I'm still undecided between Clinton and Sanders. Convince me

[Bucky]

I've been waiting to see if O'Malley would break through--he hasn't and it looks like he's not going to. I would like to back a candidate, but neither of the front runners gets me terrible excited. I'd back either

a few things about me

• I'm disappointed Biden didn't run
  
  
• I'm a Constitution fanatic. I revere the Founding Fathers and the clockwork precision of their Constitution they wrote (while appreciating their flawed humanity and the pragmatic and at times ugly compromises they made along the way to getting the gov't organized)
  
  
• I believe in the importance of rotation in office, which slices against favoring Clinton, and I think we as a people are skittish of the word socialism, which cuts against favoring Sanders,
  
  
• I'm a trivia buff--like I note that no modern Democrat over the age of 60 has won a first term in the White House (other than Truman) --{Wilson 56, FDR was 50, Kennedy 43, LBJ 56, Carter 50, Clinton 46, Obama 47... we like 'em young}
  
  
• I'm a rationalist. I expect a leader to both pound the bully pulpit and to cut pragmatic deals
  
  
• I'm an internationalist and believe there's a need for American leadership in the world, despite our inevitably shrinking relative power in global affairs, and I seriously worry about long term climate changes
  
  
• I'm a teacher now, but I've got a background in marketing: the criterion for me is always electability first. They both worry me on that front.

[font size="5"]Sell me on your candidate, please. [/font]But be civil (tho I understand DU culture well enough to not hold childish antics in this forum against the respective candidates).

Please start your post with "Bernie because" or "Hillary because" or something to that effect, so I can weigh the arguments. Thanks

[DisgustipatedinCA]

1. Sure. I like Bernie because I believe he's honest to a fault.

I believe he's one of the most honest politicians on the political stage today, and I don't think he'll pander to me and other liberals on points with which we disagree. I also believe, and I really mean this, that he's more electable than his opponent. That's what I've got.

[Bucky]

14. Thanks!

I get the same impression.

[beam me up scottie]

2. How important is separation of church and state?

Bernie Sanders Rejects Theocracy, Defends Church State Separation
January 9, 2016
by: Michael Stone

Rejecting the Republican dream of a Christian theocracy, Bernie Sanders tells supporters it is “dangerous for governments to get deeply involved with religion.”

Justin Scott, an Iowan who takes his politics seriously, asked the Democratic presidential candidate for his thoughts on politicians who “base a lot of their legislation on their religious beliefs” at a recent campaign event in Iowa.

Sanders answered:

Religious freedom in this country is part of our Constitution, and all of us agree with that. And you have many different religions, and people have the right, in this country, to practice the religion that they believe in.
But we also have a separation between religion and state. We know how dangerous it is, historically, for governments to get deeply involved with religion… Let’s not confuse and merge religion and state. That is not what our Founding Fathers wanted, and they were right.

Sanders is right. The attempt by today’s Republican party to “confuse and merge religion and state” is dangerous, un-American, and a repudiation of the secular values upon which this nation was founded.

This is not the first time the progressive candidate has championed secular values. Earlier this year, in an uplifting viral video supporting Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, the presidential hopeful declared:

The problems we face did not come down from the heavens. They are made, they are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them.

***

Sanders is a friend to freethinkers, and the enemy of conservative Christians. Religious News Service describes Sanders as “unabashedly irreligious” and “the anti-Bible thumper,” noting:

Sanders is the presidential contender most willing to dissociate himself from religion. Though he identifies as Jewish and by Jewish law is Jewish, he has freely acknowledged that he is not a religious person. He scored a solid zero from Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition in its most recent scorecard and a 100 from the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Scoring a zero from Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition is a badge of honor, and should be a ringing endorsement to the ears of every humanist, every atheist, every freethinker.

More: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/01/bernie-sanders-rejects-theocracy-defends-church-state-separation/#sthash.c7iYfb7W.dpuf

[wendylaroux]

4. Bernie of course.

In 2010, Sanders made the news with his more than eight-hour-long filibuster,
against the extension of Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy.

Anybody that would do this has my vote.

[beam me up scottie]

9. Bernie has literally been fighting for us for decades.

He's not for sale - to any special interest.

[wendylaroux]

11. Yes he has!

I do not believe there has ever been, a candidate so in tuned with the

middle class/working poor/poor as this man is.

Hell,he even says the word poor,in his speeches! who else does that???

[SoLeftIAmRight]

3. Things I care about

Air – Water – Food – Shelter

Income – Health – Education

Transportation – Energy – Relations

Entertainment

Sanders is better or as good in all these areas

Clinton has a shortsighted view - business thinking

Sanders understands and advocates for long term solutions

[nykym]

5. Democrat

because anything else would be terrible.

[Mike Nelson]

6. I'm in CA, so I'm probably going to go with the nominee...

...but if you're in an early primary state, it's a tough choice. I heard Howard Dean say it's between the pragmatist and the visionary. Let's hope the best one wins and we all support the Democrat!

[mahina]

7. It depends on what you think the big problems are in our society.

I am over the moon to finally have a candidate for President who unapologetically defends us from the threats I deem the most dangerous.

Bernie says loud and clear that climate change is the biggest threat to our national security and doing all we can must be a priority.

Bernie is committed to changing the way our system is rigged against the people.

He is committed to changing the way our elections are financed, understanding that the current system has brought us into an oligarchy.

He is committed to changing the way that we are bound to generate a profit for health care companies at the expense of our health and sometimes our lives.

These commitments are the reasons that I will do everything I can for him. He's not afraid of anybody. He's smart as hell, has worked his heart out for the people and will continue to do so.

Having served 16 years in the House, being elected over and over in Burlington as Mayor and as a Senator, he understands the current system and its weaknesses. He knows how to get stuff done.

He was the only Senator who voted the right way (in my view) with my guys, Senator Akaka and Inouye, so many times, on so many issues, that I know I can trust him.

I appreciate Hillary and am grateful that she and Martin are running. Either one of them would be a night and day difference from the best of the R's. But since Bernie is running and he stands for what I believe in most matters, much more so than Martin or Hillary, I support him.

He needs to grow on Palestine, but other than that, he is 100% in my book. How lucky are we that he is willing to put his life into this job.

[Gregorian]

8. Bernie Sanders just might be your candidate if,

-You're tired of income inequality. The bright side of it being we have a better alternative called Democratic Socialism. It's where you can be a part of the process. It goes like this: Slave/surf/employee/member. I had to edit this. as I reread it, it might not make sense. There are brilliant minds who have solved the problems we have with capitalism. And many countries with Dem Soc are doing very well at this very moment. This leads to a healthier working and societal environment. This alone can take us from the relationship we have with each other in a capitalist system (money first, people second). At one point we thought that slavery was the way to do things. We have evolved to where we are today, and we have better, more civilized and kind, systems that promote happiness and healthy relationships between citizens. Phew.
-Someone who doesn't just go to war.
-Someone who bridges and spans various age and political groups.
-A track record as solid as granite.
-An outsider who's has been inside for a long enough time to qualify him as knowing how things operate in DC. He's realistic, but we don't know that yet. Haha.

I just talked with a friend, and he doesn't know who he's voting for, but as I heard him describe his concerns about what has happened to the country, I realized he's a Bernie voter.

The bottom line is, it's up to us. Bernie is visionary in this respect, I believe, because he is unfettered by financial "gifts". There's a better way to say it, but I'm braindead this morning. And it's afternoon.

[Eric J in MN]

10. With regard to the Constitution, I doubt the Founding Fathers would have liked 'The War on Drugs.'

Cops going to houses in the middle of the night, breaking down the door, throwing a flash-bang grenade, and shooting the family dog.

Bernie Sanders wants to move us away from 'The War on Drugs' by federally legalizing marijuana.

[Kentonio]

12. And demilitarizing the police.

[sonofspy777]

13. This may help

[BlueMTexpat]

15. Along with all the other assets that I

believe Clinton brings to the party, the tipping point for me is her global knowledge, experience, credibility and the friendships she has built with global leaders.

For that reason and for her constant and consistent work with vulnerable people (working for the Childrens' Defense Fund, registering Latino voters to vote in Texas, improving education as First Lady of AR, involvement with women's reproductive rights, etc.); for representing New Yorkers well as their Senator; for representing the US superbly and advancing the foreign policy of PBO so that even after her departure, SoS Kerry and PBO were able to finalize such coups as the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris agreement on climate change; and generally for being a kickass woman overall, I am all in for Hill.

In the final analysis, however, I will vote for whoever is the Dem nominee.

Whomever you choose will be at least a thousand times better than anyone the GOPers do, so we are all winners.

[Voice for Peace]

16. Bernie. My #1 reason is honesty.

Clinton is not honest.
Bernie wants to improve life in US.
Hillary wants to be Prez.