'Run, Bernie, Run': Survey Shows Huge Support for Sen. Sanders as Progressive Presidential Candidate

[adirondacker]

More than 80 percent hope Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will bring his agenda items and energy to 2016 contest; Most want challenge from within Democratic Party
- Jon Queally, staff writer

"If Bernie runs, it looks like the progressive left flank is ready to mobilize on his behalf.

Recent signals by Vermont's Independent Senator Bernie Sanders that he would consider a run for president in 2016 in order to "take on Wall Street, address the collapse of the middle class, tackle the spread of poverty... and address global warming," perked the ears of progressives who look out at the Democratic Party and see no other candidate—especially the presumed frontrunner Hillary Clinton—likely to speak for them on a core set of issues.

And now, a survey prompted by Sanders' comments shows that among those who closely identify as "progressive" support for his candidacy is at more than 80 percent.

Conducted by RootsAction.org—a progressive online activism, advocacy and lobbying organization—the survey asked the group's members to offer their opinion on a Sanders run for the nation's highest office.

Asked if he should run, 81 percent said 'Yes.' Only 9 percent said 'No,' and the remaining 10 percent were unsure."

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/12/23-0

It's all I want for Christmas. Happy Holidays All!

[PDittie]

1. But he's not a Democrat.

He's an independent who caucuses with the Dems in the Senate, and IIRC (no time for Googling at the moment) is a self-identified socialist.

Yet most respondents to this poll want him to run in the D primary. Isn't that incongruent?

[BelgianMadCow]

3. You haven't heard of social democrats yet?

Why would being a socialist and a democrat be incongruent?

They're only the second biggest fraction in the European parliament

[PDittie]

4. Yes I have

Even here in Houston, Texas there's a Meetup group, weekly.

It's not my understanding the democratic socialists and the US Democratic party are compatible (based on first hand experience). And what does the status of those parties in Europe have to do with whether Bernie Sanders runs (as a Democrat or not)?

This feels like an unnecessary digression, answering my polite question with two questions that appear as non sequiturs to me.

[BelgianMadCow]

7. I'll bow out, I just re-read your post and you opposed Democrat and socialist.

My point was about democrat (lowercase) and socialist. My bad, sorry for the snark.

Now, whether Democrat and socialist go together, I'm not the best judge of that. I'll bow out.

[PDittie]

10. No problem

[Jackpine Radical]

30. I think a lot of "democratic socialists" in the US

have aligned themselves with the Democratic Party as the only viable political entity that comes even close to representing their values.

And, in all honesty, I really ought to replace the "their" and "they" and "themselves" in what I wrote with "our" and "us" and "ourselves."

[sabrina 1]

8. But that is why Progressive Dems want him to run, the fact that HIS views, which on almost every

issue SHOULD be congruent with the Democratic Party, are not any longer. The Dem Party SHOULD be pushing for the issues he stands up for, representing the people, rather than Corporate America.

He definitely speaks for Democrats when few in the Party Leadership are currently doing so.

He also speaks for left leaning Independents and even for some Conservatives who are not happy with the war mongering and Wall St corruption.

So it's no surprise at all that he resonates with Democrats especially.

[PDittie]

9. I totally get that

After hearing Al From and other Third Wayers talk about their beliefs -- and their (relative to mine, yours, and others like us) control over Democratic Party developments with regard to presidential nominations...

... well, I just don't see Bernie going for that. I could be wrong.

There's a greater chance Elizabeth Warren fits into that coat than Sanders. But she isn't going to run against Hillary. Sanders might challenge Clinton in a party primary or two, but I would be surprised if he did so after, say, New Hampshire. JMHO.

A more orthodox Democrat, like O'Malley or Schweitzer, stands a better chance of carrying that torch than Sanders. He's more to the left than Kucinich (and there is NOTHING wrong with that).

[sabrina 1]

12. Well, you make good points. We'll see. Re Warren and Hillary, true she will not run against

someone the party chooses, but if it looks like Hillary is not going to win, due to the fact that many Dems will no longer support any candidate that has a record of, eg, voting for Bush policies such as the Iraq War and go with someone has a better chance of getting the votes.

As for Bernie, they could ask him to run on the Dem ticket. But they would have to agree with him on the issues and they do not obviously.

[Scootaloo]

51. I think you illustrate a problem within the Democratic party, more than a problem with Sanders

I'm tired of this sensible woodchuck ideal of "meeting in the middle with crazy people," personally. The politicla middle is false, even if it were real, splitting hte difference doesn't win votes, having principles does.

And that's why the Republicans continue to win stuff - because as poisonous as their ideals are, they still stand for them, while democrats are mostly going "Uhm, hey, can we talk about that?"

I want a candidate who'll put it out like Chris Rock did in Head of State

That. Shit. Is. WRONG!"

And to be frank at this point I don't give a flying fuck if they have a stamp of approval on their ass from the party heads or not.

[polichick]

20. And yet he fights harder for Democratic principles than 90% of those...

with a D behind their name.

Could it be that we have elected a bunch of con men and women with Ds behind their names?

[Samantha]

46. He describes himself as a Democratic Socialist

There is no party per se (that I know of) and so he is labeled by the Senate as an Independent.

Sam

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. knr

[AverageJoe90]

5. As long as he doesn't run for a third party I'd gladly consider it.....nt

[adirondacker]

35. Nothing to worry about there. From the article...

“Obviously if I did not think I had a reasonable chance to win I wouldn’t run . . . It is not my intention to be some kind of spoiler and play the role of just draining votes away to allow my voice to be heard.”

[stevenleser]

74. Same here. If he runs as a Democrat, I have no problems with his run, I welcome it in fact. nt

[Marrah_G]

6. He would have my full support

I would volunteer as much of my time as possible for him.

[Beacool]

11. That's just too funny.

It's like Ted Cruz being very popular with a poll ran by the Tea Party. It means squat at the national level. If the Democratic party has a death wish, they convince Bernie to run as a Democrat and make him the nominee. Let's see how many people vote for a 75 year old Socialist.

[sabrina 1]

14. Count me and my family and almost all my Dem friends

as Bernie the 'Socialist Democrat' votes.

Young people too are emerging as not being loyal to any party and that is a growing demographic which polls show are not impressed by either party.

They are far more informed than previous generations and considering the future the status quo has prepared for them, they are far less likely to vote for a status quo candidate than their predecessors.

The real question is 'let's see how many Democrats will vote for Hillary. Times have changed, people have been badly affected by the policies of the last ten years and they are looking for a little Socialism rather than the old Corporate policies that have so devastated the working class.

[Beacool]

16. Yes, but that would be a minority.

[PDittie]

18. This is accurate

... except everyone knows that Bernie won't actually ever be the nominee of the Dems, even if he does run as a Dem and even if he wins the Iowa caucuses, and then the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries (if they aren't in that chronological order in 2014, I apologize).

Bernie would be running to make a debate point, and that's it. That point is worth making; it just may be that it is worth making in a stronger way with someone who represents a greater threat to Clinton as potential nominee. She has already lost the nomination once, to someone who was perceived to be to her left. It's not weird to think it could happen again.

My interpretation of Beacool's point is: Bernie has the right message... but is the wrong messenger.

[sabrina 1]

19. Bernie is the right messenger for me. Who says

he's the wrong messenger? We just saw the poll of Progressive Dems, that shows he IS the right messenger.

[PDittie]

21. Just how I interpreted Beacool's point

which may also not be accurate. Beacool might clarify.

[sabrina 1]

23. Well, as you can see from the OP, which Beacool is ignoring, Bernie appears to be, and it is not

really a surprise, the most popular candidate among Progressive Dems, that is the base of the party without which they cannot win.

Beacool is expressing the minority opinion. However, having watched how these things work, we are likely to start seeing smear campaign tactics, subtle at first, against Sen Sanders in order to reduce his support among the Dem base.

Seeing this support for him has most likely already put those tactics into operation.

The problem is we have become so accustomed to this now it's not going to have the same impact it had on previous popular candidates among Dems. We've seen too much over the past several years and hopefully, IF they try to use those tactics again, they will not be as successful as they have in the past.

[PDittie]

22. This circles back to my original question.

Is Bernie a Democrat?

And maybe a better question based on what we have already covered here: If he decides to run as a Dem based on polling like this, is he still the best person to bear that standard?

[sabrina 1]

24. That is a simple question to answer. We are being told that Hillary is the candidate.

We had not say in that obviously. So between Hillary and Bernie, the answer is 'yes', Bernie is the best person to bear that standard. According to that poll which confirms what many of us are experiencing in the Real World when the subject comes up.

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. It's an "online" poll. Like the one you cited to convince me that Kooch was huge in Europe?

Online polls are notoriously flawed, and non-scientific. I mean, why not just cite a DU poll? It's just as reliable. Remember when Kucinich would win DU polls religiously? But on planet earth, he couldn't muster 1% in a primary? Same diff.

[sabrina 1]

43. Polls are polls, whether online or on the phone. Now we know why the people did not get the

candidates THEY chose, Kucinich eg, who was the most popular candidate during the early Bush years. WE didn't get to make the decision, a few Corporate tools have been making those decisions for us. But times have changed, MOST people especially the young, get their news from online sources.

If the people had had the power and had not been talked into supporting the least popular candidate at the time, this country would not be in the mess it is in right now. But times have changed, thankfully.

I bet if you could find one though, you would be posting a Corporate Media poll, if it said what you would like it to say. Their audience has shrunk so much since those days that no MSM can possibly reflect the views of the most informed citizens, which ARE those who are most likely to answer Online polls.

That is an overwhelming majority who support Sen. Sanders, most of them probably the young who are not susceptible to the Corporate Media.

[Tarheel_Dem]

44. Lots of excuses for failure, and per usual, not a single link. Keep on Truckin', sabrina!

[sabrina 1]

47. There certainly has been failure, for which many excuses are made, but not by me.

One of them being picking one of the least popular candidates to beat Bush with and yes, we failed, didn't we. He got a second term. Too bad the party didn't listen to the base and pick the most popular candidate.

Let's hope they don't make the same mistake again.

[Tarheel_Dem]

56. !!!

[winter is coming]

36. Bernie is a democrat. If he decides to run as a Democrat, I'd be happy to work and vote for him.

The contents are more important to me than the label.

[sabrina 1]

48. Same here ... if he ran I would support him whether he runs on the party ticket or not.

[adirondacker]

25. What's not so funny is Democrats receiving more funding by the Tea Party's Koch Brother's

than the Tea Party candidates. ie Cuomo. It's all fun and games until you receive the screw like the teacher's union in NY, or the possible victims of the Pro Fracking Governor.

So let's play the association "game".

[markpkessinger]

42. Re: "Let's see how many people vote for a 75 year old Socialist."

Hmmm -- I remember a time not too long ago when many would have said something like, "Let's see how many people will vote for an unknown, African-American, first-term Senator with a foreign-sounding name." Just sayin'.

[sabrina 1]

49. Or a sixty nine year old woman who voted for the Iraq War and has never apologized for that awful

irresponsible decision.

If we're going to be ageist about it, I would rather have the 75 yr old man who represents most Democrats on the issues that are important to them. A six year difference doesn't matter much to me.

If I were a Hillary supporter I would be talking about 'age, I would be trying to explain her vote on the Iraq War which lost her the last election. Ironic too since she thought at the time she cast that vote that it was the 'political' thing to do if you were going to run for President.

Not only was it a terrible decision made by someone who should have known Bush was lying, WE KNEW, but it was a terrible Political decision also. Surely she knew how opposted to that war the people whose votes she needed most, were.

I guess someone convinced her they would handle those 'liberals' and this way she might attract some crossover votes.

Anyone making such wrong decisions on such important issues should not be in a position of such power where they can make more.

[Enthusiast]

53. +100%

[Beacool]

63. I don't have to explain anything to you.

Vote for anyone you choose.

[Enthusiast]

52. Precisely...............nt

[adirondacker]

58. With a campaign message that sounded QUITE Liberal. Both times. nt

[Beacool]

62. Are you going to compare Obama's chances in 2008 with Sanders' in 2016?

Really?

[pnwmom]

68. Do they know he would be several years older than Reagan

at the start of his Presidency?

[winter is coming]

69. If he's got all his marbles and a sound Vice President, who cares?

Relative youth is no guarantee that a President will finish his term.

[adirondacker]

76. Excellent points, especially considering Carter, now approaching 90, is more lucid and rational

than any other surviving president. Besides, 74 is a spring chicken in VT.

[stevenleser]

75. Bea, I support Hillary, but I think Sanders' entry into the race would be a good thing.

My perception is that Bernie would concentrate his candidacy on his vision for how things should be, not on attacking Hillary. If you watch him, he doesn't really attack people, he promotes ideas. I think that would only help Hillary when she becomes the nominee.

Having him on the national stage daily promoting Liberalism would be a huge plus, I think.

[Beacool]

77. I have no idea who is going to become the nominee, or whether Hillary will even choose to run.

I only know that these people they keep pushing over here will be a distraction, but not much more. I have no problem with Sanders as a senator, but I don't see how he will be a help when there are people who already think that Hillary is to the Left of Castro, let alone a more liberal candidate.

[msongs]

13. where's the prob? lots of closet republicans "run as democrats" until they win nt

[Jesus Malverde]

15. bump... nt

[hootinholler]

17. God Damned right we are! n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. Bumper sticker: Vote Bernie! No nose holding required.

[woo me with science]

37. I want one!

[winter is coming]

65. Wouldn't that make for a nice change! n/t

[lostincalifornia]

27. If Bernie runs as an independent he will split the vote. However, I do not object him running as a

Democrat

[Proud Public Servant]

28. I'm of two minds

On the one hand, I love me some Bernie.

On the other hand, he's not a Democrat and has never been a Democrat; he'd be an interloper in a Democratic primary, though a somewhat popular one. But the Democratic primary is just that -- a primary of the Democratic Party. And he never joined the club.

That said, I really want to see a progressive challenge to Madame Inevitability -- but we've got other possibilities, even if Warren doesn't run.

[lostincalifornia]

31. He can switch parties to Democrat. People do it all the time. That way the vote won't be split

[Proud Public Servant]

34. I know he can, but

I'm not sure how I'd feel about him doing so. Plenty of progressives have chosen to build their careers within the party; Bernie chose not to. Not sure why I should now welcome him into our primaries.

[winter is coming]

67. Yeah, that would be kind of like running for senator in a state you'd never spent any time in. n/t

[Proud Public Servant]

70. I'd actually agree with that

I love Bernie, as I said; I'd just like to see the progressive wing of our party represented by someone who's actually IN our party. We have plenty of choices (as I've also said see post #41).

[Jackpine Radical]

39. Whom do you see as those other possibilities?

This is a genuine question because I really dig where Bernie is, but see him as the wrong messenger, first because of his age, and second because of his current (non-)party affiliation.

This said, I think Bernie could make a useful contribution in the Primaries by expanding the Overton Window to the left.

[Proud Public Servant]

41. Two tiers here

Tier one are progressive candiates who could credibly vie for the nomination and be credible in a general election. They include: Elizabeth Warren (of course), Sherrod Brown, Martin O'Malley, Al Franken, Tom Udall, Kirsten Gillibrand, and perhaps Russ Feingold, and Howard Dean (though the kind of comeback Feingold or Dean would need to stage is more common in the GOP than in our own party). Maybe also Wyden and/or Merkley, but I don't know enough about them to be sure.

The second tier are symbolic candidates who would have very little chance in the primaries but be useful for keeping progressive ideas in play -- Overton window candidates, if you will. They include Alan Grayson and Keith Ellison; you could include Feingold and Dean here if you don't buy them as truly plausible candidates.

Special mention should probably be made Brian Schweitzer, who is a definite economic progressive but would rub progressives teh wrong way on some other issues, including guns. Like a lot of people, I suspect he will run even if it means running against Hillary; he'll come at her from the left and also from the perspecive of relative executive experience, and won't be easily shaken off.

[JEB]

29. I'd vote for Bernie no matter what letter is after his name.

[sabrina 1]

64. Me too. We have learned that having a 'd' after your name often means nothing. Either

Dems put up a real Progressive Candidate which could, and if they did, I suspect Bernie wouldn't run, or many Dems WILL vote for Sanders if he runs. The voters are not to blame if their party leaves them, the Party is to blame. They have time now to start answering to the people whose votes they have for too long taken for granted. That can only go on for so long before the 'taken for granted' decide not to be taken for granted anymore. It's happened before.

What we can do is tell them NOW that they can no longer take the 'left' for granted and make them understand that we mean it.

[politichew]

32. All the right ideas, but the wrong package... unfortunately. nt

[woo me with science]

38. Hell, yes, we would mobilize for Bernie!

[adirondacker]

40. I'm Excited!

btw I'm borrowing your button, thank you very much

[WillyT]

45. Me Too !!! - K & R !!!

[KinMd]

50. Nobody would be happier to see Bernie run as an independent then Ted Cruz

[Enthusiast]

54. On the issues Bernie is a centrist.

The American people align perfectly with Bernie on the issues. He would have a shocking amount of support. Shocking especially to Democratic Party status quo apologists.

That is why his possible candidacy is being poo pooed.

[adirondacker]

55. A few here would rather support Wall street, Corporacrats, and Gasmen. Meh, let em join the

Republicans in their race to destroy the country..

[otherone]

57. Jerry Christmas Bernie!

[woo me with science]

59. kick

[Zorra]

60. Bernie totally gets it. Let's do this. nt

[wildbilln864]

61. run Bernie run! fuck the labels. n/t

[liberal_at_heart]

66. He has my support and he will have my vote if he runs.

[Freddie Stubbs]

71. Sounds like all of the '04 & '08 DU polls that showed Kucinich winning the nomination by a landslide

[adirondacker]

72. Except it's not a DU poll. I'm fairly sure Dean had the nod in 04, and Obama in 08. nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

73. Correct. It's a from a website with far less traffic then DU

[gerogie2]

78. He would never win the election .

He would just suck off votes like Ralph Nader did to Al gore in 2000.

[anti partisan]

79. Not if he ran as a Democrat

Warren's probably more realistic though.

Warren/Sanders 2016? It's about time that we take on that "socialism" slur head-on and explain how socialist policy benefits the country. I'm convinced that it'd be a winning argument too.