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[vicissitudes]

No. He wouldn't.

Like it or not, mainstream Americans would not vote for him.


I will not vote for him in the primaries because he could become the nominee, and he wouldn't even break 100 electoral votes against the Republican.

That could lead to a slew of new conservative Supreme Court Justices..... not worth it.

If he can win against Hillary Clinton, he can certainly win against any GOP candidate. I think most Americans agree with him on the major issues. I don't see any Republican candidate who would be able to beat him if we get the message out and people actually vote.

 

[daxy]

$$$

Of course, that shouldn't stop people from voting for whom they truly want to be president, but then you get into the whole "well I need to vote for X so that Y doesn't win" mentality.

God damn. This is really disgusting. So Hillary is gonna reverse the ruling that's getting her into office? I doubt it. Probably a 'sorry, I tried' kind of thing like you usually see.

I'm no US citizen, but having watched a good bit of his campaign video, Bernie seems to be pushing for a lot of great things.

 

[Aaron Strife]

I would have no problem voting for Hillary in the general election but I am supporting Sanders. Chalk it up to wide-eyed idealism too but I'm starting to think he might have a shot if he made it into the general election. I have a friend who grew up conservative and still holds many of those beliefs but is supporting Sanders. I think a lot of Americans are just sick of it. Obama was a breath of fresh air and I think a lot of people would see Sanders as the same. The mistake in 2008 was underestimating the recession and also how radically opposed the Republicans would be to his agenda. Well the worst of the recession has long passed and we know the latter, and we also know the country is liberal enough that Democrats can win the presidency without needing centrist candidates like Bill Clinton to win southern states. The days of Ohio and Florida deciding the election are gone, all we need is a successful base operation.

That being said I think Hillary has many other strengths and would be a stronger general election candidate anyway. Her beating a strong Sanders campaign would only bolster her candidacy.

 

[Daingurse]

He is an ideal candidate, I just don't think he has the ability to win.

 

[Arkeband]

Oh please.

No democratic system allows people that are far out of the mainstream to be elected.

Just because you or I like him doesn't mean he is entitled to become President.

What's crazy is he represents the best interests of an overwhelming majority of America.

The "Mainstream" you're referring to is the media-crafted opinion of uninformed Americans, which is something we're watching being dismantled piece by piece in real time. America's population going in the direction of social networks for their news in addition to or in place of traditional media is a big reason why there's such large support for marriage equality, removing symbols of hate from public spaces, and other formerly "librul" issues.

 

[Wafflecakes]

If he can win against Hillary Clinton, he can certainly win against any GOP candidate. I think most Americans agree with him on the major issues. I don't see any Republican candidate who would be able to beat him if we get the message out and people actually vote.

This just shows your naivete in regard to the American election system

Primary performance has virtually no correlation to general election performance.

 

[vicissitudes]

Bernie is a self-confessed open SOCIALIST.

Take a look at this recent poll. The public isn't a hardcore liberal friendly place like it is online.

If he got the nomination he'd lose to the republican in a landslide.

Again, he is a self-confessed Democratic Socialist, which he explains in this video, I'm against Socialism but I have no problems with his brand of Democratic Socialism. Neither does the studio audience, once the core concepts are explained. The challenge is to get the message across.

This just shows your naivete in regard to the American election system

Primary performance has virtually no correlation to general election performance.

2008 says otherwise.

 

[Rentahamster]

People said Obama was unelectable in 2007 too.

People say a lot of things.

 

[Cheebo]

Latest Iowa numbers released just the other day for a wake up call for some in here:

Clinton 63, Sanders 20, Biden, O'Malley 5, Webb 3, Chafee 1

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/lo...cle_1250ff58-2f6d-5194-a750-fe227514fbee.html


Clinton leads among Democrats by a whopping 43%.

 

[Messofanego]

Bernie is a self-confessed open SOCIALIST.

Take a look at this recent poll. The public isn't a hardcore liberal friendly place like it is online.

If he got the nomination he'd lose to the republican in a landslide.

lmao socialists are the most hated in America? Is it due to idiots poisoning the well like accusing Obama of being a socialist, that McCarthyism kind of fear mongering?

 

[Guileless]

I don't subscribe to the idea that the Reagan Administration was some sort of dystopic doomsday machine while the Clinton Administration was a sunlit idyll. See, e.g.:

The truth is, Hillary Clinton has supported every U.S. war since Vietnam. She supported not only DOMA, which her husband signed, but a travel ban on those who were HIV positive. She supported welfare cuts (remember her husband’s efforts toward “ending welfare as we know it”?). She supports the death penalty and campaigned in her husband’s place during the 1992 New Hampshire primary when he left to oversee the execution of an African-American man whose suicide attempt left him brain damaged.

And if “mass incarceration” is a problem today, keep in mind she has long advocated for the criminal justice policies that called for locking up more people for longer periods. She supports—and, as Secretary of State, participated in—the U.S. policy of targeted assassinations, including when the targets were American citizens.

In a political environment in which income inequality is a rallying cry, she makes $300K plus expenses an hour. In fact, she would be the wealthiest person elected president in the modern era.

 

[SocksAndShoes]

lmao SOCIALISTS are the most hated in America? Is it due to idiots poisoning the well like accusing Obama of being a socialist, that McCarthyism kind of fear mongering?

Yep. I would almost guarantee that the majority of those people saying they wouldn't vote for a socialist have no idea what a socialist actually is.

 

[Wafflecakes]

What's crazy is he represents the best interests of an overwhelming majority of America.

The "Mainstream" you're referring to is the media-crafted opinion of uninformed Americans, which is something we're watching being dismantled piece by piece in real time. America's population going in the direction of social networks for their news in addition to or in place of traditional media is a big reason why there's such large support for marriage equality, removing symbols of hate from public spaces, and other formerly "librul" issues.

Except the trend towards social media and fragmentation has made Americans MORE ignorant. Not less.

Once upon a time almost everyone got their news from the same sources on TV or in Newspapers. This forced them to read and think about people who disagreed with them, since all sides were included in the same format.

Nowadays, the electorate is so fragmented that liberals only get their news from liberal sources

Spoiler

such as neogaf

, making them completely ignorant of political realities. While republicans only get their news from conservative sources such as fox news, with the same general effect.


If anything, Americans are less likely than ever to rally around a fringe candidate in numbers high enough to actually become a threat.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Edit :/

2008 says otherwise.

Don't be intentionally thick.

Just because Obama won doesn't mean he is the same as Bernie. Obama is fairly mainstream in his views, and never labeled himself as a socialist.

 

[Third Strike]

...

Absolutely fucking insulting.

We're STILL trying to fix the fuck ups the Reagan administration handed down. To believe that somehow Hillary is on Reagan's level is mind boggling.

Posts like that are the reason why we could end up with a third Bush in office, and a conservative super majority on the SCOTUS. Clinton may not be close to the left as I want, but you would have to be delusional to think she and Reagan are the same.

I'm voting for Sanders for the primaries, but will also vote for whoever the Dems put up for the general election. It will be most likely be Clinton, though Sanders could surprise as well.

 

[ErasureAcer]

I'm a Bernie supporter. Bought a shirt and also donated. Will be voting for him when the time comes.

Glad more people are coming around. I think he will win Iowa and New Hampshire(we are still so far off from voting and he will gain, especially when the debates start) and I believe he'll win a majority of the Great Blue Wall states(New England, West Coast, Central...MN, WI, IA, IL, MI). I think Hillary's only hope when Bernie starts racking up wins is that she will definitely beat him in the Super Delegate total...which in effect, will just show how much the whole nominating process is rigged.

What his campaign has done or his supporters perhaps...is turn out humongous crowds and it's still 7 months away from voting. This is really unprecedented at this time frame of the campaign.

Hillary has been wrong on so many important things while Bernie has made the right choices even when they've been unpopular. I hope he pulls off the nomination and I'm almost certain he will beat the Republican nominee(they are all so gaffe prone and completely crazy).

 

[Retrocide]

How's his fund raising at this point? I see he's raised about $15 million which seems to be a nice sum until you realize that Jeb and his Super PACs have raised over $100 Million, unless he an get in the same ballpark I don't think he has a shot.

 

[ErasureAcer]

How's his fund raising at this point? I see he's raised about $15 million which seems to be a nice sum until you realize that Jeb and his Super PACs have raised over $100 Million, unless he an get in the same ballpark I don't think he has a shot.

This is exactly what Bernie is running against.

 

[vicissitudes]

Latest Iowa numbers released just the other day for a wake up call for some in here:

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/lo...cle_1250ff58-2f6d-5194-a750-fe227514fbee.html


Clinton leads among Democrats by a whopping 43%.

It's true that, according to the RealClearPolitics Polls I'm seeing, Bernie is only at 20% while Hillary is leading with 56% in July 2015. It's also true that, according to the same data, back in April 2015 Hillary was at 58% and Bernie was at 5%. And it's also true that Iowa does not vote until February 2016.

Edit :/


Don't be intentionally thick.

Just because Obama won doesn't mean he is the same as Bernie. Obama is fairly mainstream in his views, and never labeled himself as a socialist.

I never said Obama is the same as Bernie. I said Obama did well in the primaries by beating the favorite frontrunner in Hillary Clinton and he went on to win the general election. You implied that primaries have nothing to do with the general election. I happen to disagree. If Obama hasn't gained so much support and publicity from the primaries, I doubt he would have done as well in the general.

Bernie Sanders never labeled himself as a Socialist, but rather as a Democratic Socialist. And I think his ideas of raising the minimum wage, lowering college tuition costs, taxing corporations who are paying nothing by going overseas, and creating more jobs are very mainstream.

 

[SocksAndShoes]

I don't subscribe to the idea that the Reagan Administration was some sort of dystopic doomsday machine while the Clinton Administration was a sunlit idyll. See, e.g.:

Yeah, nobody is saying that.

And those scandals simply pale in comparison to Iran Contra, Housing and Urban Development grant manipulation and the savings and loan crisis he basically created singlehandedly.

Not to mention "trickle down economics", which is one of the biggest jokes in American history.

 

[Messofanego]

Again, he is a self-confessed Democratic Socialist, which he explains in this video, I'm against Socialism but I have no problems with his brand of Democratic Socialism. Neither does the studio audience, once the core concepts are explained. The challenge is to get the message across.

Yeah, why would Americans be against Scandinavian principles? They are considered the best countries of the world in so many aspects. Of course Americans need to be educated on the benefits of such principles, but I don't see why they'd be against free education and welfare and raising minimum wages and taxing the rich more. The audience, who I suspect are not fringe socialists or leftists, seem to be applauding.

 

[Grym]

While my views most align with Sanders as well, I personally hope he doesn't win the primaries (honestly I don't think he has a chance).

If he is in the general election, a Republican will end up with the presidency. There are too many "bad words" associated with Sanders for the general public to elect him. "Socialism" and "not very religious" being his insurmountable hurdles.

 

[Yaphett Kotto]

$$$

https://i.imgur.com/GCOVi0J.png[/IMG]

Of course, that shouldn't stop people from voting for whom they truly want to be president, but then you get into the whole "well I need to vote for X so that Y doesn't win" mentality.

Holy shit so much money from the banks alone.

Its hard to even justify her as the next prez when you look at that.

 

[Opiate]

How's his fund raising at this point? I see he's raised about $15 million which seems to be a nice sum until you realize that Jeb and his Super PACs have raised over $100 Million, unless he an get in the same ballpark I don't think he has a shot.

He is actively fighting against superPACs and acting like it by not accepting their money.

Which of course means his fundraising is extremely far behind.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Holy shit so much money from the banks alone.

Its hard to even justify her as the next prez when you look at that.

So she should just turn away money?

I guess you really want a Republican President.

 

[Real Hero]

While my views most align with Sanders as well, I personally hope he doesn't win the primaries (honestly I don't think he has a chance).

If he is in the general election, a Republican will end up with the presidency. There are too many "bad words" associated with Sanders for the general public to elect him. "Socialism" and "not very religious" being his insurmountable hurdles.

Having a presidential candidate using those words would go along way to stop them being dirty words though even if it means not winning this time

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

How's his fund raising at this point? I see he's raised about $15 million which seems to be a nice sum until you realize that Jeb and his Super PACs have raised over $100 Million, unless he an get in the same ballpark I don't think he has a shot.

He's not doing Super PAC's, so Bernie will never get that much money.

As for Iowa

He's down 20 points from Hill-dog after doubling his support. 33% vs 52%

I'm not dumb, he has a long way to go and needs to gain a lot of other types of voters, but if he can market his ideas and himself properly and dominate in the debates, I think the media will wake up and stop saying the American would never vote for him.

And no, I don't get my media from GAF or blatantly liberal sites.

 

[Cromat]

If Sanders loses but impresses in the primaries, how likely is a scenario where Hillary offers him to be her VP? Will he ever accept it?

It might be good for Hillary as she is seen as somewhat lacking in the conviction department.

 

[NeoXChaos]

Having a presidential candidate using those words would go along way to stop them being dirty words though even if it means not winning this time

and then we get Bush 3 or union busting walker for 4-8 years with conservaitve SC justices and complete control of Congress. Absolutely not. We need to stop thinking about what we just want and think about how our choice is going to affect other people. 320 Million people with x amount of eligible voters whether they vote or not next year.

 

[Grym]

Having a presidential candidate using those words would go along way to stop them being dirty words though even if it means not winning this time

Agreed. But I'm personally not at all willing to risk the likelihood of a Republican becoming the next president given the likely retirements and conservatism taking over the Supreme Court in a couple years

 

[American Eskimo]

Holy shit so much money from the banks alone.

Its hard to even justify her as the next prez when you look at that.

If you make less than $500,000 a year, a vote for Hillary is a vote against your best interest.

 

[BertramCooper]

If Sanders loses but impresses in the primaries, how likely is a scenario where Hillary offers him to be her VP? Will he ever accept it?

It might be good for Hillary as she is seen as somewhat lacking in the conviction department.

Clinton would never offer VP to Sanders.

Not in a million years.

 

[Sephzilla]

and then we get Bush 3 or union busting walker for 4-8 years with conservaitve SC justices and complete control of Congress. Absolutely not. We need to stop thinking about what we just want and think about how our choice is going to affect other people. 320 Million people with x amount of eligible voters whether they vote or not next year.

i really dont think scott walker has a real shot at the white house

 

[Wizerd]

If you're looking for ways to contribute, buy a shirt. It's sure to be trendy.

 

[Marion Cobretti]

I'm down with Bernie, but the guy has 0% chance of getting the nomination.

Can we just figure out a way to get Obama a 3rd term instead. It's more likely than Sanders becoming president.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Love the shills equating donations with political opinions.

Big money always supports the favorite.

 

[Cromat]

Clinton would never offer VP to Sanders.

Not in a million years.

Out of interest, who can she offer VP to?
Not American by the way.

 

[BertramCooper]

i really dont think scott walker has a real shot at the white house

He has a much better shot than Bernie Sanders will ever have.

 

[Moofers]

Completely untrue. A candidate is elected if enough people vote for him or her. It's entirely possible for enough people to vote for Bernie Sanders. It's up to us. There's no commandment in the sky that dictates how we can vote.

Some people say a Socialist is unelectable. While I disagree with Socialism and had similar concerns, I have few problems with Bernie's brand of Socialism which he describes in this video, and neither does the audience. His ideas are electable if we get the message out.



I love this exchange from Katie Couric's interview I linked in the OP:

Katie: "Is your plan to push Hillary more the left?"
Bernie: "No no no...I plan to win this election."
Katie: "Would you be interested in being Hillary's running mate?"
Bernie: "Would...Hillary...be interested in being...MY running mate?"

Thank you. This all needed to be said. I've seen so many "Well he can't win so who cares" type of commentary that it makes my stomach turn. We're fucking DOOMED if people don't get it through their heads that our votes matter. All you gotta do is get out there and vote for the person you think would do the best job. That's the ONE thing that's being asked of us and so many people get the idea that its a fuckin chess game when its super simple. Go vote in the primaries and see what happens. Seriously!

 

[Messofanego]

While my views most align with Sanders as well, I personally hope he doesn't win the primaries (honestly I don't think he has a chance).

If he is in the general election, a Republican will end up with the presidency. There are too many "bad words" associated with Sanders for the general public to elect him. "Socialism" and "not very religious" being his insurmountable hurdles.

Those sound pretty surmountable.

We're not talking about defending pedophilia, incest, rape, or genital mutilation here. Getting people to accept those terms, in a country that has gay marriage legal everywhere which would go against the religious majority, shouldn't be that hard. Public opinion can snap just like that if needed. Get celebs on the first salvo for accepting such terms like they have done for feminism, and then the public will get around.

 

[Real Hero]

and then we get Bush 3 or union busting walker for 4-8 years with conservaitve SC justices and complete control of Congress. Absolutely not. We need to stop thinking about what we just want and think about how our choice is going to affect other people. 320 Million people with x amount of eligible voters whether they vote or not next year.

Well yeah if the Republican Party wasn't literally evil and crazy doing what I said would probably be a more noble goal than at present

 

[SocksAndShoes]

He has a much better shot than Bernie Sanders will ever have.

I would say it's a push. The amount of informed people who would vote for Sanders would essentially equal the amount on morons who would vote for Walker.

 

[Rentahamster]

I'm down with Bernie, but the guy has 0% chance of getting the nomination.

Can we just figure out a way to get Obama a 3rd term instead. It's more likely than Sanders becoming president.

You're probably joking, but it really isn't.

 

[-COOLIO-]

That's because the current connotative definition of a socialist has been completely tainted and thrown threw loops in this country. He could easily change the national definition if he gains more traction in debates and people have a chance to listen to what that word actually means (and have people figure out that they have many socialist systems already working in their life)

bingo.

 

[Karsticles]

25 minutes into the interview. He would have my vote if he just came out and said that he is getting rid of student loan debt.

 

[BertramCooper]

Out of interest, who can she offer VP to?
Not American by the way.

Virtually anyone. The Constitutional requirements for VP are the same as the requirements for president (natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, resided in the U.S. for 14 years).

It won't be a person who also resides in her state of residence, though. There are some tricky Electoral College voting rules that try to discourage a pres and a VP from the same state.

 

[Sephzilla]

He has a much better shot than Bernie Sanders will ever have.

Id's say it's a push. I'd say the amount of informed people who would vote for Sanders would essentially equal the amount on morons who would vote for Walker.

The closer Walker gets to the White House the more his odds of actually getting in go down in my opinion. I say this as a Wisconsin voter, in a national election with tons of eyes all over it he'll eventually slip up and reveal how amazingly crazy and dirty he is. Whomever would get the democratic nom would simply have to not screw up and just wait for Walker to inevitably self destruct. Plus all of the groups he alienated in Wisconsin would probably get amplified to a national level, which would probably screw him over pretty good.

 

[BertramCooper]

The closer Walker gets to the White House the more his odds of actually getting in go down in my opinion. I say this as a Wisconsin voter, in a national election with tons of eyes all over it he'll eventually slip up and reveal how amazingly crazy and dirty he is. Whomever would get the democratic nom would simply have to not screw up and just wait for Walker to inevitably self destruct

Oh, I'm not saying Walker has a good shot or anything.

But he certainly has a much better shot than Sanders when you look at both of them as they currently stand.

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

Bernie has a poor chance of winning, but I can't wait to vote for him. He's got a better chance than any candidate of his ilk that has come before. His impact on the race can only be positive. We need a loud, truly liberal voice in the conversation and Bernie has one.

 

[Yaphett Kotto]

So she should just turn away money?

I guess you really want a Republican President.

No, but thanks for jumping the gun. :/