For Bernie Voters: Ideal Veep?

[DonCoquixote]

I am very happy that I will be able to vote for Bernie in the primary. Question is, what Veep would you give him? This can be important, as a younger Veep will kill a lot of the "he's too old" BS.

[geek tragedy]

1. I don't want him as Veep, if he's not the nominee he should be in the Senate raising hell

as an independent voice.

I also don't see what value he would add to a Clinton candidacy in terms of helping her win additional states.

[IDemo]

2. I think the question was who would you advise him to choose as his VP n/t

[geek tragedy]

4. Oh. I dunno, would have to see how the campaign develops to see what issues would emerge, etc.

Would probably have to be someone to his right.

[sabrina 1]

17. I disagree, the VP should be someone who can carry on his policies should anything happen to him. IF

he gets so far as to be picking a VP, he has won so why on earth would he need to go pick someone to his Right when the people have already supported him on his policies?

That makes zero sense. Enough of these 'political calculations', Bernie is the real deal and I very much doubt he is going to play any of the usual political games, or 'gaming' in order to get votes.

Either the people support saving this country from the RIGHT policies that are destroying it, or not.

[Go Vols]

24. +1

[DonCoquixote]

11. thank you

and yes.

[polichick]

3. Might be more important to choose a veep that young voters trust...

That would probably be E Warren - if she'd be willing.

[liberal_at_heart]

12. I know that having a good veep is important in the unlikely event they need to step in for the

President but it is very unlikely that the veep would need to step in for the President and I would hate to see Elizabeth Warren in a position where she really can't do much good. No, if she's not running for President then she needs to stay where she is so she can keep fighting for us from where she is.

[polichick]

19. I see what you mean, but together Bernie and Warren could more easily...

beat Clinton and tptb (in both parties) - it may be the perfect chance, and then she'd be prez after Bernie and we'd have plenty of time for real change. Who knows what either of them are thinking about this though!

[redruddyred]

20. this young voter trusts bernie nt

[polichick]

22. So does this middle-aged voter - still, I think it would help to have...

a veep that people trust too, especially those who felt stung by Obama after casting their first or second vote.

[redruddyred]

25. apparently the D vp field is pretty narrow as I am learning thru some light research just now. nt

[fredamae]

5. That, is a great question

I am willing to give This candidate his own choice. I trust him and right now, I suspect most "centrist Dems" are Freeking out...and sadly most in leadership Are "centrist blue dog/third way/new dem coalition" corporate shills.

I'm guessing Sanders has put them in a very uncomfortable "damned if we do-damned if we don't" political position on the big issues. They can't really criticize him because they Say and Have been saying for decades they'll do what he does...but don't follow thru.
They can't really join him because that'll piss of all the wealthy 1% "mommies' and daddy's" with the Big campaign bucks that they're very political survival depends upon. And I for one, don't believe "their" campaign promises anymore.
The Campaign status quo is: Big promises for the "little guy if you Only donate and door knock for me? I'll Change the landscape! And then upon Winning -tells the masses who busted their asses and bank accounts "thanks, see ya around" and goes Back to the same Business as usual crap. ....
I suspect America is done with that...

Sanders represents none of that. He doesn't take that money.

We Also Have to give him a Congress that Won't Obstruct Us from participating. Who's in the majority is Less important than the Quality of the people we hire, imo!
If you believe the GOP won't treat Sanders with Crude disrespect? Think again.

[AgingAmerican]

6. My fantasy pick: Warren

Realistically Hillary. Why? Because it would bring a lot more people into the Bernie camp.

And, no, he shouldn't bring someone in that 'The Republicans like'.

[arcane1]

31. What? No Joe Lieberman?

[SamKnause]

7. My fantasy team;

Senator Bernie Sanders as President of the United States of America; 8 years

Representative Alan Grayson as Vice President of the United States of America; 8 years

2024 Vice President Alan Grayson as President of the United States of America; 8 years

Senator Sherrod Brown as Vice President of the United States of America; 8 years

[DonCoquixote]

15. sherrod brown

You guessed my pick. Sherrod Brown, a person who has run against everybody from the Ohio Taft poltical machine (aka the GOP Kennedys) to Dennis Kucinioch and beaten them all, and still stayed liberal!

[peacebird]

57. I like that pick!

[daredtowork]

8. Barbara Lee speaks for me!

[immoderate]

28. Me too!

--imm

[appalachiablue]

30. +10 Like more and more what I read of Barbara Lee, including opposition to the TPP.

[LWolf]

42. That would be an awesome combination. nt

[Zorra]

51. A great Democrat who would be a stellar VP. nt

[LondonReign2]

9. Julian Castro

Good on policy.

Also, young, Hispanic, and from Texas which could force the GOP to spend money there.

[Renew Deal]

14. Castro does not turn Texas blue

And his inexperience harms the ticket.

[LondonReign2]

38. IMO, no one turns Texas blue in the next couple of elections

[go bernie go]

29. This is no offense to him

but I heard him touted left and right last year before the convention and then when I watched him, I was stunned at how boring he sounded. Even Bernie has a bit of fire in him, with his "dry" wonkish comments. This guy was like listening to paint dry, LOL.

How about someone like Elizabeth Warren?

[LondonReign2]

39. Liz is awesome, but she isn't running

Not even for VP

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Patty Murray would be a good pick.

But, I'm prejudiced. She's one my senators and very liberal most of the time.

Like Bernie, little or no nose holding required when voting.

[appalachiablue]

21. I think Patty Murray is great- smart, dedicated, even. Looks like a very hard worker.

[Renew Deal]

13. Has to be someone well known, from a different region, and younger than Sanders.

Pretty much all opposites from Sanders. People like to throw around the Castro names, but they're not ready.

Of course, being younger than Sanders will be easy.

[hifiguy]

16. Grayson and Brown sound pretty damn good.

[deutsey]

18. Russ Feingold n/t

[appalachiablue]

23. Patty Murray, Barbara Lee, Sherrod Brown, Alan Grayson- all excellent. IF Warren says no-

Want to see more of Russ Feingold too. The Castros will be on the ticket 2016 or 2020 for sure!

[cascadiance]

27. I think Alan Grayson's international experience would help him a lot as VP...

Even before he was in congress, he worked with BBC on a documentary that helped expose how $23 billion was being stolen by war profiteers and others in Iraq. Go here for the video...

First segment of BBC's Panorama "Iraq's lost billions Daylight Robbery" documentary that was aired in 2008.

Other parts here:

https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7639ECD53B62209C

[appalachiablue]

32. Thanks will check it out. Grayson has a superb, must see Video here in Media about the

dangerous reality of the TPP, incredible. Saw it on Thom Hartmann a couple days ago. Grayson is an experienced, courageous brain, lawyer and fierce advocate. I could also see him in a cabinet post.

VIDEO LINK:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017262718

[fredamae]

26. Donna Edwards. n/t

[appalachiablue]

33. She's good, I like the more I learn about neighbor US Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD).

[fredamae]

34. I do too. She's been

to OR a couple times and has a great deal of Respect...because she has Earned it. Plus...I think she's just plain Nice

[appalachiablue]

35. Seems Donna's a very capable leader, and good to know she's nice too!

[fredamae]

36. A Rare political combination

and hard to find in most pols these days!

[appalachiablue]

37. So true!

[daredtowork]

41. IMHO Bernie has got to pick a woman.

The people who keep proposing men, no matter how great they are, don't seem to get that a lot of HRC's momentum is coming from the female vote and GUILT that we women chose Obama over voting for the first female President the LAST time. We did it because of health care and Obama's seemingly social promise of Hope and Change.

If we vote for Bernie we will be asked to betray the dream of the first female President a SECOND time!!!! Do not underestimate the power of the psychological problem for women en mass. It's like betraying all the work of the women's movement and all our progress. Sure we'd be doing it because Bernie is actually promising to help women more (socially) than HRC (who is giving a lot of lip service to Women with a capital W but will mainly help Women internationally and upper class women who will benefit from Third Way Faux Center policies at home)...but it will feel like a betrayal nonetheless.

That is why Bernie at the very least MUST chose a woman as his VP, and at least put a woman in the line of succession and do everything in his power to put her in a good position to run after his term(s) is/are up.

[appalachiablue]

44. Great post as ever and very good points. I agree, knew it unconsciously when I first read this

OP earlier. I said Patty Murray of WA, maybe Barbara Lee of CA, if they'd be interested. Just can't think of others off hand, slim pickings.

[peacebird]

59. I don't get this obsession with gender... I worry more what is between ears or in heart than between

the legs when choosing a candidate....

[daredtowork]

61. Because for many women, electing the first female president is

a historic, generation-making moment. It is the moment of our lifetimes. It's actually a civilization-making moment. Women struggled for equal rights and equal respect throughout the last couple of centuries, and a female President is a powerful symbol of the fulfillment of that dream.

And then women failed to complete that dream when we didn't vote for Hillary in 2008. Ironically, we couldn't because of the way she went for the "center" and tried to be the "male" candidate - which meant throwing many female issues under the bus while retaining only the symbolism of being an exemplary woman in top office.

This election cycle is exactly the same, except this time Hillary's primary challengers aren't as strong. Hillary remains a "center" candidate. I put center in quotes because I don't believe it to be the true center: I believe it to be what Obama described as: "In the 80s I would have been called a moderate Republican." Monied interests have pulled policy to the right and used propaganda to herd people toward this "center". No one likes to be called "extreme", "radical", or "wingnut" - they continually get chased by peer pressure toward this carefully curated "moderate center". This doesn't represent most of the people, much less women.

So this puts women in a quandary. Many want to be part of THE MOMENT when there is a female President in office. But they also want a President that will represent their interests. It's a heart-rending decision. Bernie shouldn't underestimate how heart-rending it is.

[peacebird]

63. As a woman, I could not care less the gender of the president or vp

It seems a rather capricious way to pick, kind of like "who would you rather have a beer with?"

[HappyMe]

60. Guilt?

Absolutely not. I did not feel any guilt for voting for Obama over Clinton. I will not feel any guilt over voting for Bernie over Hillary.

Psychological problem of women en masse? What? I want the best person for the job. It has nothing to do with plumbing.

[daredtowork]

64. My comment is not about the people already voting for Bernie

it's to make Bernie's campaign aware of a potential big problem.

Denigrating it as "not about plumbing" is the same as calling people who oppose Hillary "purity trolls": that's not going to change anything. Many women wanting the first female President is a very real phenomenon that Bernie's campaign is going to have to deal with in some way.

[HappyMe]

66. Actually it should not be about the plumbing.

The female candidate I worked for going into the midterms got pretty angry when some of the women at a luncheon suggested that was why they were voting for her. She wanted both men and women to listen to her ideas, and then decide. She told them that it wouldn't be much of a win if her gender is the reason for the win. I will never base my vote on gender. I think it's insulting to the women that want to run, and the women voters as well. This isn't the last presidential election, I will wait until there is a female candidate that I can support whole heartedly.

[daredtowork]

67. Nice anecdote

Again, I'm giving advice about an underlying current that could affect Bernie's campaign - not describing things as they reasonably should be. The desire for the first female President is a real phenomenon that's going to have to be factored in.

[madokie]

40. Sherrod Brown

would get my vote
Bernie is getting my vote no matter who he picks though.

[CK_John]

43. Bernie should hold a contest for his backers to pick his VP should he need one, since

I don't believe he is a decision maker.

[appalachiablue]

45. Ok, why does he need others to make decisions?

[Mnpaul]

46. Jim Hightower

After years of negotiating the TPP behind closed doors, the corporate and governmental elites who’ve drafted this Declaration of Corporate Dependence are now demanding that our congress critters rubber-stamp it, pronto. Most Americans have never even heard of it, and that’s not by accident. In fact, all you need to know about TPP is that the Powers That Be don’t want you to know anything about it – what it is, what’s in it, where came from… nothing.

Trust us, they’re now saying, for this is a phantasmagorical free trade agreement that’ll deliver a 7-course dinner to everyone! “Trust Us?” I’d sooner trust a pack of coyotes with my last lamb chop! In fact, every bit of that 7-course dinner – the Dom Pérignon, truffled pâté, Beluga caviar, Chateaubriand, Cabernet Sauvignon, chocolate soufflé, Grande Marnier – goes to the corporate elites who effectively dictated this thing. They were part of the insider process that intentionally kept you and me from having a seat at the negotiating table. As the age-old adage puts it: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

That’s why there’s such a rush to railroad this “free trade agreement” through Congress. It’s not free, not about trade, and We The People would never agree to it. As the New York Times recently reported, the corporate beneficiaries of TPP know they must get Congress to approve it before the public learns what a raw deal it is – and before “a wave of opposition can sweep it away.”

You and I are that wave! Let’s build it into a political tsunami that sweeps through Washington, cleansing it of the immoral hypocrisy of those attempting to usurp our people’s democratic sovereignty. For the lowdown on this, go to www.StopTPP.org.
http://www.jimhightower.com/node/8609#.VURcIfRtd8c

[yuiyoshida]

47. She may not do it but maybe

BARBARA BOXER might make a grand Veep.

[Reter]

53. Oh yeah, a 73 year old picking a 74 year old as VP

That'll work.

[yuiyoshida]

69. Wow....

Ageist much??? Maybe you would prefer Britney Spears?

[11 Bravo]

49. Sancho Panza

[Hiraeth]

50. Hillary Clinton.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

52. Barbara Lee or Marilyn Mosby

[Kip Humphrey]

54. a random list not yet mentioned:

in no particular order...

Mark Dayton
Al Franken
John Kerry
Bill Moyers
David Cobb
Jon Stewart
Jerry Brown (edited to add)
...

[lunamagica]

55. I think no matter who the candidate is, the VP need to be Hispanic

with Jeb, Cruz and Rubio on the Republican side, there need to be someone Hispanic on the ticket.

No one can win the presidency without strong Hispanic support. It's be wrong to take the Hispanic vote for granted.

[uncleverusername]

56. Jill Stein

A Bernie Sanders/Jill Stein ticket would be an amazing thing to see, honestly.

And best for the Democratic Party if they want to stop being the party of the corporate elite and start being the party of the people, again.

[DonCoquixote]

70. well jill is not a democrat

yes bernie was idneepent, but jill is Green party.

[uncleverusername]

71. I know, I know..

..but I can dream.

[mylye2222]

58. Tammy Duckworth.

[Cheese Sandwich]

62. Maxine Waters?

She seems pretty great.

[Motown_Johnny]

65. Janet Napolitano

[Reter]

68. Cynthia McKinney

n/t

[NightWatcher]

72. Thom Hartmann!!!

It's the Genius Ticket.....and I'm pretty sure there are no sex scandals in the closet.