Bernie: lefty who does nothing but pull political stunts and fail legislatively. Except this:

[woo me with science]

106. Here is the entire text of the OP.

Actually, it's a substantive rebuttal post with lots of links to important information about Bernie's actual record. Not an insult in the entire thing.

We need more OP's like this, countering the disinformation and smear that passes for political discourse from the corporate messengers. This OP offers valuable, concrete information about Bernie's record, in contrast to the empty smear that prompted it. And it earned 152 recs.

Bernie: lefty who does nothing but pull political stunts and fail legislatively. Except this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026671818

One example- and there are more. Yes, he introduces legislation that fails, but he's dogged and has his successes, such as this and getting a big pile of money into the ACA for CHCs (Community Health Centers that charge on a sliding scale as well as taking insurance and that provide much needed care) The Veterans bill fight was not easy going as the WaPo and other contemporaneous accounts make clear

Bernie has an excellent record of negotiating successfully on Veterans issues, and Veterans organizations have honored him for his work and dedication, more than once.

Veterans' bill tested Sanders' leadership

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bernie Sanders had his doubts that he'd reach a compromise with Republicans on a reform bill for veterans' health care.

Congressional support for action was high, fueled by national outrage involving lengthy patient wait times that might have led to the deaths of some veterans. But Sanders, an independent from Vermont who chairs the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said he rode a "roller coaster" of challenges leading up to final passage of the bill, which President Barack Obama signed early Thursday afternoon.

From the beginning, Sanders said, he found himself fending off Republican "piecemeal" approaches to the legislation. Some Republicans also demanded new spending in the bill be offset with cuts to other programs, an idea Sanders also fought.

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Passage of the legislation — the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 — means the "do-nothing Congress" legitimately can claim to have risen above the partisan rancor and done something.

Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, called it "the first encouraging sign that the last stages of the 113th Congress will not be a total, embarrassing failure."

<snip>

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/07/veterans-legislation-tested-sanders/13724839/

Bernie Sanders on frontline for veterans

As an antiwar activist who never served in the military and the first self-proclaimed socialist in the U.S. Senate, Bernard Sanders is at initial glance an unusual choice to chair the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

But Sanders, the tousled-haired 71-year-old Vermont independent who took over the committee in January, has embraced the role with a populist gusto that has won him staunch backing from veterans groups.

“That is odd,” said Peter Gaytan, executive director of the American Legion, whose members gave Sanders a warm reception at the organization’s Washington conference in February. “If you look at his leanings, you wouldn’t think he could care so much about veterans, but he does.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-on-frontline-for-veterans/2013/04/14/d97c9830-9e04-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html

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Stroud is scheduled to present the VFW’s legislative positions at 10 a.m., Wednesday, in testimony before a joint hearing of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. That evening he will also present Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with the VFW’s 2015 Congressional Award, which since 1964 has been presented annually to one sitting member of the House or Senate for significant legislative contributions on behalf of those who have worn the uniform.

“With eight years on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee — two of them as chairman — it is no understatement to say that Senator Sanders has taken care of wounded, ill and injured veterans and their surviving family members,” said Stroud. “He has been a commanding voice against changing the COLA calculations for disabled veterans, for the proper care and treatment of women veterans, homeless veterans, for better employment opportunities and improved access to mental health programs, as well as increased congressional oversight of the VA claims processing transformation,” he said.

“And when the VA imploded last year, he was the lead negotiator for the Veterans Access, Choice and accountability Act, which the president signed into law last summer,” said the VFW national commander. “The VA still has an uphill climb to fix what’s broken, to hold employees appropriately accountable, and to restore the faith of veterans in their VA, but veterans everywhere should be proud and comforted to know that this United States senator has their back in Congress.”

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http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2015-Articles/Ending-Sequestration-Again-Tops-VFW-Legislative-Agenda/