I am not sure if this question has been answered

[angstlessk]

Bernie has been in politics for many years...why did he choose this presidential cycle to get into the frey?

[jfern]

1. Because no one was running on a progressive platform this year

[daleanime]

11. +1

[snot]

2. 'Cuz he hoped the rest of us were finally awake/fed up enough to vote for meaningful change?

And no one else was offering it?

And we're at a pretty critical turning point re- the economy, the internet, climate change, etc.?

[Fuddnik]

3. Just speculation on my part.

He's sick and tired of Big Business, Banks, and Wall Street running roughshod over the citizenry.

And he thought it was time for the Democratic Party to field a true Democrat, instead of a Republican Lite for a change.

[angstlessk]

14. Yours is the best scenario

Thanks..I agree

[PatrickforO]

4. I think he felt morally obligated.

The only thing I can think of to compare is my own evolution to where I'm at politically. I learned a lot of things over the course of my life. Met a lot of people. Argued with people. Saw injustice and read, read, read. All kinds of stuff. Chomsky. Friedman. Hayak. Keynes. Marx. Zinn. Klein, Reich and many others.

What I think happened to Bernie is the same thing that happened to me. Once you know you can never go back.

He knows, and he didn't see anyone else doing it so he (I believe) got into the 'ring' with very mixed feelings. Bernie is a very moral man and I'm very proud to be supporting him.

You know, I watched Clinton in that town hall just now, and I felt good about most of what she said, but I'm afraid she'll pivot to the right the minute she gets the nomination. I KNOW Bernie won't.

[silvershadow]

15. ^THIS. nt

[krawhitham]

5. To push Hillary left

[Garrett78]

13. I think that's a big part of it.

Similar candidates have run before but not had as much success (Kucinich, for instance, has more or less the same views as Sanders). I think Sanders saw an opportunity to take advantage of a chaotic political climate, to take advantage of a collective frustration with neoliberalism (even if some don't use that term), and figured he might be able to force Clinton to be held accountable once she's nominated and then elected (being the heavy favorite that she was when the campaigns got started). Rhetoric and policy are 2 different things, and even Sanders would end up compromising some of his stances were he to get elected POTUS, but by running a fairly successful campaign, greater pressure will be placed on a Clinton Administration to operate in a more progressive fashion than it might otherwise. But it's not really about the individual so much as the system. The likes of Clinton, Obama, Kerry and Gore are symptoms and not causes.

[rusty quoin]

6. I am just glad he did. He brought the political discussions to the left,

for the first time in my adult life.

[liberal_at_heart]

7. Just my opinion but I think he and fellow politicians like Elizabeth Warren were witnessing first

hand the destruction that corporations buying politicians in order to write legislation that favored corporations was having on this country and no other politicians were willing to run for office with the premise of fighting this influence. I mean look at what deregulating the banks did to our economy in 2008. And now we have politicians negotiating trade policies like TPP that will be disastrous for American jobs. And Citizens United is now allowing corporations to buy elections. Things are bad. He wanted to bring these issues to the attention of the American people because lord knows the media won't do it. Neither will either of the two parties.

[beam me up scottie]

8. I think he got in because he knew they couldn't find anyone better than Hillary who had a shot.

I don't know how far he thought he would get against the Clinton juggernaut but I'm still in shock.

The Democratic socialist Jew from Vermont, the underdog no one had ever heard of, without the help of the establishment or big money is putting up one hell of a fight.

[Hiraeth]

10. He does not strike me as power hungry or crazy ambitious.

I think he did it because he felt he HAD to not because he wanted it but because he truly wants to leave this world/America a better place for his grandchildren. He did it for family. Thing is, Bernie sees the whole world as family. He sees this planet Mother Earth.

He felt it owed it to his Mother.

[napi21]

12. I think it was because he didn't want a corination, and no one was running against her.

I don't think Bernie has ever said that, but I'm sure I heard him say if Biden had run he wouldn't have. I'm sure glad he did too! here are so many issues that never would have even been mentioned if he hadn't. I HOPE he wins, but if he doesn't, his contribution to the Democratic policies and hopefully their platform has been greatly improved.

[Samantha]

16. Because Elizabeth Warren decided not to run

He never really was keen on running, and his wife was not either. But it got to the point where things got so bad, he knew someone had to step out and tell the voting public exactly what had to change. He figured if the public were made aware and stood up against all the corruption, that would force a revolutionary change in how things work in Washington. He thought she was the right person to run but she chose not to. That only left him to carry this particular slate he promotes.

Sam

[ladjf]

17. It was a matter of timeing at two levels:(1) the evoluvtion of public

attitudes about the financial inequity in general and (2) Bernie's maturity level allowed him to see that the climate for major change was ready to be acted upon by large numbers of Americans who were in need of legitimate leader they could trust.

A "wave was building naturally". Bernie defined it. Thousands if Americans , especially the young, recognized recogized the "call" and enthusiastically joined a rising tide of political change.

The wild-eyed,irrational Republicans and the cowardly, money grabbing established Democrats had driven Democracy to a level of corrupt dysfunction, too weak to manage their own affairs, let alone
reign in the unbridled Capitalist who were making out like the "termite bandits" feasting on "rotten wood", bribing politicians, rigging elections and amassing obscene amounts of wealth.

In order to be successful, this Revolution must gain control of the Presidency, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, the governorship and a much larger portion of local leaders.
The unconstitutional gerrymandering must end. The one person one vote should become the norm.

"The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was—in the Commission's view—honest, equitable, and balanced. The FCC eliminated the Doctrine in 1987, and in August 2011 the FCC formally removed the language that implemented the Doctrine." The Fairness Doctrine must be restored. The propaganda powers of the past has to end. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine

This Revolution has the potential to succeed without the violence that characterized the French Revolution. The power of the ballot would and should be sufficient. Humans have dangerous, primitive flaws that have led us to the precipice of annihilation. Yet, we also have virtues that could allow us to recognize our mistakes and correct enough them to allow the life of Earth's flora and fauna to thrive for thousands of years and maybe more. The recklessness of the past could become History's warning signs that teach us to avoid making the same mistakes.