If Sanders enters the ring, the 2016 primary will get VERY interesting. I just

[KingCharlemagne]

saw a story datelined yesterday that suggests Sanders is leaning toward entering and running as a Dem.

MSNBC reported that Sen. Sanders is leaning towards running for the Democratic nomination in 2016:

Sen. Bernie Sanders is only days away from making a decision on a 2016 run, and leaning towards yes, according to his top strategist.

“I think we’re coming to the critical moment of truth here. He’s now spent enough time traveling around the country talking to people and feels there is genuinely a large audience of people who are with him,” veteran Democratic strategist Tad Devine, who is advising Sanders, told msnbc.

A formal announcement of his candidacy is expected to occur later in May.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/04/25/bernie-sanders-run-president.html (Emphasis in original)

[Autumn]

1. I'm with Bernie all the way. I will do whatever I can.

rec

[KingCharlemagne]

5. I would love to watch the debates in a head-to-head matchup between him and HRC. (But watch out for

HRC encouraging a Warren candidacy as a stalking horse to divide the left.)

[daleanime]

40. She would never do that.....

a Warren candidacy would be the end of chance for the White House and I believe she's aware of it.

[LWolf]

2. At least there'd be a reason for me to

participate in the primaries, which is the only real time I get to be actively involved in campaigning for someone I want to vote for.

[KingCharlemagne]

6. I might even dust off my precinct-walking shoes for Sen. Sanders - nt

[Initech]

3. Bernie Sanders is exactly who we need as president. More than ever.

We don't need another Clinton, and we especially can't afford four more years of the BFEE fucking things up. We need Bernie.

[KingCharlemagne]

14. Assuming that Sanders does capture the nomination and wins the GE, how would he

govern with a fascist Congress (assuming his coattails do not cause either chamber to switch hands)?

[Enthusiast]

41. I would expect Bernie to appeal to the American people that elected him.

He would go on TV and say that he has a mandate and the people have spoken. He would use the bully pulpit. We would be in for a battle.

[KingCharlemagne]

46. That worked so well in 2008-16. The fascists only understand brute force and nothing else (save

perhaps ridicule). Is Sanders prepared to govern by presidential decree? Because that's what the fascists will force him to do.

[Cal33]

49. I imagine Bernie knows all the tricks, and he wouldn't hesitate using them, if no other means

are available. It would be tough for any president with both Houses plus
the Supreme Court being against him.

[Scuba]

61. Hasn't been tried between 2008 and 2014.

[99Forever]

65. The only time Obama uses the bully pulpit is against members...

...of his own party. I, for one, don't think that's the way it should be done. If I wanted a President that pushed Republican policies, I would have voted for a Republican. I THOUGHT I was voting for a Democrat, now I'm not so sure.

[aspirant]

67. How about

using Sherman Anti-Trust and break up the monopolies

Appointing an AG with guts to prosecute Wall Street, war criminals, police brutality, voters rights etc.

Undo privatization and pay all govt employees a living wage, just to start.

[Plucketeer]

53. I sure don't know just HOW he'd conduct things

but I sure would LOVE to here him tell Boehner and McConnell what he thinks of the crap they try to pass as legislating! GOP heads would detonate with such ferocity that they might qualify as WMDs!

[KingCharlemagne]

55. LOL. That image alone would be worth seeing Sanders inaugurated, imo! - nt

[Vinca]

4. I'll definitely support Bernie in the NH primary.

[SamKnause]

7. You will have my full support.

[KingCharlemagne]

11. I'm flattered but must insist that I shall not seek, and I will not accept,

the nomination of my party for a term as your president

(Shout out to fans of the history of 1968!

[procon]

8. In April polling numbers, Sanders is a single digit.

How do you think he can overcome that disadvantage and raise the millions -- or Billions! -- a presidential candidate needs?

[sendit]

10. Run as A Democrat

[KingCharlemagne]

16. He's right about where Obama was at this point in 2007, IIRC. If Sanders scores a couple

upsets (in Iowa where his retail style of politics lends itself to the caucus method) and New Hampshire (where he will be something of a 'favorite son'), it opens up a whole new primary dynamic heading in to South Carolina, Super Tuesday and beyond.

[seabeyond]

25. i see the same. nt

[Agschmid]

27. Nope Obama was way ahead of Bernie's current position... But you know "facts"

In the first three months of 2007, Clinton and Obama raised more than $20 million each and Edwards raised more than $12 million. The three candidates quickly became the frontrunners for the nomination, a status they held all the way through the end of 2007.

FEC Fillings Q1 2007.

[KingCharlemagne]

29. Oh, there's no doubt that then-Senator(s) Obama and Edwards surpassed

Sanders in fund-raising prowess. But I thought the post I was responding to concerned Sanders' showing in the polls vis-a-vis SenatorClinton, i.e., not his fund-raising per se, and was contrasting that to Obama's showing in the polls in the corresponding time frame in 2007.

I have no idea where Sanders' fund-raising efforts are currently; IIRC he has no official presidential campaign fund-raising apparatus yet. But I'm not enough of a wonk to follow all the ins-and-outs.

[Agschmid]

30. Even in polling Barack was pretty far ahead of Sanders by this time.

NBC News/Wall Street Jounal Poll
April 20–23, 2007

Hillary Clinton 36%, Barack Obama 31%, John Edwards 20%, Joe Biden 3%, Bill Richardson 2%, Dennis Kucinich 1%

[KingCharlemagne]

33. Ah, my mind has been playing tricks on me. I think I was remembering Obama in 2005-06 (not 2007), as

Iraq went to shit, so stand corrected. Looks like Sanders has a much steeper hill to climb than Obama did at this point.

Thanks for the annotations and for sticking with it.

[Agschmid]

34. No problem.

[procon]

32. That's what I'm saying.

For someone as behind as he is, without any ground team or national organization, no presidential war chest, and a PAC that only started this week, he's not competitive. This isn't the kind of political infrastructure a serious and winning campaign demands, and even if I wish him success, it just seems a bridge too far.

[treestar]

54. He can't raise money

Or his supporters would have to desert him. Because then he can be bought.

[procon]

58. Then he won't run.

I never thought it was a possibility anyway. It's not a matter that "he can be bought", any presidential candidate needs a massive amount of money to be competitive. Thanks to Citizens United, it's estimated that the front runners will spend between $1 and $2 Billion, so there's simply no getting around the need for obscene amounts of money. The bulk of it has to come from somewhere, and it's not going to be the average voter, but rather those wealthy mavens of industry and finance that we all love to hate.

[HereSince1628]

64. If he seriously looked to win, money would move to him.

No one is going to keep spending on a candidate that's looking more and more like a loser.

Certainly any candidate who wins the nomination will have lots of money move to them for the final campaiagn.

And yes, I think you are right, some of the get-on-the-bandwagon-type money would probably move to him with quid pro quo expectations.

[arcane1]

59. Nobody has ever heard of him (yet), while Hillary has been famous for decades.

Name-recognition goes a long way in polls like that, when non-candidates are included.

I'll happily donate to Sanders.

[sendit]

9. I hope it's the only way he enters

He needs to run as a Democrat

[KingCharlemagne]

13. Sanders has said unequivocally that he will not run as a spoiler, i.e., as a

3rd-party independent (a la Nader 2000) in the General Election.

His candidacy will make for some very dramatic and (I think) healthy campaign optics, should Sanders run in the Democratic primairies and ignite a prairie populist wildfire.

[sendit]

18. I'm glad he said that because that's exactly what would happen

[KingCharlemagne]

22. I'm more interested in how a 'President Sanders' would govern with both

houses of Congress in control of the fascists. This is a question Sanders should be prepared to and have to answer.

[seabeyond]

12. i think he will easily grab the young. they are desperate and sanders fits with them.

he is like the professor that loves to think and listen to his students. the college kids love this type of professor and he hits on the veyr subjects they are so so so concerned and pissed about.

i think that will be an excellent and exciting demographic for him

and as i said else, the reality is, he will appease the white male. sexist, but our culture and our reality

i think he has a chance and i think it can be interesting.

[sendit]

19. .

[seabeyond]

21. wow. so informative, i have absolutely no clue where you are coming from. a waste of click for me.

[polichick]

15. Sanders-Warren would be a complete game-changer. Hope the prez has pissed EW off...

enough to make her team up with Sanders or run on her own.

[MissDeeds]

44. That's exactly what I've been thinking

They would be a formidable team.

[tritsofme]

17. About as interesting as watching paint dry.

He is not a top tier candidate. It is doubtful that he will ever poll much outside of the margin of error.

[KingCharlemagne]

20. So you don't think Sanders' version of 'populism' (really European-style

Social Democracy) will offer a vibrant contrast to HRC's centrism? I guess we're going to have to disagree on that.

[tritsofme]

24. Bookmark it. His campaign is like a grown up slightly more legitimate version of Kucinich.

And he would be lucky to have the same impact on the outcome of the race.

The optimism about his candidacy and his chances in this thread, if sincere, is truly delusional.

[KingCharlemagne]

26. Sorry for the flashback but I seem to recall identical sentiments being offered

about (then-Senator) Obama's chances in 2007. Perhaps 'delusional' is just a heightened perception of reality, eh?

[tritsofme]

31. No, Obama was always viewed as a top tier candidate.

Along with Hillary and Edwards (at the outset), and perhaps Biden to a lesser extent.

Obama was polling 20-30% in national polls at this point in 2007, and even better in the early states, so you will have to hang your hat on something else.

If someone like Warren got in, that would be a top tier challenge. But in this race, Sanders is wearing the Kucinich suit.

[freshwest]

23. Said he might run as a Dem last year to not be a spoiler. Hope he does! Welcome to the Party! n/t

[Martin Eden]

28. I love Bernie, and I want him to be president

However, I think the "socialist" label will be nearly impossible to overcome. Hell, even his initials (BS) would be used against him.

But not entirely impossible. If he can convince a good chunk of voters in the middle AND young people can be rallied to turnout in record numbers, Bernie will have a chance.

[ladjf]

35. Go Berni! I will support you. nt

[kentuck]

36. We will need to organize...

The biggest challenge for Bernie is the "socialist" label. He will neef to convince the voters that his ideas are stronger than his opponents, regardless of Party label.

[sendit]

43. It's not that the socialist label is a challenge

It's that corruption in government has run so deep that
the people just don't trust big government .

That will be his biggest hurdle to over come

How to convince people to trust government

[KoKo]

37. Love Bernie...hope he does it.

We need his voice and to have a Dem Primary where issues can be discussed. Bernie supports the issues I care about.

[KingCharlemagne]

39. While I find myself philosophically aligned with him, I do have questions about how a "President

Sanders" would be prepared to govern with a fascist congress. I think he should answer that question (as should HRC).

[PowerToThePeople]

38. K&R for Bernie!! n/t

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

42. Hillary has given Bernie a bunch of targets. Biggest obstacle...

MSM. Will they marginalize him because they can make more $ if it's Hillary?

Rhetorical question: of course they'll marginalize Bernie.

[PosterChild]

48. His problem would not be..

... the mainstream media, it would be the mainstream voter. Nobody will vote for him.

[cali]

51. amazingly he had a history of getting votes- including votes from republicans and

mainstream dems.

I don't think he has a snowball's chance of getting elected president. I am convinced he could get a sizeable number of votes in the primary.

[workinclasszero]

52. Exactly

Because he has zero name recognition.

The first thing people will hear about him is....socialist.

[Marr]

57. The people for whom that word is a slur are quickly dying off.

Thanks in no small part to our for-profit healthcare system, ironically enough.

[workinclasszero]

70. In your dreams maybe

Ask the average american what they think of the democratic candidate that is a proud socialist and see what they say.

Even FDR did not go around claiming to be a socialist did he?

The reich wing controlled news media will be portraying his socialist views as risky and dangerous while Fox "news" and Hate radio will be screaming from the rooftops 24/7 DIRTY GODLESS COMMUNIST!

The right wing are hoping and praying that the democratic party is so blind and stupid that it will do what they cant, knock Hillary out of the race to ensure a republican victory in 2016.

And if our candidate is Senator Warren or Bernie Sanders, the republicans will win for sure.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

72. They're dying off because unions are all but dead. Bernie will have the support of labor

Hillary will have the support of Wall Street. This country needs stronger unions but Democrats will vote against their best interests, just like poor and middle class Republicans.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

71. Obama had zero name recognition. Bernie will have Labor, Hillary will have Wall Street

It's a classic clash of ideologies...unlike the General Election.

As I said, MSM will torpedo him and Labor one way or another. Only asking him why he considers himself a socialist will be one way to marginalize him. Portraying him as the wild, nutty professor will be another.

[sadoldgirl]

45. Well, it looks as if PDA think that he will run,

because I just received e- mail to attend a
"Bernie" house party. I will definitely try to
go.

PDA would not organize this, if Bernie would
run as an independent. I hope that this group
will be excelling in organization, because that
will be a very important factor.

[blkmusclmachine]

47. Good. Clinton needs a challenge, not a coronation.

[liberal_at_heart]

50. I'm glad to hear he thinks he has enough support. That could mean he will run. That would

be very good news indeed.

[Marr]

56. This country's establishment has drifted so far into the 1%er camp, I think Sanders could

actually do well.

I hope he enters the race. I expect we'll see a panic not unlike the one our government and business establishment showed towards Occupy when it seemed to spring up out of nowhere. They are so used to disregarding the public, they don't realize how widespread the resentment is and how desperate people are to hear something other than 1%er bullshit.

[KingCharlemagne]

60. What is happening in America right now is proving Karl Marx correct

beyond his wildest dreams. Jesus: 1% of the population controls 40% of the country's wealth and 10% controls 80% of the wealth. Even Adam Smith would probably find that state of affairs objectionable.

[Pooka Fey]

62. This is what I've been waiting for! Is this too good to be true?

K&R

[Lee-Lee]

63. I'm torn. I love Sanders, and like Warren a lot. My fear is

That if you have 2-3 great progressive choices on the ballot, then Hillary, the progressive voices end up divided between the 2-3 others and Hillary gets the nomination by having the progressives split thier votes- and centrist mediocrity comes out ahead.

[KingCharlemagne]

69. Well, that's politics, isn't it? I would assume that the strategists

in HRC's campaign already have contingency plans to promote various leftist stalking horses so as to dilute and divide the progressive bloc. Sanders may instead be playing the role of Eugene McCarthy ca. 1968 when Gene demonstrated the then-inevitable LBJ's actual vulnerability, clearing the way for Robert F. Kennedy to enter the race (and LBJ to drop out).

[99Forever]

66. I'm all in for Sanders.

Run Bernie run!!!

[tk2kewl]

68. .