Here's Why Bernie Sanders Is 'TIME' Readers' Person Of The Year, Beating Out Even Malala Yousafzai

[UglyGreed]

Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won TIME's Person of the Year Reader's Poll, which closed Sunday at midnight, with 10.2 percent of the vote. The runner-up was Malala Yousafzai, who had 5.2 percent support, according to TIME's poll. Among the other candidates readers could've chosen were Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Stephen Colbert, refugees, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, Adele, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, so it's interesting that Sanders was chosen. Given their other choices, there are a number of reasons Sanders won TIME's Person of the Year Reader's Poll.

The presidential campaign season is well underway, and, thanks to recent events, candidates have been making the news a lot — for both good and bad reasons. Sanders and Clinton have started acting as the voices of reason in a campaign where people like Donald Trump and Ben Carson are getting away with saying insensitive, often racially charged things.

Meanwhile, Sanders has stuck to serious, newsworthy issues, and maybe that's why he was chosen by TIME readers. Sanders selection over a number of notable, internationally-recognized figures could mean that TIME readers in the U.S. see domestic issues as more important. Further, their selection of a political figure and not someone like Colbert or Adele shows that this is a year for the title to be a bit more serious. Here are four reasons why Sanders may have been chosen as TIME's Person of the Year by readers.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/128116-heres-why-bernie-sanders-is-time-readers-person-of-the-year-beating-out-even-malala-yousafzai

[SidDithers]

1. Because Malala doesn't have an army of internet warriors...

ready to click until their fingers bleed?

Sid

[Skidmore]

2. +1

[UglyGreed]

6. And Hillary

does not have anyone outside of the Third Way, "regular people" support is not her strong suit. funny how this poll bothers Camp Weathervane

[UglyGreed]

14. Thanks

for the advice I just find it odd that a Time online poll causes such distress.

[UglyGreed]

18. I agree

BTW welcome to DU

[randys1]

27. What I worry about as a Bernie supporter is people sitting out the election if he isnt the

nominee.

Like Bernie himself, the idea of the dem party not winning the WH is frighteningly unacceptable.

[firebrand80]

21. She has roughly 60% of dems nationally

unless we've thrown them all out of the "regular people" club

[frazzled]

23. I think it points to the fact that

Clinton supporters are serious, and have neither the time nor interest to play internet games. Besides, she's appeared on the cover of Time 18 times, for better or worse: http://time.com/3817687/hillary-clinton-time-covers/

[MeNMyVolt]

8. +2

[Fawke Em]

13. You had to put in an email address, not just clear cookies.

I realize most people have at least two (work and personal - well, except for Hillary Clinton ) and some have a few more if they're used to sock puppeting, but the vast majority of voters probably only took the time to go through that incredibly long list once.

[Scootaloo]

15. Well, the Time poll didn't work that way

Voted for Malala myself, but, eh

[mythology]

24. To be fair the people Malala has helped

May not have Internet access for such a frivolous thing as this.

[MaggieD]

26. LOL - exactly

Very nice succinct summary.

Apparently the Bern didn't even make the short list. Poor guy.

[Number23]

29. Sid!!!

Damn you!! I am wheezing now!!

[Betty Karlson]

31. Your hatred of Sanders is so great that now you are figuratively grabbing the skirts of a minor?

Hiding behind a small girl when your big girl doesn't even make it to the poll? And a 5.2 % result and second place in this poll counts for nothing? And Sanders' popularity can only be explained by invoking some imaginary army of keyboard warriors with bleeding knuckles?

Reality is right here, in case you'd like to re-attach yourself.

[bigtree]

3. lol, another online poll

...for real?

Who here actually reads TIME on a regular basis? I'm no fan of their editors or the majority of their writers.

What motivates people to seek out this poll and vote there?

[NCTraveler]

4. Many of the people Malala is fighting for don't have internet access or a freezer for their B&J. nt

[sufrommich]

5. He won for the same reason the creator of 4chan won it. nt

[UglyGreed]

7. So why bother to

reply and discredit the poll????

[MineralMan]

9. Clickety-clickety-click. That's the reason.

There has been a well-publicized campaign encouraging Sanders supporters to vote in that poll. What will TIME do? Well, they'll decide for themselves. The poll is designed to get people to their website. TIME wins the Internet with this one.

[UglyGreed]

10. LOL but it seems so important

to discredit this poll. I find the reaction odd to say the least.

[MineralMan]

19. I don't care enough about TIME's Person of the Year poll

to discredit it. I don't read TIME, and don't give a damn who they put on the cover. The problem is pretending that such a poll reflects anything at all of use to anyone.

It's an act of desperation. It would be funny if it were not so sad that people are resorting to such tactics.

[UglyGreed]

22. Desperation and greed was

Time getting money from clicks. I posted an article covering the vote, big deal. You took the time to reply when you could of just let the thread sink Whatever...

[onenote]

20. Not discrediting. Pointing out what is and always has been the reality of the readers poll

A popularity contest unrelated to the standards by which the magazine's editors choose the actual POTY and one whose winner almost always is the product of organized campaigns.

I predicted that there would be gnashing of teeth here when Bernie didn't make the cut for the magazine's choice. And it appears I'm correct. But the plain, simple, unvarnished fact is that any objective observer -- including an objective Bernie supporter -- cannot build a case that Sanders is the person, group, object or idea that had the greatest influence on the year's events, for good or bad.
I still think ISIS (represented by their leader, apparently) is the hands down choice under that standard, with BLM and Putin the other leading candidates.

[leftofcool]

12. Sorry, he didn't make the cut.

[onenote]

16. The selections in previous years also have been "serious" -- but not POTY-worthy

General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi
Narendra Modi
Kim Jong Un
Hugo Chavez

All recent winners of the readers' poll. None the equivalent of a Colbert or Adele. None POTY worthy. None chosen by the editors.

[book_worm]

25. And here I thought it was just because his campaign mobilized volunteers on social media to go and

vote.

[Gothmog]

28. And yet Sanders is not on the short list of potential Persons of the Year

Sanders did not make the cut for the short list for the Time Person of the Year.

[seabeyond]

30. This is interesting. He can't get close to Clinton in primaries yet is the winner in GE.

He can't make the short list yet had the button hit most making him Time winner.

There has to be something to this.

[Betty Karlson]

32. I think you are hinting at "the dispair of the establishment"

also known as 1 % anxiety. In its extreme form, this anxiety expresses itself in contempt, derision, and even violence.

[UglyGreed]

33. clickie click

kick