Bernie Sanders Is a Loud, Stubborn Socialist.

[NorthCarolina]

Republicans Like Him Anyway.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/s/71225/bernie-sanders-is-loud-stubborn-socialist-republicans-like-him-anyway

In the Sen­ate, Bernie Sanders should be all alone.

Sanders is con­stantly rib­bing Re­pub­lic­ans in his trade­mark con­des­cend­ing Brook­lyn-ac­cen­ted tone. He of­fers up le­gis­la­tion that’s so far to the left that it couldn’t get a vote even un­der Ma­jor­ity Lead­er Harry Re­id. He’s the cur­mudgeon in the Sen­ate Demo­crat­ic con­fer­ence, rarely sat­is­fied with how far his lead­er­ship will go to pur­sue pro­gress­ive policies, and not afraid to vote ‘nay’ when his lead­ers come up short. And none of his Sen­ate col­leagues, on either side of the aisle, think he could ever be elec­ted pres­id­ent of the United States; most of them even be­lieve he shouldn’t be.

But rather than earn­ing the frus­tra­tion and ire of his peers in the vein of oth­er Sen­ate hard-liners such as Sen. Ted Cruz, Sanders has man­aged to be re­spec­ted — even liked — by much of the cham­ber, ac­cord­ing to mem­bers on both sides of the aisle. The Ver­mont in­de­pend­ent ac­tu­ally has much more in com­mon with Sen. Tom Coburn, the now-re­tired “Dr. No,” whose hard-line op­pos­i­tion killed many bills in the Sen­ate but also earned him the re­spect of his col­leagues on both sides of the aisle.

Sanders also has been able to work well with his col­leagues. He’s passed bi­par­tis­an le­gis­la­tion and forged strong re­la­tion­ships with mem­bers of both parties in nearly 25 years on Cap­it­ol Hill. But most of all, mem­bers say, even when Sanders is ideo­lo­gic­ally an out­lier, he lets oth­ers know where he stands. He’s not the type to sud­denly stab a col­league in the back. And that’s earned him re­spect both on and off the Hill.

“A lot of people here talk about what they be­lieve in, but they don’t act on it,” Sen. Mark Warner said. “He al­ways acts on what he be­lieves. “¦ We can agree or dis­agree, but you know where he stands.”

So what is it Democrats, a candidate who inspires on both sides of the aisle, or one who has detractors on both sides of the aisle? I know which makes the most sense to me.

[leftofcool]

1. If he is so inspiring why aren't any of his colleagues endorsing him?

[merrily]

3. Some have. As to the rest, Smith, a Democratic NY state rep gave a clue:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128054423

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. Well wasn't that an interesting and enlightening read!

His colleagues should know it's "safe" to endorse Bernie and he had his arm twisted by another campaign. Very, very enlightening indeed!

Can't say I'm surprised though. I figured that's how HRH has gotten her endorsements. Ill-gotten endorsements aren't genuine endorsements. They're given under duress, threats of a primary or false promises made to them....bought and paid for.

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[merrily]

6. He didn't say he had his arm twisted by another campaign. He said Democrats were under a lot of

pressure to endorse another candidate and didn't feel "safe" to endorse Bernie or others. I think the pressure is coming from Party power brokers. I don't think the Hillary campaign would do this directly. Then again, it doesn't have to.

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. He said arm-twisting hasn't worked on him since middle school. Sounds like they were twisting his

arm to me.

<snip>
# Yes, there has been enormous pressure to endorse a different candidate, but arm-twisting hasn't worked on me since middle school and did not influence my decision. Hopefully other legislators will see the enormous level of solidarity you have all given and be convinced that it's “safe” to do what's right instead of what's easy. #

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[merrily]

12. ? I was referring to who was doing the twisting.

[bvar22]

42. I am confident that it wasn't the Republicans twisting his arm in the NY Senate.

That leaves two suspects,
and I have eliminated O'Malley on general principles.

[Proserpina]

13. I doubt that the twisting was at arm's length

I'm thinking it got a lot more intimate...up real close and personal. Short and curlies, they call it.

[bvf]

20. Enlightening read. Thanks, merrily. n/t

[redstateblues]

36. Any Senators?

[merrily]

39. You seem to have missed the point of what Smith said and therefore of Reply 3.

[randr]

19. Holding current congressional members to high standards?

[andrewv1]

27. You ever heard of the word "Vindictive"?

The Clinton's like the Bush Crime Family, has refined it to the next level that if you "don't get on board" & show allegiance you'll have problems.

[CorporatistNation]

29. They Do Not Want To Risk Losing .. CORPORATE CAMPAIGN CA$H AND OTHER PERQUISITES!

Quite simple in a "political system" that relies entirely on a Quid Pro Quo system of buying influence in order to get YOUR policy.

[Kalidurga]

2. His hair is a mess, his suits often rumpled, he points a lot, he can go on and on and on and on...

about what is broken in the system. Sometimes he gets short with stupid people. And he doesn't seem to care at all about optics. But, he does have some qualities that aren't terribly great. I will get back to you if I can ever think of any.

[merrily]

7. Are people on about his hair again?

[Kalidurga]

17. I have no idea, I skip over a lot of negative posts.

I know it's a thing among people who care about optics though. That is something I never cared about myself. Sure you can get some funny memes, but that sure doesn't fix policies that hurt people.

[Beacool]

4. Please, Hillary was one of the most popular senators during her tenure in the Senate.

She won over even the senators who set out to impeach her husband. She did it by being self-effacing, not hogging the limelight and working very hard. As she always says: Be a work horse, not a show horse.

[merrily]

8. More bills and amendments written by Bernie became law than those written by Hillary.

And most of her bills were ceremonial.

[Amimnoch]

24. No, they didn't. In Hillary's short time in the Senate the same number of bills that were

Last edited Mon Jan 11, 2016, 06:48 AM - Edit history (3)

written by her got passed as Bernie accomplished in his decades in congress.

Hillary Clinton = 3x bills authored that became law in 8 years

Burnie Sanders = 3x bills authored that became law after decades in office

That's right.. decades in Congress. and Hillary got the same done in 8 years. Perhaps if he'd done more with his career than represent the most homogenous state with a smaller population than Alaska (hell more than 20 US cities have a larger population than his state).

[JudyM]

35. That is really interesting. Nt

[merrily]

38. No. Your link does not show me stuff she wrote that became law and was not ceremonial.

My statement was about bills and amendments that she wrote or co-wrote (not just co-sponsored) that became law (didn't just die) that were not simply ceremonial, like a re-naming a post office or remembering the anniversary of the American Revolution.

I did not say bills she co-sponsored. Anyone can co-sponsor and that is not a measure of "getting things done."

I did not say ceremonial. Remembering the anniversary of Harriet Tubman's birthday is not a measure of "getting things done.

I did not say bills and amendments she wrote that never became law. Anyone can write a bill that never becomes law, even me. Even the two unconstitutional flag desecration bills she wrote went nowhere (thank heaven).

[dreamnightwind]

9. More likely she did it by working for similar interests

The senators who impeached her husband were working for many of the same interests as the corporate-funded Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton. Being a power player in that game who was close to the forces of capital gave her more in common with those senators than many of us want to admit. I'd say that not just about Hillary, but about most of our current crop of elected representatives.

We have a lot of work to do to get a government that works in our interest rather than the interest of the wealthy, the capture of both parties by monied interests is now well established.

[zalinda]

15. Didn't she also attend that

'bible study' group? What was it, 'The Family'?

Z

[Duppers]

21. Yep, here ya go...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/09/hillarys-prayer-hillary-clintons-religion-and-politics

[mountain grammy]

25. Thanks

I didn't know this.

[Duppers]

31. Who knows if she was faking or pandering and serious?

If she were truly serious, then ohmynoodles!! That alone scares the crap out of me.

[mountain grammy]

32. Yeah, me too.

[Duppers]

33. On the other hand, if she were faking..

That only reinforces her reputation as being disingenuous. Either way, this was a horrible decision on her part.




Forgot to add, mountain grammy

[mountain grammy]

34. I think I'd prefer a liar to a religious fanatic..

But would rather settle for neither.

[bvar22]

43. Creepy...... VERY creepy.

The more I read about "The Family" and the "C Street" House,
the creepier it gets.

According to The Family, if you are RICH, it is because god favors you and he has CHOSEN YOU to run the World. People without money ... well, that is disapproval from god, and they don't matter.

[JDPriestly]

28. Are you thinking of the resolution against flag-burning?

What a victory!!!

[bvar22]

44. Don't forget Hillary's War on Cartoon Violence in Video Games!!!

She led the charge on this important issue.

At the same time, she helped Bush kill and maim a million innocent REAL people with families, wives, children, and dreams of their own, and run about 5 million INNOCENT people out of their homes forever.
.
.
.
.
but video games are the problem.

[dreamnightwind]

10. K & R, most people don't know this about Bernie

[WillyT]

14. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[CharlotteVale]

16. K&R

[kath]

18. Yet one of the more jerk-ish Hillarians here referred to Bernie today as"PNG"for persona non grata,

saying that Bernie has NO friends on the Hill, is widely disliked, blah blah blah

[sadoldgirl]

22. Well, there may be a lot of truth to it.

If you are following the usual path in Congress, and are dependent
on corporate money for your election, a man of principles and of
integrity may become a thorn in your eyes.

[dorkzilla]

23. how fucking childish

I am guessing that Hillarian probably was projecting their own feelings of being unlikeable. Their parents probably tied a pork chop around their neck so the dog would play with them.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

26. Bernie has respect on all sides

[senz]

30. It's impossible not to like Bernie. He's genuine, kind, upfront, polite, cares about people.

He's not one of the gamy, slimy, backstabbing, deal-making, two-faced, phony politicians.

[NorthCarolina]

41. I agree with Cornel West when he

so elegantly put it this way when speaking of Bernie: "He touches our humanity". He is precisely correct I believe.

[Uncle Joe]

37. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, NorthCarolina.

[99th_Monkey]

40. "you know where he stands" <-- Voters LOVE this in a candidate, both Dem & GOP voters

it's why many GOP voters are flocking to hear Trump, is that he is putting on this show
of being a guy who "speaks his mind", who "can't be bought" (because he IS a billionaire),
who "tells it like it is", etc.

But when Trump has to stand up in the GE against a candidate who's not just putting on
a show, but who really IS those things, Trump will crumple like a the empty suit he is.