Playinghardball
Playinghardball's Journal
Tell Democrats to STOP Red-Baiting of Bernie Sanders
Today, Hillary Clinton's supporters (Claire McCaskill) urged media to start calling Bernie Sanders a "socialist" so that Americans would turn against him. This is NOT the 1950s and we do not need a Democratic candidate whose minions devolve into McCarthyism. Stick to the issues, not red-baiting.
There are currently 325 signatures. NEW goal - We need 400 signatures!
Petition Background
The Democratic power brokers proved they are in Wall Street's back pocket today, when Clinton campaign operative, Senator Claire McCaskill, began red-baiting presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, urging media to call him "a socialist" and calling Sander's ideas extreme. Sander's ideas of expanding Social Security and Healthcare and increasing the minimum wage, are ALL things the American people want in polls. Sounds like the pro-Wall Street Clinton operatives are the extreme ones.
Current petition signers
325. kevin McKee from bulger, PA signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
324. chris silva from westminster, VT signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
323. Lisa Denning from Simsbury, CT signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
322. Jeffrey J. Nichols from Menasha, WI signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
321. Shawn Gilbert from Palm Bay, FL signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
320. Douglas Beaver from Lebanon, PA signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
You should be ashamed. And afraid. Bernie is the REAL candidate that is not going to maintain the status quo, and move the country forward in the right direction. Not so for Hillary Clinton. Desperate, abominable, dirty tactics just show you have NOTHING to run on or for.
319. Esther Allman from Frankfort, IL signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
318. Kathy Reider from Howard City, MI signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
317. George A. Davis from Burlington, MA signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
316. Charlotte Bennett from LaPlace, LA signed this petition on Jun 29, 2015.
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-democrats-to-stop?source=s.icn.tw&r_by=236914
Who is is this Bernie Sanders?
WHO IS THIS BERNIE SANDERS? An Introduction...So, WHO IS HE?
Seriously, who is this guy that is starting to crop up in damn near every political discussion on the internet?
Here's a start:
If you're anything like me, the past few years of politics has just kind of passed you by. You've been just overall apathetic, condemning the actions of our politicians, while at the same time feeling like it's pointless to even do anything about it.
For me, though, something changed recently. While there has been a constant circlejerk on Reddit, and some on Imgur, over Bernie Sanders, I mostly avoided it. That is until I saw his AMA, live as it unfolded. The sheer honesty and transparency of this man was energizing and I had to find out more.
So, who is this crazy old man who is seeking the Democratic party nomination for presidency, REFUSING SUPER PAC FUNDING?
Who is this nutjob who wants universal healthcare on a single-payer system?
Who in their right mind would ever dare to not run a negative campaign against their opponents?!
That person is Bernie Sanders, the several year mayor of Burlington Vermont, longest serving Independent in Congress, and Democratic Nominee hopeful.
Lemmie walk you through some of what he's done...
Bernie Leads an Anti-segregation Sit-in, 1962
In 1962, Bernie Sanders was already in the fight for civil rights and was a Congress of Racial Equality officer. In this image, he was leading a multi-week sit-in to oppose segregation in off-campus housing owned by the University of Chicago.
About a year after this photo was taken, he visited Washington D.C. for the first time... to march on Washington with Martin Luther King jr., and got to hear the famous "I Have a Dream" speech in person.
Letter by Bernie Sanders Published in 1972
While running as a candidate for the governor of Vermont back in 1972, Sanders published this letter, calling for, among other things, an abolition of laws banning abortion, adultery, drugs, and homosexuality.
In the same letter, he calls for revising our system where taxation on cigarettes somehow brings in more than corporate income taxes, as well as how the Vietnam war, and our general foreign policies, were not only bankrupting us morally, but financially as well.
EDIT NOTE: I misread the part regarding cigarette taxation vs. corporate income and have corrected it. I previously mistook it for calling for higher taxes on cigarettes, when he was asking for a revision on our system that favors taxing average citizens more than large corporations.
Mayor of Burlington, VT, 1981 – 1989
1981, Bernie Sanders won the mayoral race in Burlington, VT, the states largest city, by just 10 votes, defeating the six-term Democrat incumbent, Gordon Paquette.
Under Sanders, the local government in 1984 established the first municipal housing land trust in the country for affordable housing.
In 1986, the owners of the city's largest affordable-housing complex, Northgate Apartments, were attempting to take advantage of a loophole, in a federal subsidization program, allowing the conversion of the buildings into market rentals or luxury condos.
"Over my dead body are you going to displace 336 working families. You are not going to convert Northgate into luxury housing."
For further reading on his time as Mayor, including the conclusion of what happened with Northgate Apartments, read this finely written article:
http://www.thenation.com/article/208849/bernies-burlington-city-sustainable-future
Defense of Marriage Act, 1996
At the time of making this post, only just yesterday the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, was effectively obliterated when the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. On the same day, June 26th, two years ago, Section Three defining marriage as only between a man and a woman was struck down.
Back in 1996, only 67 members of the House of Representatives voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, beaten out by an overwhelming 342. One of those 67 was Bernie Sanders.
On the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999
The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA) is frequently said to be one of the major causes of our economic collapse. When the House voted to pass it with 362 votes, Bernie Sanders was one of only 57 who opposed it.
The GLBA attempted to modernize financial services, by ending regulations that prevented the merging of banks, and insurance and stock brokerage companies, ultimately allowing the set-up of institutions that are, as the popular phrase goes, "too big to fail", meaning that if there is imminent failure the government has no choice but to prop them up. When institutions so greatly affect the economy by being so large and interconnected, failure can result in an incredible collapse of the economy... which we witnessed.
Bernie Sanders was one of the few who tried to prevent this.
The Patriot Act, 2001
"All of us want to protect the American people from terrorist attacks, but in a way that does not undermine basic freedoms," -Bernie Sanders
In 2001, the House of Representatives passed the USA PATRIOT Act, 357 to 66, and the Senate went on to pass it with only ONE senator, out of 99, voting against it (Shout out to Russ Feingold for that!).
While being one of the 66 who opposed it, Bernie Sanders also voted against the re-authorization of the act in 2006 and 2011.
Earlier this month, he, along with 32 other senators, voted against the modified version, the USA Freedom Act, saying it did not go far enough to protect the freedoms and privacy of American citizens.
Bernie Sanders Voted Against the Iraq War in 2002.
In 2002, Bernie Sanders spoke out against the Iraq War, urging the House of Representatives to avoid an unnecessary and expensive war.
In his 5 minute speech to the House (), he questions the reasons of starting a war, citing reports of US intelligence agencies showing Saddam Hussein was unlikely to mount a chemical or biological warfare on us, as well as noting that abruptly invading Iraq would be far more dangerous to our country.
He goes on to list five reasons why invading Iraq is a bad idea. To summarize:
1. No estimates were given on how many young American men and women might die, or how many tens of thousands of women or children in Iraq might be killed.
2. Concerns over the precedent a unilateral invasion could establish in terms of international law and the role of the U.N.
3. Already in a war against international terrorism, in warfare we have never truly experienced before, attacking Iraq would jeopardize the global counterterrorist campaign we have undertaken.
4. With a $6 trillion national debt and a growing deficit, war and long-term occupation of Iraq could be extremely expensive.
5. Once Saddam is removed, there will likely be a civil war, and how will the US handle it? Will governments in the region be overthrown by Islamic extremists? Will the Israel and Palestinian conflict grow worse?
"War must be the last recourse in international relations, not the first."
The House, despite Bernie Sanders' best efforts, voted in favor of the Iraq War, 296 votes to 133.
Bernie Isn't Telling Us He Can Fix It All For Us
He knows there's a process that EVERYONE must participate in for real change to happen. He knows that even if he gets elected, he alone cannot fix everything. We're not to sit tight and wait for things to move our way, we have to make it happen, regardless of who is sitting in the Oval Office.
It just helps to have someone at the highest positions pushing on the other side for us, and we need someone to do just that. Someone who walks the walk, who practices what he preaches. He has followed the same principles he has spoken about his entire career.
So if you like the idea of universal healthcare, free higher education, more money into education, medicine, alternative energy, and many other good things, then give Bernie Sanders some consideration.
Resources:
https://berniesanders.com/about
/r/SandersForPresident:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/
Bernie AMA:
http://www.reddit.com/r/iama/comments/36j690/i_am_senator_bernie_sanders_democratic_candidate/
OnTheIssues page, summarizing his voting record: http://www.ontheissues.org/Bernie_Sanders.htm
Daily Show on Sanders:
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/l7uzqg/democalypse-2016---bernie-sanders-kicks-off-his-presidential-campaign
Bernie against Iraq War:
Bernie Sanders interview with Katy Couric:
Bernie vs. Rand Paul on universal healthcare:
On his time as Mayor of Burlington:
http://www.thenation.com/article/208849/bernies-burlington-city-sustainable-future
"In 180 Seconds You Will Be Voting for Bernie Sanders" (Video):
http://imgur.com/gallery/YcvCp
That's because Bernie has you - email from Bernie...
Xxx -
We've long suspected that other candidates are going to raise a lot more money than we will. That's what happens when you have Wall Street and the billionaire class in your corner.
Here's the thing: we shouldn't have to worry. Even though Bernie's not going to have Super PACs, and even though he's not going to have the obscenely wealthy pooling their money for him, we know we have more power.
That's because Bernie has you.
Together, we can show the billionaire class that they don't just have to deal with Bernie. They have to deal with all of us.
Tuesday at midnight is the first major deadline for our campaign. The next day, we have to start filing reports with the Federal Election Commission about our fundraising. It's a big moment, and we need to get the biggest show of support we can by then.
Please contribute $50 now to support Bernie's campaign for president before Tuesday's deadline.
Thank you for standing with Bernie before this critical deadline.
Jeff Weaver
Campaign Manager, Bernie 2016
(Amazing video) Bernie Sanders on Jesse Jackson and the Democratic Party -- April 20, 1988
Bernie Sanders will beat Hillary and become the 45th President of the United States
An honest man is very dangerous when a frustrated people have been fed platitudes for decades.
Earlier this week a CNN / WMUR poll in the state of New Hampshire showed Hillary Clinton at 43% with Sen. Bernie Sanders trailing closely at 35%. With a margin of error of 5.2%, Clinton and Sanders are in a statistical dead heat.
While that is telling in itself, the favorability ratings (p. 14) are even more interesting. This poll is tracking favorability of likely Democratic voters from July 2014 until June 2015. Last July, 51% of New Hampshire Democrats either did not know who Bernie Sanders was or not enough to give an opinion. Now, this latest poll shows that only 16% of NH Democrats do not know Sen. Sanders, a drop of 35%.
The intriguing part is how this has affected his favorability ratings. Sen. Sanders' unfavorability nudged from 10% to 11%. Remarkably, his favorability jumped from 37% to 66%, a 29% increase. The neutral rating, those who still hadn't formed an opinion but were now familiar with the candidate, rose from 2% to 8%.
This poll reveals a simple truth: nearly every New Hampshire Democrat that discovered Bernie Sanders likes the guy and there is a direct correlation between his favorability numbers and why he is now in a statistical tie.
A year ago, a full 51% of Democratic voters in Bernie's neighboring state didn't know who he was. It's not a stretch to think that number is likely much higher outside of New England, perhaps over 75%.
Sensing panic, the Clinton surrogates are now trying to sell the idea that Clinton is more electable as a means to dissuade support for Bernie's campaign. Not only does that seem suspect when you consider the contrast the between the two candidates, but there is empirical evidence and, based on Howard Dean's statements on Morning Joe this past week, polling data from Vermont that shows Sanders does very well with conservatives and independents in that state.
Another point to consider is that when Sanders first ran for reelection as Mayor of Burlington in 1983, voter turnout nearly doubled that year. If Bernie Sanders is able capture enough of that magic to mobilize even 10% more turnout in this election, we're not only talking about the presidency but a Democratic Congress as well.
Hillary can do none of that. She's been highly visible for 23 years and Americans have, for the most part, formed their opinions about the Secretary. There is no upswell of support on the horizon for Mrs. Clinton. At best, she beats the GOP candidate by a few percentage points and enters Washington with an intractable Congress. Bernie has a chance to mobilize voters that are disenchanted with the current political system and would otherwise stay at home rather than vote for a Hillary - (GOP Clown) ticket. And have no doubt, that represents tens of millions of potential voters.
We need to bear in mind that this thing is more than just the presidency. Even the best president will not be effective if Congress remains the same, let's not fool ourselves. We've seen it over the past seven years and does anyone truly believe that the GOP will be more willing to move forward on progressive issues with Hillary Rodham Clinton at the helm? I think not.
Want to mobilize conservatives? Then Hillary is the choice. Want to oust this reactionary Congress while capturing millions of conservatives that for decades have been voting against their own economic interests? Then the choice is clear, it's the Independent Senator from Vermont.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/28/1397368/-Bernie-Sanders-will-beat-Hillary-and-become-the-45th-President-of-the-United-States
Profile Information
Name: California KidGender: Male
Hometown: Northern California
Member since: Wed Nov 17, 2010, 02:02 PM
Number of posts: 11,665