Bernie Sanders: The Mainstream Candidate

[n8dogg83]

Hello fellow Sandernistas! With all the discussion about “Socialism” going around these days I thought I would post something that largely gets ignored (at least my the MSM). The long and short of it is this: The policies and ideas that Bernie Sanders supports is what the majority of Americans across party lines also supports. That, in my mind, makes Bernie Sanders one of the only mainstream candidates in this election right now. People in the media seem so intent on attaching the Socialist label to Bernie, and that’s fine with me. Bernie does not run from it. What I think he should say (and we his supporters should say) every time the socialist thing comes up is this:

“ Look, you can label me however you like, but the fact of the matter is this: if you look at the issues and policies I am speaking about, the overwhelming majority of the American people across party lines want those same policies. The overwhelming majority of Americans want to end tax loopholes for corporations that ship jobs overseas, they want fair trade policies, they support expanding (not cutting) social security benefits, they support a massive infrastructure improvement program which would create some $13 million decent paying jobs. They overwhelmingly support raising the minimum wage, and by the way- since the media has made a lot of noise about this lately- yes, the American people overwhelmingly support a single-payer type health care system. They want to break up the big banks, make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of taxes, and debt-free college.”

This is why I think Bernie Sanders can and will win, because he is the mainstream and he has been laser focused on the issues. As long as we continue to make the case that what he wants is what Americans want, we will win this.
I think this survey of likely 2016 voters done by the Progressive Change Institute should be posted everywhere possible: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.boldprogressives.org/images/Big_Ideas-Polling_PDF-1.pdf so people realize that Bernie Sanders isn’t so radical after all.

Other Source: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/senator-bernie-sanders-policy-platform-presidential-campaign

[peacebird]

1. I agree with you! Good OP, K&R!

[99th_Monkey]

2. I love the way Bernie takes stupid questions, then promptly but politely redirects them

to the REAL issues in the 2016. He's a master at not taking the bait, and it serves him and
his campaign message so well. I can't wait for the first debate.

[tk2kewl]

4. yep... he's a master at that

i loved when blitzer asked him about the hillary email issue a couple of weeks ago... classic

[valerief]

11. Same here! He doesn't play their game. nt

[appalachiablue]

3. K & R. Thank you, great OP. Go Bernie Go!

~ If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. ~

[Demeter]

5. The MSM has got to face the facts--they lost us and Bernie won

It's all over but the screaming, if there was any honesty. (There isn't, not yet).

[erronis]

6. I'd love to have a bumpersticker that said something like "Socialist and Democrat"

"And Proud of it"

And I'll vote for someone with a progressive view that positions the people of the country ahead of the "owners" and "takers".

[n8dogg83]

8. While i don't really consider myself a socialist, i agree with pretty much 98% of what Bernie.....

supports. So if that makes me a socialist, then dammit, I guess I am!!

[zeemike]

12. There is a difference between Socialist and socialist

Like the difference between Democrat and democrat...in both cases one is a party and the other is an ideal...Bernie and most of us are socialist not Socialist.

And welcome to DU and the Bernie forum.

[Milliesmom]

7. Proud to say I posted this about Democratic Socialists the other day

and as I stated before we all need to identify ourselves as Democratic Socialists. See my previous post.

Also http://www.dsausa.org/ Democratic Socialists of America

[sabrina 1]

9. Yes, the more commonly used the word is, the more people will view it as what it is, mainstream.

The old cold warriors are history, people today understand what a Dem Socialist is and aren't as easily scared as they used to be when propaganda incorrectly linked words like 'liberal' and 'socialist' to Communism.

They must be totally puzzled by how little impact their attempts to use the word against him, have failed.

All they are doing by attempting to use it as a negative, is showing how out of touch they are with today's world.

[Milliesmom]

13. Thank You ,I agree !

Now if we can just get everyone that is a DU'er to use it and spread the word.

[sabrina 1]

15. DU is just a small corner of the internet right now, but even here, Bernie wins hands down. Social

Media is vast and far reaching and most Bernie supporters are declaring themselves to be proud Democratic Socialists, mainly because those are the policies a majority of the American support. Partisan forums will be the last to acknowledge that Bernie is the best Dem candidate we've had since probably FDR.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

10. Like I have said before.

Now is the time for a real progressive populist movement, but the message needs to be clear and not overly complex and it needs to be repeated over and over to drive it home into the minds of the people.

Then Bernie will win.

[RufusTFirefly]

14. FUD works. That's why the MSM attempts to make people uneasy about Bernie...

... rather than focusing on the reality, which is just as you say: when polled on the issues, most Americans are in sync with Bernie.