Bernie is the first Serious Democratic Prez candidate in years who is 75 Percent Uncorrupted

[Armstead]

Last edited Sun Mar 6, 2016, 01:44 PM - Edit history (1)

(Dennis the K could be included in that, but his lack of political acumen kept him a minority candidate.)

I'm leaving that 25 percent because Bernie is a politician and nobody's perfect -- and to head off the Clinton meme Machine ("Oh but he tried to steer some defense jobs to Vermont" or whatever.)

You just have to look at his campaign to see that. Huge campaign donations from schmucks like me, rather than Corporate and Wall St. fat cats and their lobbyists and shills.

Ever since the Clintons and the DLC made it an art of drawing Big Donations and creating SuperPacs from the oligarchs, it's been assumed that Democratic politicians have to be beholden to the Rich and Powerful.

But think of what would happen if the Democratic party were to take heed of what Bernie is doing, and started tapping into average voters with a message and agenda that would inspire them to give $10, $20, $50...$100 -- and the max contributions from affluent people who donated for the right reasons rather than buying favors.

Then perhaps, there's be no reason for excuses for not pushing for fair policies and a message that we actually CAN do the right things for the right reasons.

That is very mainstream. I hate to see us blow the chance for real reform that most people really want.

[redstateblues]

1. The last Democrat to run on raising taxes on the middle class

Was Walter Mondale. He won one state. His home state MN. Those who don't learn from history are destined to repeat it

[bettyellen]

2. That is, unfortunately what is killing him with older voters I think. The GOP will hammer him w/it.

[RobertEarl]

6. Older voters are scared

Scared of everything, scared of the young, the other races, the Russians, the Iraqis, their own damn shadows.

This is a campaign for the young, the upcoming, the best generation ever that will fix the problems the old people have created.

The Democratic party should quit putting down the young people and realize that the young are the future. But then most of the party heads are old people who are scared.

[bettyellen]

8. How rude. Like it or not- taxes scare MOST voters, and older ones more than younger ones.

Younger people aren't showing up- where they are is entirely on them. The older generations had the same problems when they were young, lifelong voters like me are an anomaly.

[RobertEarl]

9. Scared of taxes, too... thanks

Oh, they've got their properties that have inflated in 'value' so much that young people can't even afford a small piece of dirt and the old are scared of paying a minimum wage enough so that the youngsters labors are not dirt cheap and the old get medicare and police protection and the military soldiers who die for nothing so the old can be safely sacred.

It's not rude, it's the facts. What's rude are the old people that say "No, you can't".

[bettyellen]

13. the economy has been in the tank for about thirty years of many people. you describe no reality i

know of. lots of older people are struggling too. safely sacred? I don't even know what you're talking about with this divisive crap.

[Armstead]

17. And one big reason it's in the tank is because most Democrats have accepted corruption....

...as business as usual. And they've allowed or supported things that are directly contrary to the interests of the majority.

I'm 63 and I've witnessed the devolution of the political system.

I'm not going to downplay past problems. It's never been utopia. But things that are considered commonplace today would have been thought of as appalling and unacceptable when I was younger.

[PatrickforO]

26. I'm in my late 50s and agree with you.

If some lizard like Shkreli did that with a lifesaving drug in say, 1960, there would have been price control legislation passed by a huge bipartisan majority.

At least a few of the big Wall Street crooks that ruined the economy would be in prison now.

Among other things...

[DrDan]

25. seems to me there is considerable fear of the voting booth among the "best generation ever"

those that are bound to solve the ills of the world . . . if only the party "would quit putting us down"

[Armstead]

3. yes it is still the 1980's....heck let's look back to 1876 for examples of why we'll fail

[Hydra]

4. Newsflash- the Middle Class no longer exists as it was

Mind you, that hasn't stopped the politicians from trying to convince the working class and the working poor that they are the "middle class" they are going to save.

Also, the lack of that Middle Class is and should be making the Upper Class nervous- the Middle class was always the buffer that protected the insanely wealthy from the working class and below.

Same ol' isn't going to work anymore.

[surrealAmerican]

22. Let's not forget who Mondale was in the primary election:

He was the "safe" establishment candidate. He won that primary because the more inspiring candidates seemed too much of a risk. We sold out or ideals, and lost.

[Nitram]

5. So Obama was unserious and corrupt?

Am I on DU?

[ibegurpard]

7. Do you think

That taking an unprecedented political opportunity and using it to sell a Heritage Foundation taxpayer giveaway to insurance companies as bringing healthcare to those in need was what a Democratic president should have done?

[Nitram]

14. Oh, right, I forgot.

Any real Democratic president would have just kept going without any improvement to healthcare at all. How silly of me.

[Armstead]

16. He could have pushed for the public option as a compromise instead of mandating...

people to buy overpriced and totten private health insurance.

So yeah.

[ibegurpard]

20. what improvements to healthcare are you talking about???

The Government's protection racket for the insurance companies? Being penalized for not buying insurance you can't afford to use?

Please.

[Nitram]

23. Clients can't be denied coverage for "pre-existing conditions,"

...children can remain on their parents' insurance plan until age 26, if the insurance company isn't spending at least 80 percent of premium dollars on benefits then money must be refunded to the client, many kinds of preventive care are required to be included, plans must cover mental health services - to name a few.

[Armstead]

15. Obama was the next best but he courted and kowtowed to them too

He was not nearly as progressive as he might have been were he not beholden to some degree to the big donors. I don't think, for example, he would have handed over the FCC to a former lobbyist for Comcast had there not been the npressure of political influence.

[Nitram]

18. I apologize in advance, Armstead, but that sounds like the stuff the T-Party says.

No understanding of the only way democracy actually works. Negotiation and Compromise between parties in a balance of power can proceed, and incremental goals achieved. But I know, revolutionaries have little patience for compromise, negotiation and debate. They want results and they want them now! It's better to have nothing than to make progress only a step at a time.

[ibegurpard]

21. when the president is running the ball

To the OTHER TEAM'S END ZONE (guess you forgot the very recent TPP fight) that's not progress. That's regression.

[Nitram]

24. OK, I get it, you're a one-issue voter.

Personally, I consider the criticism of TPP vastly overblown. But putting TPP aside, Obama achieved a great deal against almost insurmountable odds.

[Skwmom]

10. 75%? Really? Compared to the crooks in DC I'd say 99.99%

[bernie_FTW]

11. I disagree. He is 95% uncorrupted. Go Bernie, GO!

he is closing in on Hillary with more wins this weekend.

Michigan is OURS!

[Vattel]

12. His steering defense jobs to Vermont was not corruption.

As Bernie pointed out, those jobs would be somewhere, so why not Vermont? Bernie is not against having a strong military. The primary function of a military is to deter attack, and we should make sure that our military is strong enough to effectively deter attack. The difference between him and Clinton on issues of war is that Clinton is a hawk. She wanted to invade Iraq. She wanted to use military force to change regimes in Libya. She failed.

[Orsino]

19. Hence the Establishment's move to stop his campaign as early as possible...

...when we need it to be the new standard for Democrats.