Sincere question about Bernie, god help me, I'm going into gd.

[gwheezie]

I am going to start off saying I support HRC. I could easily vote for Bernie in the GE. I have nothing against him but think Hillary might be able to get more done and I believe she will not be distracted from women's issues. Otoh I appreciate Bernie has made income inequality a cornerstone of his campaign and agree it is not to be dismissed.
I am just wondering what you all expect from Bernie. I think he's going to get opposition like no one has seen yet and I wonder if he is willing to compromise and if he is, will there be a backlash from dems against him like Obama got. I think Obama got some big things done but I also think because I remember the blue dogs being nearly as intractable as the GOP he got jammed up before he got rolling.
So I quess I'm asking do you expect Bernie to push for single payer even if there is no chance of Congress passing it in hopes that by the midterm more progressives get elected or would you accept that he make changes to the aca until he can get single payer?
I don't see enough of a change coming to Congress in this election because one of the failings of the dem party is a lack of support on the local.level to bring up young progressive leadership. They just don't leap into congressional seats.

[jfern]

1. He had a lot of opposition to his agenda his first term as mayor

Much of the city council figured he'd be a one term mayor. Well, that election not only got him re-elected, it also got him a much friendlier city council after he campaigned against the obstructionists.

[gwheezie]

4. I think that's a reasonable expectation

I don't think the GOP will have a big enough defeat on the local level and congressional level in 16 to get single payer. There aren't enough progressives running in 16.
This is just my opinion fwiw but if Bernie becomes president, I think it's important for him to be able to get some things done before the mid term but I don't think it will be single payer because that is going to require some courage from Congress.

[kristopher]

45. He's stated that first priority is getting Wall Street and the Banks under control.

Can't give a reference, but it was presented as being necessary to fund the social programs. My perception is that it is also needed to defang a lot of the political opposition to the social programs.

[highprincipleswork]

32. Bernie is a game changer. Check out why I say so, and what I think we should do about it.

Listen, we've all been disillusioned by politics, made cynical even, by politics and by life. But life is not best lived in cynicism. Were told to believe in hope, but I found myself just hoping I wouldn't lose all I had if we kept negotiating and renegotiating with Republicans in the most compromising way.

We can't get there if we don't try. We can't have our highest aspirations fulfilled if we don't state them, if we don't intend them, and we don't fight for them.

Nobody here who supports Bernie Sanders necessarily believes he will accomplish all that he stands for, but we do believe or even know that he will fight for the things that we mutually believe in and he will stand by us as we continue to fight for those things as well once he is elected.

That to me, is well worth my vote, and I don't see any other candidate who inspires me to believe the same.

It's time to push cynicism aside, even when it pretends it is pragmatism, and to fight and to vote and to volunteer and to donate and to work our asses off for what we believe and feel in our hearts is right.

That is why I'm with Bernie Sanders.

[Kentonio]

53. Beautifully put.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Why do you think that Hillary could get more done? Serious question.

[gwheezie]

5. Because she's not going for single payer

I expect her to be able to work out some problems with the aca.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. we don't know exactly what Hillary or Bernie are going to go for

all we can do is examine their ideas, their principles, against what our country needs.

The same approach - more of the same - is NOT what most in this country need right now.

[JonLeibowitz]

7. Bernie wouldn't try for single payer if the dems didn't overwhelmingly control congress.

[cheapdate]

10. Then wouldn't a large part of his base scream bloody murder?

[JonLeibowitz]

13. At the Repukes, yes. We'd organize to vote them out of office. Have you listened to his plan?

His goal is to organize a movement of politically involved and united Americans to stand up and work towards goals that will help the vast majority of Americans, where there is broad consensus amongst the public.

So yes, they'd be mad as hell. At the Republicans.

[uponit7771]

16. How!?!? A historically gerrymandered congress can get "organized" out!? Does anyone understand what

... the gerrymandering in 2010 meant!?!?

There's no organzing them out, they either go to jail and their districts redrawn or Sanders is putting up with the same thing Obama put up with but now he's raised expectations on him deilivering what he claimed Obama didn't fight for.

Stand up to people who don't have to answer to them is useless on its face, unless guns are going to be grabbed they don't have to listen.

That's the cost of the 2010 midterms

Sanders could organize 2 trillion people (something I've not seen him do lately btw) and the GOP will late them eat cake

[JonLeibowitz]

20. Sanders will be President after the 2020 redistricting, fyi. If we make a push at the state level,

then we have a chance.

Or, we could sit on our hands. I know which side of this question I will be on.

[uponit7771]

23. We need a controlling amount of progressives in congress not just well meaning people

... who care, that's not enough.

A push at the state level isn't going to get anywhere near an FDR congress or anything that LBJ had ... hell, we'd be glad to get a Carter congress... something Obama never had.

They don't have to deal with Citizen United at the smaller level

Also, how in the world is Sanders going to lead this revolution at that level for that single issue and be president of the free world at the same time!?

Again, he's not going to be the leader he expected out of Obama...

[JonLeibowitz]

24. Well, I guess we better just give up. What is your point? That we shouldn't fight for these things?

[uponit7771]

27. Don't have to give up just set energy at the right place and it isn't with calling everyone who...

... couldn't get 100% of the left tenants past this bastard ass'd congress a sellout or something worse.

That's the root of Sanders campaign and in that he has to ignore the effects of 2010 Historical gerrymandering while suggesting the dem president get primaried.

I'm dead serious, if he proffers how he's going to practically get anything past them I'm all in...

[JonLeibowitz]

30. Okay, you have a few points.

1) I don't think he said that the dems are sellouts, but please provide links if he has painted the entire party with such a broad brush. He has said that the democratic party has a problem with accepting large contributions from certain special interests and not necessarily acting in people's best interests. At best, this is an image problem when turning out the vote; at worst, it is legalized corruption.

2) Even with the gerrymandering we still lost more seats in subsequent elections. Elizabeth Warren showed that if you fight for something and stand for something you *can* win. But I don't see that passion very much elsewhere in the party. I see a great deal of prevarication.

3) He didn't suggest the dem president get literally primaried and removed from the ticket, he suggested that a healthy challenge in the party could move the president left when there was little reason otherwise for him to do so. This was a politically stupid thing to do.

Those are my thoughts. I hope they add something. I don't support Sanders without reservations, but I do believe he is the best person on the ticket who I can cast a vote for. Perfection is impossible, but on the issues (politics aside) I feel he is the best direction forward for our republic.

[kristopher]

48. A note about the gerrymandered districts

That was done based on presumption that certain demographics marked given sets of priorities for those voters.

What happens if, as he has done in the past elections he's won, Bernie realigns the priorities of 25% of the R voters in those gerrymandered districts?

How does that work with an energized base in a high voter turnout election?

What potential lesson might the Dem winners draw about the wisdom of following a more populist agenda?

[gwheezie]

28. My answer has nothing to do with Bernie or hillary

They are almost irrelevant to my solution. If progressives want to change the direction of the country, they need to run for all offices and become more active in the dem party.
There has to be a pool of progressives coming up through the system in order to run for bigger offices. To use the example of Bernie, he did not make it to being a legit contender for a presidential nomination last year. There needs to be rising stars to run for office and learn the ropes of working in our political system.

[JonLeibowitz]

31. I agree wholeheartedly. After I finish school I plan to run for some local office.

It is important to be involved and engaged. And yet, passion and fire of one's beliefs is important as well.

[gwheezie]

34. Thank you

I'm so hopeful because I'm impressed by younger folks. I'm 65,I met some young people with ows and when I attended some protests against vagina probing ultrasounds. I'm very impressed with some of the young leaders coming out of the blm protests as well.
If you all can get more of them running for offices or sitting on government boards then progressives can push the dem party. I'm not against multi directional approaches, not every one is cut out to be a politician but people will rise beyond their own expectations if they commit to a cause. Out of those rising, we will find our new leaders.

[murielm99]

50. These young people you mention

need to be willing to go en masse to the county Democratic organizations. They need to run for precinct committeemen slots. Many of those go unfilled, all over the country. After a few years of working a precinct, they can take county Democratic party offices. They can only make real changes from the inside. I hope they understand that.

When they see how local, state and national parties fit together and feed candidates into the party, we will see some real change. I don't see enough young people doing that. They need to run for offices at all levels, even when they don't have a hope in hell of winning. That is another way they will begin to understand how things work and how they can make changes.

Working within the system for change is not selling out. Having a good understanding of how things work, how and what needs to change does wonders. How do you suppose Obama became President? And he came up through one of the most entrenched, machine-driven Democratic organizations in the country.

[JonLeibowitz]

26. He has addressed the Citizens United question more broadly -- at the SCOTUS level w/ appointees.

You are right that he cannot get into local politics; that is why he is encouraging a movement to form.

[cheapdate]

22. Agree.

I'm in a long, narrow, gerrymandered district that replaced Democrat Bart Gordon with Teapublican Scott DesJarlais. Our district now splits the city of Murfreesboro, and travels down along I-24 to the outskirts of Chattanooga. It's ridiculous.

[gwheezie]

25. Not to mention where are the local progressives to vote for

I watched the tea bags where I live take over the county government where I lived. They had people running for every tiny office and volunteered on boards etc so when they ran for higher office they had some competency how to run for office and could say they held an office. That means something to people who have no idea who they're voting for. They had an r after their name, and the r's voted for them.
I got myself on the community services board in my county last year. I don't intend to run for office but I felt like the whole county was being taken over.

[cheapdate]

19. We'll see.

I think Barack Obama made heroic efforts to try to get congress and the American people involved in productive problem solving, and we all know how that went. The country is more deeply -- and seemingly intractably -- divided than ever.

Maybe Sanders could do better, but it would be an uphill battle, I'm sure.

[uponit7771]

15. Nope, the don't like Obama... it's not about pushing for single payer... that was obvious to me the

... second Sanders wanted to primarie Obama

[Kentonio]

55. Remember why Bernie entered this primary.

He didn't expect to be able to beat Hillary, he originally entered so that progressives would have some influence in pushing Hillary to the left to try and ensure she took on board more progressive policies. When Bernie called for Obama to be primaried, it wasn't because he was desperate to replace the President, it was simply that after four years where progressive thought had been increasingly sidelined, he wanted to remind the President that the left was an important part of the Democratic base.

[uponit7771]

59. You got any link on the first part?! My understanding was he was in it to win it... not just pull

... Clinton to the left

[Kentonio]

60. That became the plan after it became clear that there was widespread support for him nationally.

I can't remember the guys name, but one of the leaders of one of the progressive groups that convinced him to run openly said that at first the expectation was that if things went well they could push Clinton to the left. It was only after the campaign started that the campaign realized that enough voters had a big enough appetite for change and that Bernie could actually have a real shot at the White House.

Some people have been snarky about that and seen it as some kind of weakness. Personally I think its a good thing. He didn't get into this race with some burning ambitious to become President, he entered it to try and advance progressive policies and help people. His message has been so wildly popular that now he has the opportunity to advance progressive policies more than we ever dreamed and to do more to help people than we could have imagined back when he started out on 4% nationally.

[sabrina 1]

63. Bernie did not 'want to primary' Obama. This is why so many people are turning away from

establishment politics. The lies and distortions which used to work, now can be destroyed with the facts almost instantly.

Bernie was asked a question about whether or not there should be primary challenges for incumbent presidents.

His answer was exactly right that all politicians regardless of their positions, should have to face primary challenges.

I completely agree with that. Are we a democracy or not?

But you have totally mischaracterized his response and attempted to make it personal to Obama which is was NOT.

Every politician should know they are where they are because of the will of the people. Not because they are 'appointed'.

Knowing they will face primary challenges keeps them focused on who put them there and it is a healthy reminder since once politicians get to the WH eg, they seem to forget often who they represent.

Our practice of not challenging incumbents is not healthy for democracy. Period.

And that is what Bernie was talking about. NOT about anyone specific.

[uponit7771]

66. Sanders wanted a primary challenge to Obama, who cares who it was. If people are getting turned

... off because of syntax then they were thin skinned already.

I'm not a LIV, I know dog on well his statement wasn't talking about presidents holistically he was talking about Obama "moving to the right" and how weak Obama was

SANDERS: Brian, believe me, I wish I had the answer to your question. Let me just suggest this. I think there are millions of Americans who are deeply disappointed in the president; who believe that, with regard to Social Security and a number of other issues, he said one thing as a candidate and is doing something very much else as a president; who cannot believe how weak he has been, for whatever reason, in negotiating with Republicans and there’s deep disappointment. So my suggestion is, I think one of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama is doing. […] So I would say to Ryan [sic] discouragement is not an option. I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.

Sanders critique of Obama was BS at best and Sanders has never been the person he expected out ofObaam

If he was I don't think Hillary would've even ran

[HassleCat]

3. Push for, not achieve

Our party, our party leaders, and our president need to start pushing for single payer. We know it will be impossible during the next four years, but we must lay some groundwork. Obamacare is a good foundation for change, but it's not the end. It's a breakthrough because it represents the first progress on healthcare in a long time. But our party leadership has to do more than sit back and call it good. The huge majority of Democrats favor single payer, or something equivalent, but our candidates are afraid to lead. They keep waiting for the polls to indicate it's safe to take a stand. This is what they did on gay marriage, the Iraq war, and numerous other issues. They will do the same thing regarding single payer. They will wait until it's nearly a done deal, then say they were for it all along. If we let them. And we probably will.

[gwheezie]

8. Health insurance co's employ a lot of people

This is going to be more difficult than extending mcare to all. I think we would have to attach some kind of guarantee that people that lose their jobs have more to look forward to than unemployment.
I agree with you, we need to continue to push for it, I know many people want to think big steps but I expect a transition to single payer may take more than one president. Obama shook it up after decades of trying by several presidents with aca. I honestly think there was no way for him to get single payer.

[slipslidingaway]

9. The people have to do this, plain and simple, that is what he has said time and time again ...

you need to help to change the Congress and if enough people are engaged then change will come. If you sit on the sidelines nothing will happen.

Stay determined and fight for a better world, never been a fan of the R vs. D mantra, that just keeps too many locked into a team.

I was so disappointed when Obama belittled the SP advocates at a town hall meeting and then said in front of the AMA that we would not have a socialist HC system in the US. Guess we need corporations to profit from people suffering???

[gwheezie]

17. Insurance co's have too much control over healthcare

And the for profit healthcare system has a bottemline but some of this is just political. My patients are the chronically ill underseved, they can't afford aca so they have mcare or mcaid. Some are not insured at all and since they are on the fringes of the legal economy the aca is not relevant. In every city or county where I work serves the tax payer decided they'd rather pay for the ridiculous expense of hospitalizing people rather than providing enough outpatient care to keep people out of the hospital.
Aca made a slow transition by placing the focus on prevention however there aren't enough services to provide the care. Single payer is not a solution to our healthcare crisis by itself.

[slipslidingaway]

33. First of all ...

I cannot thank you enough for all you do to serve those less fortunate. My husband qualified for permanent disability after three weeks, good that there was not a prolonged fight, but sad to realize the severity of his illness.

That being said we beholden to the for profit system, something has got to change.

[gwheezie]

37. I am repaying everyone who helped me

I was poor and homeless 45 years ago. I had lost custody of my baby. If it wasn't for the American tax payer and countless people who extended something a simple as kindness I would never have made it out of poverty and been able to raise my daughter. I am humbled by the people I take care of for their strength and refusal to give in to despair every day.
Peace and hope to you and your husband.

[slipslidingaway]

42. I always find it sad that we do not recognize those who hold other lives in their hands ...

we all have debts to repay and need some help, we are all this world together.

We are humbled by an act of kindness, a smile, opening a door, it does not take a lot to say I care for another human being.

We are all in this together and we can provide strength and draw from one another.

[Eric J in MN]

11. I don't expect him to try to pass Single Payer in his first term.

Since the House will probably be controlled by Republicans, he'll probably try to reform the Fed, which some Republicans claim to believe in. Then the Republicans can either support that or be exposed as frauds.

[uponit7771]

14. They are known frauds by the GOP, that's part of their anger... they don't care, they don't have to

... cause they don't answer to the people who voted for them.

Be damn if they work with the people who don't vote for them...

Do you think in Sanders second term there would be a controlling about of PROGRESSIVES (not just dems) in congress to pass single payer?!!?

If so where are we going to get them from!?!?!?

Sanders minimizes the effect of congress on a presidential agenda cause he used to to gen anger, he's not going to be able to hide behind it when he's president

[Eric J in MN]

18. I don't expect the US to get Single Payer within the next 9 years. However,

...a president who believes in Single Payer will do what he can to move us towards a system based on the needs of the public and not the profits of corporations.

[uponit7771]

21. The last guy "did what he could" and Sanders thought he should be primaried. I'm not getting the...

... need to take a chance on Sanders other than he's as angry as I'm supposed to be.

It's like he totally ignored the effects of the historically GOP gerrymandered congress and labeled Obama as a sell out and Clinton as a continuation of that selling out.

If Sanders cant do no more than Obama then Hillary sounds like the rational place to put ones energy

[Eric J in MN]

35. Sanders was upset with Obama about his attempt to

..compromise with the Republicans by offering them Chained CPI for Social Security.

Sanders suggested that a primary challenger would caused Obama to move to the left.

Also, this was just talk on a radio show. Sanders didn't run against Obama or urge anyone specific to.

[gwheezie]

41. Chained cpi was a disappointment

I was on the verge of pissed off

[Bernblu]

47. You'll never get anything like chained cpi from Sanders

He would laugh in Paul Ryan's face if he even suggested it.

[Bernblu]

46. You must feel totally hopeless

[uponit7771]

12. The expectations for Sanders is to advocate the unicorn positions not actually progress any of the

... left tenants in legislation during the historically gerrymandered GOP congress.

That's what some need, just to hear someone say the words and grow red faced...

progress the tenant into something tangible!? That's what revolutions are for

[highprincipleswork]

29. Bernie is a game changer. Check out why I say so, and what I think we should do about it.

Listen, we've all been disillusioned by politics, made cynical even, by politics and by life. But life is not best lived in cynicism. Were told to believe in hope, but I found myself just hoping I wouldn't lose all I had if we kept negotiating and renegotiating with Republicans in the most compromising way.

We can't get there if we don't try. We can't have our highest aspirations fulfilled if we don't state them, if we don't intend them, and if we don't fight for them.

Nobody here who supports Bernie Sanders necessarily believes he will accomplish all that he stands for, but we do believe or even know that he will fight for the things that we mutually believe in and he will stand by us as we continue to fight for those things as well once he is elected.

That to me, is well worth my vote, and I don't see any other candidate who inspires me to believe the same.

It's time to push cynicism aside, even when it pretends it is pragmatism, and to fight and to vote and to volunteer and to donate and to work our asses off for what we believe and feel in our hearts is right.

That is why I'm with Bernie Sanders.

[Eric J in MN]

43. +1 (NT)

NT

[uponit7771]

61. Game changer how? He will put the GOP congress in jail and replace them with dems?! At this point

... peoeple are being sold snake oil.

Snake oil congress

[Trajan]

36. I think this is a sea change ...

A huge shift in public opinion which will affect government, though it may not do so immediately ...

In my mind, I think it is the RIGHT thing to do, even if it's hard to do, and will take time to see come to pass ... In my mind, this is the painful first step that MUST be taken in order to proceed down that path ... Without the will to change, change will NEVER come ...

Hillary, in any other instance, would probably be a shoe-in, but, considering she is such a well known quantity, there is widespread disbelief that she could ever be an agent of change ... just frilly window dressing and the same old same ole ... TPP, a continued degradation of family income when compared to inflation, and the ever present malaise of a marketplace barely scraping along because families are afraid to spend the money they have, which is far less than what it should be ...

Another aspect is this - There is one single Democratic party candidate that inspires a wide spectrum of the electorate to admire and respect them for their political courage and the hardy strength of their convictions ... SO authentic and SO brutally honest that they inspire large swathes of the population across political boundaries ... This, in opposition to a well known political character who is despised by a large segment of the electorate, and who is even disliked by many members of their own party base ...

One might bring a bonanza of new voters to the polls, thanks to a message that they are FINALLY getting their voice heard - New voters that could sweep in a whole field of lower level races, and thereby overturn the majorities in BOTH houses of congress ...

And the other might just be a repeat of same ole same ole ... they may even lose ...

I try to be an optimistic person ... I want to be inspired ... to believe things could be better, but I don't see it with one candidate, because they don't have the bold vision required to do the best they can to reverse what has happened over the last thirty plus years ... I am unconcerned that someone like Bernie wont have a congress worth a plug nickel to work with, because there is no doubt that Hillary will face the same or WORSE congress - One that is already surly and belligerent toward her ... maniacally so ...

NOW is the time for a bold and unflinching worldview that promotes and improves the lives the regular citizens ... I am hoping the Bernie Train blows through GOP Station like a bat outta hell ... and takes them out of control of government - a truly inspired candidate CAN do that ... Come with us, and help us ....

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. Yawn

Whut?

[7wo7rees]

39. Precious, just preciuos. How many campaigns has Bernie

been in and won/lost over 40 years? Let us just leave it there.

Oh and by the way 1 rec and 39 replies...... Hmmmm?

[gwheezie]

40. I'm assuming he is president in the op

It must mean he won.

[Bernblu]

44. If Sanders is elected it will be a game changer

because his election will be a popular uprising of a people based movement who are fed up with the corruption in Washington. If it reaches a tipping point it could sweep the Democrats back into control of congress. Even if the Republicans hold the house, Sanders use his bully pulpit and army of volunteers to make the Republicans more willing to compromise. He will be more willing to confront and call out the Republicans than Obama who tended to try to reason with them and tried to meet them more than half way, only to have them move the goal post. Sander is not going to take their BS. He will tell the American people how the Republicans are screwing them.

[Mark Grable]

49. an agenda for Bernie

1) direct FCC to break up media consolidation
2) use line item veto to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies
3) nationalise the banks and break them up
4) institute penny on the dollar user fee for all stock trades
5) end drone attacks
6) kill F-35
7) kill PRIZM
8) cabinet secrataries like Ralph Nader
9) investigate all those people who give big donations
10) investigate 9-11
11) appoint justices to Supreme Court
12) get in Mitch McConnels face and bite his nose off, then close coal mines
13) get in Paul Ryan's face slap'em around
14) USPS banking
15) mothball an aircraft carrier group, then more outdated military programs, close some overseas bases.
16) direct patent office to rescind patents on seeds
17) prohibit the use of neonicatanoids on crops
18) end fracking with EPA regs
19) stop giving military equipment to civil law enforcement
20) Kill TPP ect.

This is a short list of things Bernie Sanders could do, some in less than 50 days. Some less then 20 days. You just need people with integrity in one branch of government, the others will follow.

[Orangepeel]

62. For starters...

1) the FCC is an independent agency; 2) we don't have a line item veto anymore; 3) he is not going to nationalize banks.

[Mark Grable]

67. The FCC is a federal agency in the executive branch

The FCC takes orders from the President. He appoints whomever he wants to run it. Under Bush, Newspapers and Radio And Television were allowed, by change of rules to consolidate into four big corporations, and this is a problem. These corporations are the beneficiaries of all the political advertising. They filter the public discourse. These problems can be reversed by Bernie Sanders

I didn't know about loosing line item veto, I don't watch the news, when did that happen?
Never-mind, I'll research it myself.

I'll bet you money the next President will nationalise at least two big banks.

If Sanders becomes President, he will not try to compromise with Republicans like President Obama tried to do. The Republicans are in for a dust-up from before day one. You think he's old? The Republicans are the one's that are old and soft. They can't even keep the fanatics in line!

[Mark Grable]

68. One more thing the President can do is

Take agricultural Hemp of the DEA list of controlled substances so we can start growing it again, like George Washington did on his farm in Virginia.

So many things like that could make people like me part of the middle class again, even part of the upper class.

Just getting the "To Big To Fail Banks" off our back would expand the middle class again by 50%.

[madokie]

51. The same people who flung shit at Obama

will be the same people who will be flinging shit at Bernie. We're already figured out who most of those are and you can guess who it is. I'm not talking about the 'CONs either I'm talking about those who didn't get their pony the last time when Obama won

I've been here a long time and I've seen it and read it with my own eyes. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out either.

If you'll notice this time things will be different. We'll get a majority in the house and senate and it ifs not this election we will finish the job in the next one 2 years down the road. Plenty of time for Bernie to succeed in bringing us full circle. We are at the cusp of a political revolution at the moment.

[lovemydog]

52. I don't know.

It's a great question. The democratic party can and should bring up younger, more diverse, more strongly liberal, more strongly progressive leadership all across the board.

Your question is at the heart of why many are on the fence about voting for Sanders (and conversely, for Hillary) in the primaries. Viewed from another angle - would Hillary help lead the way toward strengthening and expanding health reform and help open the door toward single payer - it's at the heart of an ongoing discussion among progressives. Reasonable minds can have differing views. Enough people have to demand this from their leaders and vote for the proper candidates especially in congressional elections, for them to have the numbers in the house and senate for its approval.

I think the biggest challenge for progressives and the democratic party is in winning congressional, local and State elections. We need more strongly liberal people running for elections. More strongly liberal candidates being supported by the democratic party. And higher voter turnout at these levels. We need to win elections at every level. I always try and vote for the most progressive candidate at every election. Even though I'd like seeing more progressive democrats who are fresh, exciting, diverse and proudly liberal.

[eridani]

54. Pushing for things that had no chance at all are precisely how every social improvement--

--has come about. Not all that long ago, marriage equality was considered impossible.

[bowens43]

56. There is no one that republicans hate more then hillary

she will never be president because there is a significant number of Democratic voters who will not for her in the GE. If she did get elected all of the nasty skeletons in her closet will be brought into the light and impeachment would probably start on day one.

What need is to get away from business as usual and hillary is BAU at its very worst..

[TCJ70]

57. I expect him to call out our "leaders" on their BS...

...and keep the American public aware of what is actually going on in government. Then I expect him to work to mobilize that public for actual change.

[JudyM]

58. +1. He already has inside info on how $ is being channeled and will be in a great position

to start hacking away at the roots of corruption.

My hope is that he will put more systematic process controls in place to make our spending more sensible. I.e., root out as much fraud and abuse as possible, pare down conflicts of interest in procurement, etc.

[Armstead]

64. You have to start somewhere and have a clear goal

Democrats have not had clear goals for a long time. Just a kinda sorta centrist mixed approach that both embeds private insurance into the system and allows them to continue to screw us.

One problem is that Democrats too often waffle on single payer (or a truly mixed system) and have not worked very hard to sell the benefits to the American people. In fact, too often they've done the opposite.

That is in contrast to the GOP, which has consistently had a message intended to scare people away from that concept.

Bernie would work to sell a clear plan, and push like hell for it so that at least we'll be moving in that direction and offering a clear alternative.

[ChiciB1]

65. What I'm Seeing AND What I Truly Think His Nomination Will Do Is

persuade many people who up until recently felt if the tried to run for any office that the difficulty of beating an incumbent would be extremely difficult. Mainly because of name recognition and the amount of money one would need. I'm now seeing more people willing to take the same chance Bernie has and decided to give it a go.

Many of these people who are very upset with TPTB, but felt alone and left out. Perhaps thinking that it was and exercise in futility, because basically name recognition AND people like DWS NOT deciding to help monetarily to an outsider candidate.

It does seem that we're at a cross road and people feel that just maybe the time is right to get rid of the Machine of "more of the same," and see that they have something different to offer.

The possibility of having a new crop of people would probably be of the caliber that's more in line with Bernie's positions. Getting rid of the DLC/THIRD Way people will make a HUGE difference. These down ticket candidates will be more open to new ideas and may have enough POWER to get more done.

There are other pluses, but my time is limited right now. I KNOW my family and friends who support Bernie do so with a REAL PASSION that I've not seen in many, many years. It's not the same type of Obama passion, it's really different and it's real dedication. We believe he will be able to bring a new day and new blood which is SO BADLY NEEDED!

And should he not become the nominee, these other new candidates STILL may get elected. I DO feel DWS is going to lose her seat. Tim Canova is a VERY attractive candidate and SHE has become very unpopular. I live in Florida and barring some shenanigans he CAN WIN. He has generated a large group of supporters that grows each day!

THAT is what Bernie has started!