Clinton or Vice President Joe Biden in the race.

“It’s not the individual, Chris, it’s the issues. The collapse of the middle class and growing wealth and income inequality must be discussed. Can other people do it? Absolutely. If nobody else is going to do it? You know what, I would be prepared to do it.”

At 72, Sanders is older than both Clinton and Biden, and would be 75 on Inauguration Day 2017, a full 6 years older than the previous oldest-elected President Ronald Reagan. Then again, Sanders himself delivered an eight and half hour “filibuster” speech against the extension of the Bush tax cuts in 2010 at the age of 69, so that should say something about his stamina and drive.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoCgt-xD1wo

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-bernie-sanders-vt-senator-fuels-2016-rumors-on-msnbc/

[Snew]

I'd take him over Hillary or Christie, that's for sure.

[amy31416]

Hey OP, you don't have many posts here, and I'm just warning you that if this thread isn't just ignored, you're in for a beat-down for suggesting a socialist.

[RPfan1992]

Hey OP, you don't have many posts here, and I'm just warning you that if this thread isn't just ignored, you're in for a beat-down for suggesting a socialist.

I'm not saying he should be president, I want to show people who is running and who isn't in 2016.

[ronpaulfollower999]

I'd take Mitt Romney's sideburns over all three.

[Christian Liberty]

I wouldn't vote for Sanders.

[CaptLouAlbano]

Sanders is a socialist, anyone on this forum that would even consider voting for him should be tarred and feathered. That being said, if Sanders ran as an Independent, it would virtually assure a GOP victory. So if Rand wins the nomination, then I say "run Bernie run"

[Feeding the Abscess]

Sanders is a socialist, anyone on this forum that would even consider voting for him should be tarred and feathered. That being said, if Sanders ran as an Independent, it would virtually assure a GOP victory. So if Rand wins the nomination, then I say "run Bernie run"

Be careful what you wish for. Sanders would go on the offensive regarding all of the third and fourth rails, like social security, medicare, public education, etc. Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those, and I sincerely doubt he'd choose a presidential general election as his starting point.

[Christian Liberty]

Sanders is a socialist, anyone on this forum that would even consider voting for him should be tarred and feathered. That being said, if Sanders ran as an Independent, it would virtually assure a GOP victory. So if Rand wins the nomination, then I say "run Bernie run"

LOL! There's absolutely no chance I'd vote for him though. No way.

[angelatc]

Sanders is a socialist, anyone on this forum that would even consider voting for him should be tarred and feathered. That being said, if Sanders ran as an Independent, it would virtually assure a GOP victory. So if Rand wins the nomination, then I say "run Bernie run"

Warren / Sanders 2016

[CaptLouAlbano]

Be careful what you wish for. Sanders would go on the offensive regarding all of the third and fourth rails, like social security, medicare, public education, etc. Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those, and I sincerely doubt he'd choose a presidential general election as his starting point.

You think so?

Sanders quotes:

"Social Security has been the most successful and reliable federal program in modern American history...The fairest approach to making Social Security fully solvent for the next 50 years is to lift the cap on taxable income, now at $113,700, and apply the Social Security payroll tax on income above $250,000." http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/stop-the-social-security-stupidity-a-q-a

"The only long-term solution to America's health care crisis is a single-payer national health care program." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/a-single-payer-system-lik_b_4021534.html

I could go on, but I won't. Sanders is a socialist through and through.

You stated, "Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those". And the problem is, that you, and others think that in order to take a "libertarian position" on these issues, they have to speak about the full elimination of these programs. That's libertarian utopian speak, not reality. Rand is a libertarian in that he applies libertarian principles to reality, he is best described as a pragmatic libertarian, or a libertarian conservative.

Libertarianism in its purist, academic form is impractical, which is why no one in the mainstream of political thought espouses it as a workable solution to the problems we face.

[Feeding the Abscess]

You think so?

Sanders quotes:

"Social Security has been the most successful and reliable federal program in modern American history...The fairest approach to making Social Security fully solvent for the next 50 years is to lift the cap on taxable income, now at $113,700, and apply the Social Security payroll tax on income above $250,000." http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/stop-the-social-security-stupidity-a-q-a

"The only long-term solution to America's health care crisis is a single-payer national health care program." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/a-single-payer-system-lik_b_4021534.html

I could go on, but I won't. Sanders is a socialist through and through.

You stated, "Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those". And the problem is, that you, and others think that in order to take a "libertarian position" on these issues, they have to speak about the full elimination of these programs. That's libertarian utopian speak, not reality. Rand is a libertarian in that he applies libertarian principles to reality, he is best described as a pragmatic libertarian, or a libertarian conservative.

You're making my point. Sanders would go on the offensive against Rand on those issues, and Rand would denounce the libertarian position while saying he wants to keep things funded in perpetuity. And that's best case scenario.

People will believe Rand wants to eliminate every safety net and welfare program on day one, and Rand will be screaming from the rooftops that those who want to eliminate those programs are insane. It's a no-win situation to have a hardcore leftist like Sanders run against Rand.

Furthermore, 'fund them in perpetuity' is in no sense libertarian. Unless you think Noam Chomsky is the bastion of libertarianism or something.

[FrankRep]

Is he going to run on the Socialist ticket?

[CaptLouAlbano]

I trust that Rand knows how to present his positions in a way that they garner large scale support. As a communicator, I think he rivals Reagan. Sanders comes off as a lunatic to the average person. Besides, the Dems wouldn't let him anywhere near the debates if he ran independent

[cajuncocoa]

Bernie Sanders 2016?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--yhBeV8jBEk/Umiwupbaz2I/AAAAAAAAC7w/_CdiksqSNzw/s640/aw_hell_no.png

[Christian Liberty]

You think so?

Sanders quotes:

"Social Security has been the most successful and reliable federal program in modern American history...The fairest approach to making Social Security fully solvent for the next 50 years is to lift the cap on taxable income, now at $113,700, and apply the Social Security payroll tax on income above $250,000." http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/stop-the-social-security-stupidity-a-q-a

"The only long-term solution to America's health care crisis is a single-payer national health care program." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/a-single-payer-system-lik_b_4021534.html

I could go on, but I won't. Sanders is a socialist through and through.

You stated, "Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those". And the problem is, that you, and others think that in order to take a "libertarian position" on these issues, they have to speak about the full elimination of these programs. That's libertarian utopian speak, not reality. Rand is a libertarian in that he applies libertarian principles to reality, he is best described as a pragmatic libertarian, or a libertarian conservative.

Libertarianism in its purist, academic form is impractical, which is why no one in the mainstream of political thought espouses it as a workable solution to the problems we face.

Not to defend Sanders, of course, but why do you believe libertarianism in pure form is impractical? And do you mean impractical as in it wouldn't work, or impractical as in people wouldn't accept it?

Social security is an absolutely massive expenditure. Its even more expensive than the military. That's a serious issue. The question is whether Rand truly does not understand this, or if he's simply pandering. I hope for the latter.

[compromise]

Is Sanders even that good on those few issues progressives are meant to be good on? Seems like the more moderate Ron Wyden's been the main dissenting voice on the left in the Senate these last few months. Sanders seems to have been toeing the party line on everything but fiscal issues, where he's even worse than the administration.

[Dianne]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoCgt-xD1wo

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-bernie-sanders-vt-senator-fuels-2016-rumors-on-msnbc/

There are some things he says, that I like; and some things he says that I don't. Keep in mind, I was a diehard democrat all my life, that turned libertarian. Anything out of Reid/Obama's mouth are pure lies.

I believe this man is not a mafia like our current President... I believe he sincerely believes what he is saying.. Whether I agree or disagree, I like the honesty of a Presidential candidate. The feud going on right now between the media and Obama not allowing the media to photograph; is so obvious (and has been expoused number times) ... Obama is gay .... always has been. And Obama sometimes makes that obvious, like when he threw a baseball pitch out in the world series or something.

So why don't they just come out and tell us Obama is gay, rather than prohibiting journalists from taking pictures of him. Only White House photographers can photograph the man, then span through them to see where he doesn't flub up.

Just be honest politicians ... I would have never "not voted" for Obama because he is gay. I would have never voted for Obama because his entire life is a lie.

[Brian4Liberty]

Warren / Sanders 2016

And the Marxists come out of the closet...

[oyarde]

Mr Global Warming .

[TheTyke]

I kind of like the idea as long as he's independent or 3rd party. Would probably siphon off more Dem votes and make the Randslide even more overwhelming...

[Cap]

For the sake of discussion, what is Bernie's position on the Fed?

[ctiger2]

Sanders would make an excellent clueless-no-idea-how-an-economy-really-works-wealth-redistributing-authoritarian-fascist.

[Ronin Truth]

Is he going to run on the Socialist ticket?

Nah, he'll run Democrat ..... same thing. :p

[juleswin]

For the sake of discussion, what is Bernie's position on the Fed?

Sanders: the republicans and the corporations are depriving our seniors of their social security benefits by trying to obstruct the FED money printing policy. If I am made preisdent, I will increase the tax of the rich to pay for all the paper and ink the fed will need to print out $500k to every senior and middle class citizen.

I bet his real answer would be very close to the rubbish I just typed up. My problem with Bernie Sanders is that I think the man is a partisan and a fraud, he would try to latch on to any social populist meme there is while voting bill that benefit large corporation and hurt the little guy. Yes he voted against a lot of the free trade agreements but those are the exceptions for him and not the rule.

[jkob]

Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren won't come close to their party's nomination and they're both huge partisan hacks so they won't be running 3rd party.

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2010/01/22/news/economy/paul_sanders_fed.fortune/sanders_paul.top.jpg

[rich34]

Well hell if Rand fails to secure the nomination maybe it's time Ron really takes the gloves off and runs independent. Surely he'd get enough support to get into the debates. Could you imagine a July 4th money bomb for Ron? Might just surpass 2007 numbers with the right promotion.

[parocks]

You think so?

Sanders quotes:

"Social Security has been the most successful and reliable federal program in modern American history...The fairest approach to making Social Security fully solvent for the next 50 years is to lift the cap on taxable income, now at $113,700, and apply the Social Security payroll tax on income above $250,000." http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/stop-the-social-security-stupidity-a-q-a

"The only long-term solution to America's health care crisis is a single-payer national health care program." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/a-single-payer-system-lik_b_4021534.html

I could go on, but I won't. Sanders is a socialist through and through.

You stated, "Rand hasn't shown the desire to take libertarian positions on those". And the problem is, that you, and others think that in order to take a "libertarian position" on these issues, they have to speak about the full elimination of these programs. That's libertarian utopian speak, not reality. Rand is a libertarian in that he applies libertarian principles to reality, he is best described as a pragmatic libertarian, or a libertarian conservative.

Libertarianism in its purist, academic form is impractical, which is why no one in the mainstream of political thought espouses it as a workable solution to the problems we face.

Making some absolutely key points there. Utopian vs Reality. Very important discussion right there.

[parocks]

Not to defend Sanders, of course, but why do you believe libertarianism in pure form is impractical? And do you mean impractical as in it wouldn't work, or impractical as in people wouldn't accept it?

Social security is an absolutely massive expenditure. Its even more expensive than the military. That's a serious issue. The question is whether Rand truly does not understand this, or if he's simply pandering. I hope for the latter.

Ron Paul was saying something like "leave Social Security alone", while saying that cutting the military budget was priority #1.

[Saint Vitus]

It would be nice to have an actual anti-war candidate. But yeah, I'm not going to vote for Sanders.

[juleswin]

Ron Paul was saying something like "leave Social Security alone", while saying that cutting the military budget was priority #1.

To be fair to him, what he meant to say is leave SS alone for now, he would get to it once the big stuff that wouldn't disrupt ordinary american lives are dealt with. I have also heard say something about allowing people to opt out of the system and we know opting out will kill whats left of SS

[kcchiefs6465]

For the sake of discussion, what is Bernie's position on the Fed?
He has roasted Bernanke (or was it Geithner?) a few times. He surely agrees with an audit and he agrees with a "revamping" of the system (i.e. Congressional control over fiat monetary whims) but I'd doubt he'd ever want to end it.

Search on Youtube for, "Bernie Sanders Ben Bernanke." A couple of them were excellent.

[RJB]

For me to vote for him there would have to be no liberty republican candidate, libertarian, constitutionalist, or even a wildcard like Jesse Venture. Between a McCain, Obama, and Sanders, I'll take the somewhat honest socialist over the two thoroughly rotten corporatist. Atleast there'd be an honest debate. Even then, I'd probably just save gas and not even vote if it was between 3 such candidates.

[oyarde]

Bernie & Warren , two commie douche bags , I would let Bernie bring me a little global warming these next couple nights or put a couple , four logs on the fire about 4 am .

[RJB]

I will add a caveat to my above post.

I would definitely vote for a pure socialist who was for medicare for all versus a bought and paid for republican or "libertarian."

Sanders and Kucinich both voted for "Obamacare/Romneycare, which was basically Gingrich's "freemarket"/corporatist answer to "Hillarycare." The insurance companies wrote this damndable plan to force us to buy their overpriced/overrated product. Anyone who voted for it is not a true libertarian or a socialist but rather a typical whore for the corporations. Anyone who voted for Obamacare I couldn't vote for. However most "republicans" would have voted for Romneycare as a "freemarket" solution to medicare.

To sum up my position: I'm pretty much a libertarian who is sick of liars of all stripes because they are all corporatist. If I would see an "honest socialist" (Kucinich was the closest) running against a typical corporatist Republican, I would vote for the honest socialist. Not because I like socialism, but because I'd rather see an honest debate-- which other than Ron Paul, I haven't seen.

[compromise]

It would be nice to have an actual anti-war candidate. But yeah, I'm not going to vote for Sanders.

That's if he was actually anti-war. Sanders is far more of a hawk on Iran than Rand.