Sanders' independent status could pose issue in NH primary

[yallerdawg]

by KATHLEEN RONAYNE, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. — From his run for mayor of Burlington to numerous campaigns for Congress, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has for more than three decades eschewed traditional party labels in his pursuit of political office, winning election after election as an independent.

As he seeks the presidency as a Democrat, that unwillingness to be pigeonholed could be a liability in New Hampshire. To get on the ballot in the first-in-the-nation primary state, candidates must fill out paperwork that requires them to identify as a registered member of a political party.

"I don't know if it will be a problem," New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner said when asked whether Sanders' independent status could keep him off the ballot.

New Hampshire officials won't take up a case against Sanders without a complaint, Gardner said. A formal challenge to Sanders' eligibility would likely make its way to the state's Ballot Law Commission, the arbiter of such questions. Former Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass raised the issue of Sanders' eligibility in a recent Washington Post opinion piece.

"In short, Sanders is not a Democrat, has not been elected as a Democrat, has never served as a Democrat and cannot plausibly claim, at least in New Hampshire, to be a Democrat," Bass wrote.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sanders-independent-status-could-pose-issue-in-nh-primary/ar-AAcQdqi

[HooptieWagon]

1. DNC calls him a Democrat...

He's on the front page:
https://www.democrats.org

And when Sanders files to run in the NH primary, that's a manner of declaring as a Democrat. The alternative would be if he ran as an Independant in the GE...do the Democratic elite really want that?

[SidDithers]

4. Has he called himself a Democrat yet?...

What percentage of Democrats wont vote for a Democratic candidate who wont self-identify as a Democrat? It might not be a large percentage, but I bet it's not insignificant.

Sid

[HooptieWagon]

6. When he files to run as a Democrat, that is a declaration of party affiliation.

[Gothmog]

2. I suspect that the DNC will step in at some point

This looks like a very stupid rule and I am willing to predict that the Clinton campaign will support Sanders getting on the ballot

[yallerdawg]

3. Of course Senator Sanders (I-VT) can run as a Democrat!

Anyone can who would like to take advantage of the Democratic Party campaign apparatus and financing.

In Sanders' 2006 and 2012 elections to the U.S. Senate, he consented to run in the Democratic primary. After getting the most votes in that contest, Sanders then rejected the nomination and ran as an independent in the general election, Winters said.

In the past, Sanders often has said he doesn't see enough daylight between Democrats and Republicans, arguing that both are too aligned with moneyed interests.

During an unsuccessful 1986 race for governor as an independent, Sanders said, "It is time to stop the Tweedledee, Tweedledum politics of the Republican and Democratic parties."

[Agschmid]

5. This won't be an issue.

[yallerdawg]

7. Yes, not an issue.

If Senator Sanders (I-VT) doesn't get on ballot for whatever reason, you'll still have Lincoln Chafee.

He was the single lone Republican Senator who voted NO on Bush's Iraq War Authorization. He is prominently pictured on DNC home page.

He passes the litmus test, and the simple criteria of 'anyone but' Hillary.

Anyone can be a Democrat. It is a huge tent!