He is not trying to be a leader to Democrats as a recent post suggests, he is doing his own thing and if you like what he is about like getting money out of politics, I am sure he doesn't care if you are a Democrat and Independent or even a moderate Republican.

I think we have to go back to Ronald Reagan's dismantling of the Unions to get a clear picture of what is going on here. Unions use to be our primary source of money but when they were crushed during the 80's Reagan didn't just win a battle he pretty much won the war because Democrats were forced to look elsewhere for cash and Bill Clinton was a major pioneer in going after Wall Street money. At the time it seemed to be a necessary deal with the devil but it was the beginning of a long term demise of the middle class with neither party's major funding coming from labor but greedy Wall Street. The New Deal would slowly be dismantled after this. Over the years it has gotten worse and worse with few bills represent the people no matter which party is in office:

Don't get me wrong because while Dems have problems Republican's are bat shit crazy and Susan Sarandon and Jill Stein are lunatics who were playing with fire big time! I voted enthusiastically for Hillary a month early because I have common sense even if I am an idealist and want the system completely fixed. My guess is that Sanders has the same outlook or else he would not have endorsed Hillary and stumped for her.

So Democratic candidates have two choices. I am not saying one is bad but in a perfect world one is clearly better than the other. Sometimes you have to be a realist and take what you can get in a corrupt system, I understand that. The choices are to accept that the Gov. is run by Wall Street and big donors and make deals with them to get a few things through for the middle class or take the ENTIRE establishment head on; enter that nutty Bernie Sanders. To be fair, few candidates have the luxury of doing this. Sanders is in a unique position where he doesn't have to worry about biting the hand that feeds him.

This type of bold move is going to make you lots of enemies even with people you might have the same values with. You may even look like you are anti Democratic Party from time to time even if you favor it's views 100 times that of the Republicans. This type of move is a very difficult balancing act where you are taking on the power brokers of both parties to try to unravel decades of power structures. It's messy as hell and dam near impossible to achieve or should I say Quixotic? We must remember that Sanders isn't a Democrat or a Republican for a reason. It's so he can call the shots as he sees them and sometimes he may seem off balance or actually really is is wrong because he is not perfect and can make mistakes like anyone. But I do believe he is trying to get money and corruption out of both parties and I think he is sincere about this. I think he has dedicated every fiber of his being to this in the same way he chained himself to the black civil rights protester. Is there some ego involved? Probably but I see a bit of ego in pretty much everyone who runs for office.

I am a life long FDR Democrat and I would love to see the party get back to its roots and make a clean break from all the money coming from the wrong people. This is not easily done for a million reasons and where does the money come from now if we walk away from Wall Street? What is encouraging is that some grass roots candidates are able to raise enough money directly from the people and this is a real threat to the establishment.

I don't see Sanders as a Democratic leader but more like if the country of Switzerland was a person and was trying to impact our political system. This fellow Mr. Switzerland is a progressive guy but not a "Democrat". He has his own goals just like Sanders has his own goals but he is not bound by any party. As a lifelong Democrat I welcome any inroads he can make to get corrupt money out of my party.

As another DUer puts it. These are the things BS is fighting for and they are right in line with what made the party great when FDR was president:

From DUer Akamai https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8996693

"Income And Wealth Inequality,
Making College Tuition Free And Debt-Free,
Getting Big Money Out Of Politics And Restoring Democracy,
Creating Decent Paying Jobs,
A Living Wage,
Combating Climate Changes In The Planet,
A Fair And Humane Immigration Policy,
Racial Justice,
Fighting For Affordable Housing,
Fighting For Women's Rights,
Working To Create An Aids And HIV-Free Generation,
Fighting For LGBT And Quality,
Empowering Tribal Nations,
Caring For Veterans,
Medicare For All,
Strengthen And Expand Social Security,
Fighting To Lower Prescription Drug Prices,
Fighting For Disability Rights,
Etc.

End Quote

What is the significance of congress getting involved? Would that just be more resources?

Those nutty Onion writers! They are just too much! What will they come up with next?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-28/trump-admits-being-president-hard-i-loved-my-previous-life

If you love them you probably see them through rosy colored glasses but they both have flaws.

If you are angry at one of them you are probably unconsciously vilifying them way beyond the amount they should be vilified.

I am sure 99% of us have worked with someone we love and respect and also someone we don't care for. Both of these co-workers can make the EXACT same mistake and if you love the person then: "Oh, it's no big deal!" If you hate them then: "For the love of GOD that idiot is so incompetent!"

I am absolutely guilty of this as well. It's human nature but it's something we need to try to be aware of to keep ourselves honest.

My two cents. Carry on!

This is an incredibly well written article with incredible insight on a very important issue:

One of the four options we have in any problem situation is acceptance. Validation is one way that we communicate acceptance of ourselves and others. Validation doesn't mean agreeing or approving. When your best friend or a family member makes a decision that you really don't think is wise, validation is a way of supporting them and strengthening the relationship while maintaining a different opinion. Validation is a way of communicating that the relationship is important and solid even when you disagree on issues.

Validation is the recognition and acceptance of another person's thoughts,feelings, sensations, and behaviors as understandable. Self-validation is the recognition and acceptance of your own thoughts, feelings, sensations and behaviors as understandable.

Learning how to use validation effectively takes practice. Knowing the six levels of validation as identified by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D. will be helpful.


https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pieces-mind/201204/understanding-validation-way-communicate-acceptance

It seems a clever way to make it look like your a tough guy willing to stand up to the US but because it blew up the US can't really go through with its promised retaliation which could have lead to who knows what? Kind of a win, win for everyone except Trump who I know would love to keep the news off of his Keystone Cops presidency.