Bernie Sanders 2020 Watch

[bad_teammate 13132]

9 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Because he wasn't completely forthright about it last time around. 

What was he not forthright about?

Not acceding to bad-faith demands is not lacking forthrightness. You've confused dishonest outrage for legitimate concern.

11 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Give us a list of candidates running for 2020 that have undergone an entire primary without releasing more than a single year of returns.

It's interesting to see how you equate 1 with 0.

It's almost like you guys will shift the goalposts no matter what happens.

[bad_teammate 13132]

11 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

This isn't hard, and whatever timelines candidates used to have for releasing them prior to Trump is meaningless.

Then what's the standard? Does it apply equally to everyone?

[David Dennison 18652]

2 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

What was he not forthright about?

He didn't release complete tax returns. He also only released one year.

That isn't going to cut it.

[bad_teammate 13132]

Just now, David Dennison said:

He didn't release complete tax returns. He also only released one year.

That isn't going to cut it.

Ah yes, the long-form birth certificate gambit.

[Dropout 355]

20 minutes ago, GSU&UT said:

Again, because it seemed to completely be missed last time, if Bernie wins the nomination and wants to be on the ballot in Maryland (and a few other states) he has to release his tax returns.

We want them right fucking now!!!

[GSU&UT 1798]

14 minutes ago, Dropout said:

We want them right fucking now!!!

Honestly, I love Bernie but he didn't do himself any favors by acting a month or so ago that he would release them soon and is now being a lot more vague. A lot of speculation is that its his wife's issues that he doesn't want to make public. I don't know, but yeah I'm all for if you declare yourself seeking the nomination or even in an "exploratory" phase like Pete, you should be required to release them.

Edited April 5, 2019 by GSU&UT

[Jive Turkey 12568]

Bernie is probably worth more than Trump. 

[BradInATX 9208]

Will anyone answer the question of "if he's not hiding anything, why not just release them?"

Hold on wait. Let me put on my b_t hat. "Papers please!! Surly shitlib gestapo doing work today boys! *random mashup of Rage Against the Machine and Hunter S Thompson*".

But I'll hang up and listen

[bad_teammate 13132]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Will anyone answer the question of "if he's not hiding anything, why not just release them?"

A demand made in bad faith should not be acceded to. It sets a bad precedent when you let trolls dictate your words and actions.

25 minutes ago, GSU&UT said:

I don't know, but yeah I'm all for if you declare yourself seeking the nomination or even in an "exploratory" phase like Pete, you should be required to release them.

Should this apply equally to all candidates? If so, why doesn't it?

It seems like a one-person standard we're making up to deal with disingenuous trolls, doesn't it?

28 minutes ago, Dropout said:

We want them right fucking now!!!

[BradInATX 9208]

1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

A demand made in bad faith should not be acceded to. It sets a bad precedent when you let trolls dictate your words and actions.

 

Wait you think that the overwhelming majority of voters who believe candidates should release their tax returns are trolls acting in bad faith? You think the entire state of Maryland is a troll? The fuck?
 

TWIST. SPIN. DEFLECT. AVOID. 

You are what you hate.

[henrygandorf 29174]

it's my understanding that the primary reason high-ranking officials disclose their personal finances is to ensure that said official isn't in danger of being compromised by another entity (lobby, corporation, foreign govt, whatever).  considering what is going on with trump/collusion/russia/his tax returns, it's just bad optics to have bernie continually push back against the issue.  you have to see that.

didn't he just tell trevor noah that he would release them by april 15th?  if he doesn't, that's a problem.

[BradInATX 9208]

2 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

it's my understanding that the primary reason high-ranking officials disclose their personal finances is to ensure that said official isn't in danger of being compromised by another entity (lobby, corporation, foreign govt, whatever).  considering what is going on with trump/collusion/russia/his tax returns, it's just bad optics to have bernie continually push back against the issue.  you have to see that.

He does. He's disingenuous and hypocritical, but not stupid.

[bad_teammate 13132]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Wait you think that the overwhelming majority of voters who believe candidates should release their tax returns are trolls acting in bad faith?

Do you have a source for this statistic or did you make it up?

Quote

You think the entire state of Maryland is a troll? The fuck?

Does Maryland require primary candidates to release their taxes one year before the Maryland primary?

5 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

considering what is going on with trump/collusion/russia/his tax returns, it's just bad optics to have bernie continually push back against the issue.  you have to see that. 

 

Why is Bernie Sanders the only candidate whose taxes are being demanded right now?

Why isn't it a problem for Beto (zero info)? Or Pete (zero info)? Kamala hsn't shown us anything since her 2015 return. Booker? Yang?

This is not a real issue. This is nothing more than people who dislike Bernie trying desperately to find a vector of attack against a guy they can't otherwise attack.

[henrygandorf 29174]

1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

This is not a real issue. This is nothing more than people who dislike Bernie trying desperately to find a vector of attack against a guy they can't otherwise attack.

bro, it's politics in a country with a free press. 

it's accountability.  they asked him, and he said he would disclose, and he hasn't.  so they continue to ask him, and he's evading.  the tax returns are not the story, the evasion is the story.

if he has nothing to hide and submits them by april 15th (which i think is what he said) then the story will go away quickly.  if he doesn't, the story will get way bigger.  and just an fyi, journalists like when a story gets bigger, no matter what candidate they support.

 

[bad_teammate 13132]

Just now, henrygandorf said:

they asked him, and he said he would disclose, and he hasn't.  so they continue to ask him, and he's evading.  the tax returns are not the story, the evasion is the story.

Ok, so I'll ask these questions again...

Why is Bernie Sanders the only candidate whose taxes are being demanded right now?

Why isn't it a problem for Beto (zero info)? Or Pete (zero info)? Kamala hasn't shown us anything since her 2015 return. Booker? Yang?

"the evasion is the story"

That's not a story. That's not meaningful.

Quote

if he has nothing to hide and submits them by april 15th (which i think is what he said) then the story will go away quickly.

No, it won't. That's not how this works. The motivation behind howling for them was not a good-faith effort to find The Truth, so finding The Truth won't matter. They will come up with a new ridiculous story (for instance, Bernie's vacation home).

Think through this honestly. Is Hugo just going to say, "Oh nothing to see here!" when he sees Bernie's taxes or is he going to come up with some other completely stupid manufactured drama?

If a bratty child is demanding something and you appease the brat by giving him his treat, is that going to keep the brat quiet?

We have no rational reason to believe there's anything nefarious in Bernie's taxes. There is no existing precedent for releasing many years of personal tax returns one year out from the primaries.

[henrygandorf 29174]

1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

Ok, so I'll ask these questions again...

Why is Bernie Sanders the only candidate whose taxes are being demanded right now?

Why isn't it a problem for Beto (zero info)? Or Pete (zero info)? Kamala hasn't shown us anything since her 2015 return. Booker? Yang?

"the evasion is the story"

That's not a story. That's not meaningful.

No, it won't. That's not how this works. The motivation behind howling for them was not a good-faith effort to find The Truth, so finding The Truth won't matter. They will come up with a new ridiculous story (for instance, Bernie's vacation home).

Think through this honestly. Is Hugo just going to say, "Oh nothing to see here!" when he sees Bernie's taxes or is he going to come up with some other completely stupid manufactured drama?

If a bratty child is demanding something and you appease the brat by giving him his treat, is that going to keep the brat quiet?

We have no rational reason to believe there's anything nefarious in Bernie's taxes. There is no existing precedent for releasing many years of personal tax returns one year out from the primaries.

come on man.  listen to yourself.

the evasion is absolutely a story in the press right now.  should it be?  probably not.  do you think it's compelling?  obviously not.  but it's a story because the press is reporting on it.  it doesn't have to be balanced and fair.  if you think it's unfair, you should speak out (as you are).

if mayor pete was asked to show some military paperwork, and he said "sure", then never did.  then was asked repeatedly and kept pushing back against it, that would be a story.  every candidate is getting asked questions, and a lot of it speaks to their accountability. 

we have a president who lies dozens of times a day.  this is not the time to say you're gonna do something (especially the same thing they're asking the president to do) and then not do it.  politics is perception, and this is a bad look for bernie.

again, once he submits them, the press will move on from this issue, and yes, likely move on to another issue, as they do with all political candidates.  get used to it.

[Dropout 355]

Bt this is the part of the text convo where you thank them for their opinion

[BradInATX 9208]

come on man.  listen to yourself.
the evasion is absolutely a story in the press right now.  should it be?  probably not.  do you think it's compelling?  obviously not.  but it's a story because the press is reporting on it.  it doesn't have to be balanced and fair.  if you think it's unfair, you should speak out (as you are).
if mayor pete was asked to show some military paperwork, and he said "sure", then never did.  then was asked repeatedly and kept pushing back against it, that would be a story.  every candidate is getting asked questions, and a lot of it speaks to their accountability. 
we have a president who lies dozens of times a day.  this is not the time to say you're gonna do something (especially the same thing they're asking the president to do) and then not do it.  politics is perception, and this is a bad look for bernie.
again, once he submits them, the press will move on from this issue, and yes, likely move on to another issue, as they do with all political candidates.  get used to it.

You're making a lot of sense but you have to realize by now that he's never going to directly address any of the points you made. He's cornered himself into a bad position and is just going to call everyone bad faith trolls in every way imaginable.

[bad_teammate 13132]

4 minutes ago, Dropout said:

Bt this is the part of the text convo where you thank them for their opinion

Good point, I'm going to go check the Beto and Pete threads for the same concern-trolling about missing tax returns.

BRB

[henrygandorf 29174]

4 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

14 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

come on man.  listen to yourself.
the evasion is absolutely a story in the press right now.  should it be?  probably not.  do you think it's compelling?  obviously not.  but it's a story because the press is reporting on it.  it doesn't have to be balanced and fair.  if you think it's unfair, you should speak out (as you are).
if mayor pete was asked to show some military paperwork, and he said "sure", then never did.  then was asked repeatedly and kept pushing back against it, that would be a story.  every candidate is getting asked questions, and a lot of it speaks to their accountability. 
we have a president who lies dozens of times a day.  this is not the time to say you're gonna do something (especially the same thing they're asking the president to do) and then not do it.  politics is perception, and this is a bad look for bernie.
again, once he submits them, the press will move on from this issue, and yes, likely move on to another issue, as they do with all political candidates.  get used to it.

Read more  

You're making a lot of sense but you have to realize by now that he's never going to directly address any of the points you made. He's cornered himself into a bad position and is just going to call everyone bad faith trolls in every way imaginable.

my plan is to be a bad-faith troll until the astros game starts.

[gmr548 16491]

His tax return will show a few million in real estate, ~1+MM in income in 2016 and 2017, minimal charitable giving, and a very modest portfolio.  

This is probably pretty close to the truth, and I don't think it is going to sway anyone either way. I do find it odd that he won't release them. The longer it lingers the mite significant of a politcal liability it becomes.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[bad_teammate 13132]

It was all well and good until he got on stage, got booed, and a big baby with a sash saying "TAX RETURNS" chased him off stage with a giant shepherd's hook.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

It’s pretty clear Bernie wants to win the nomination without releasing his tax returns.  That was his excuse for not releasing them last time: “I would have released them if I won the nomination.”

Too bad that comes off disingenuous and shady AF.  

Edited April 5, 2019 by Hugo Stiglitz

[bad_teammate 13132]

19 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

It’s pretty clear Bernie wants to win the nomination without releasing his tax returns.  That was his excuse for not releasing them last time: “I would have released them if I won the nomination.”

Too bad that comes off disingenuous and shady AF.  

[BradInATX 9208]

He's not wrong and the longer this goes on the more the public will agree. Just release them.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

https://theintercept.com/2019/04/05/bernie-sanders-tax-returns/

WHY HASN’T BERNIE Sanders just released his damn tax returns already? 

It’s a question that’s something of a Rorschach test for Democratic primary voters. For veterans of the great war of 2016, who’ve been in the trenches battling Sanders for years, it’s exhibit A of his hypocrisy, evidence of a man who claims the moral high ground but is hiding something from the public — perhaps something disqualifyingly corrupt. 

There’s no evidence for this allegation, which fails to consider that Sanders has been filing rather detailed federal financial disclosures as a member of Congress since the early 1990s. For supporters of Sanders, meanwhile, the entire issue is a distraction, a way for the corporate media and centrist Democrats to undermine Sanders with trivial, horse-race nonsense. 

The truth, though, is likely much simpler: By failing to release his tax returns despite repeated promises to do so any minute now, Sanders is being the stubborn curmudgeon he’s always been. 

One possibility behind Sanders’s hesitancy is that the returns may show that he made actual money from his book about his 2016 campaign, and is now one of the millionaires, though not billionaires, that he routinely calls out. But the independent senator from Vermont resisted releasing his returns long before he published “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In,” a New York Times best-seller. As a protest candidate in the last cycle, he barely campaigned until December 2015, only hitting the trail when the Senate was out of session. He didn’t expect to win the nomination, so he didn’t bother with releasing what he considered to be mundane tax returns that would just back up his financial disclosures. The louder the media demanded his returns, the more convinced he became that the issue was manufactured trivia.

For Sanders, the trappings of politics and campaigns are by default either corrupting or absurd in comparison to the scale of the true crises facing the American people. It’s not about political expediency: He doesn’t want his opponents caught up in frivolous debates, either, even when it means giving up some advantage. “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails,” he famously said in an October 2015 debate with Hillary Clinton, then went on to add: “Let me say something about the media as well. I go around the country, talk to a whole lot of people. Middle class of this country is collapsing. We have 27 million people living in poverty. We have massive wealth and income inequality. Our trade policies have cost us millions of decent jobs. The American people want to know whether we’re going to have a democracy or an oligarchy as a result of Citizens United. Enough of the emails, let’s talk about the real issues.” 

Sanders refuses to engage with things that annoy him. But he is no longer a protest candidate and can no longer escape the old adage that you may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. He’s running not to make a statement or drag the conversation to the left, but to be the leader of the most powerful country in the history of the world and to rescue it from its collision course with a dystopian future. People rightly want to know whether he has his act together enough to do that, particularly as they experience life under the presidency of a man who clearly does not.

Sanders’s refusal to bend on any issue, no matter how minor, may be endearing to his most passionate supporters, but he’s doing both them and the country a disservice. An unbending approach to minutiae harms not only him, but his movement — and begins to look selfish and entitled. A million people have raised their hands to volunteer to make Sanders president. They deserve more from him.

There are other, more practical reasons for having not yet released the returns. The Sanders family, unsurprisingly, doesn’t employ a professional tax adviser. The IRS does not make it easy to get old copies of tax returns, so Sanders needs to root around and find all the returns — some probably filled out by hand — and get them in order for release. That’s an annoying but not terribly difficult task to accomplish, and Sanders has had three years since 2016 to get it done. But that’s where the stubbornness comes in: It’s an easy enough task to complete, but not if you think the underlying premise is silly at best and capitulation at worst.

Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, are demanding that the IRS turn over President Donald Trump’s returns, making the politics of Sanders’s delay that much less tenable. Trump should not be the standard; people deserve to see every candidate’s tax returns. Sen. Elizabeth Warren obliged early; Sanders isn’t special.

In a Thursday appearance on “The Daily Show,” Sanders finally named an actual date when he’ll release his returns. “April 15 is coming. That will be the 10th year and we will make them all public very shortly,” Sanders said. “I’m delighted to do that, proud to do that. Hey Mr. Trump, you do the same thing.”

Sanders, though, is fooling nobody when he says he’s delighted to do it. His approach to politics is as much a strategy as an attitude, and it has, with some fits and starts, served him well. He’s been uncompromising for decades, and that’s what his supporters now love about him, but his problem remains an inability to identify the line between issues he should stand firm on — “Medicare for All,” for instance — and ones in which he should just bow to an immediate political reality. Instead, Sanders digs in on everything, on both sides of the line, often only buckling after weeks of self-inflicted, avoidable harm to him and the causes he’s fighting for.

Sanders is a walking version of Winston Churchill’s famous aphorism about America, except for Sanders, the hesitation is not about doing what’s right. It’s about doing what the moment — trivial as it may seem — demands. Bernie Sanders can be counted on to do what’s politically smart after trying everything else first.

[bad_teammate 13132]

I want Nina to be his VP

 

[henrygandorf 29174]

so honest question - what's the big-picture plan with bernie?

he's 77, so let's say he wins.  he'll be 79 when he's sworn in.  is he trying to be a two-term guy (an 87 year old president)?  is he just righting the ship?  is he grooming someone to be his vp and then take over?

i'm not talking shit, i'm really asking, because i like bernie and what he's done the last few years, but i'm not current or on the inside of what the actual plan is.

i'll hang up and listen (presumably to b_t).

[bad_teammate 13132]

35 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

so honest question - what's the big-picture plan with bernie?

For Bernie himself?

He'll make it to his 90s probably, but his purpose isn't to be some long-lasting personality icon. He is shepherding the political revolution through its infancy and then he will die and others will take up the cause. We already have some great, young blood in the social democratic movement.

We're not with him. He's with us.

And, of course...

That's a joke, of course, but I honestly think Bernie is going to be a figure that will serve as a model and reference for future generations of Democratic Socialists. His decades of unwavering, steadfast resolve and ideological courage and consistency will continue to be an inspiration to progressives.

I'm sure he won't pick a VP he doesn't think represents his values. He isn't an insider Democrat so he doesn't have decades of favors to repay and he isn't jockeying for power within the party, so he's not going to end up with Tim Kaine or something.

Bernie has said he wants a woman who is younger than him as VP, and I think that's smart. I've said a dozen times I want Nina Turner.

For the political revolution Bernie is helping to start?

Keeps going. AOC is in her late 20s and will inspire social democrats for decades and decades. It's not about the man, it's about the movement.  Our Revolution, DSA, Justice Democrats, et al will keep going.

Here is the man himself as he begins to concede the primary to Hillary in June of 2016. He lays it out plainly right up front in the first 2 minutes.

"Real change never takes place from the top on down or in the living rooms of wealthy campaign contributors. It always occurs from the bottom on up, when tens of millions of people, say loudly and clearly, 'Enough is enough!' and they become engaged in the fight for justice. That is what the political revolution we helped start is all about. That's why the political revolution must continue."

Bernie is at over 500,000 individual contributors (5x his nearest rival) for this primary already and over 1,000,000 signed-up to volunteer. He is sitting on $20M+ in cash and is recruiting paid staff in all 50 states to start the work right now.

Sign-ups to host organizing events opened last night and it's already at over 1600. (It was at 1300 earlier today when I signed up to attend one.)

He's in this one to win it, not just be an issues megaphone like he was in 2016.

And we're going to fucking win.

[henrygandorf 29174]

2 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

For Bernie himself?

He'll make it to his 90s probably, but his purpose isn't to be some long-lasting personality icon. He is shepherding the political revolution through its infancy and then he will die and others will take up the cause. We already have some great, young blood in the social democratic movement.

We're not with him. He's with us.

And, of course...

That's a joke, of course, but I honestly think Bernie is going to be a figure that will serve as a model and reference for future generations of Democratic Socialists. His decades of unwavering, steadfast resolve and ideological courage and consistency will continue to be an inspiration to progressives.

I'm sure he won't pick a VP he doesn't think represents his values. He isn't an insider Democrat so he doesn't have decades of favors to repay and he isn't jockeying for power within the party, so he's not going to end up with Tim Kaine or something.

Bernie has said he wants a woman who is younger than him as VP, and I think that's smart. I've said a dozen times I want Nina Turner.

For the political revolution Bernie is helping to start?

Keeps going. AOC is in her late 20s and will inspire social democrats for decades and decades. It's not about the man, it's about the movement.  Our Revolution, DSA, Justice Democrats, et al will keep going.

Here is the man himself as he begins to concede the primary to Hillary in June of 2016. He lays it out plainly right up front in the first 2 minutes.

"Real change never takes place from the top on down or in the living rooms of wealthy campaign contributors. It always occurs from the bottom on up, when tens of millions of people, say loudly and clearly, 'Enough is enough!' and they become engaged in the fight for justice. That is what the political revolution we helped start is all about. That's why the political revolution must continue."

Bernie is at over 500,000 individual contributors (5x his nearest rival) for this primary already and over 1,000,000 signed-up to volunteer. He is sitting on $20M+ in cash and is recruiting paid staff in all 50 states to start the work right now.

Sign-ups to host organizing events opened last night and it's already at over 1600. (It was at 1300 earlier today when I signed up to attend one.)

He's in this one to win it, not just be an issues megaphone like he was in 2016.

And we're going to fucking win.

i appreciate you not answering my one real question.  is his plan to be president until he's 87 years old?

Bernie

has said he wants a woman who is younger than him as VP

wow, where will he find such a person?

[bad_teammate 13132]

6 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

i appreciate you not answering my one real question.  is his plan to be president until he's 87 years old?

He hasn't said anything about a one-term pledge, so yeah.

I think it would be dumb to go in saying, "I'm a lame duck."

Quote

wow, where will he find such a person?

I'm not talking shit, i'm really asking

[henrygandorf 29174]

well, most women in politics are younger than 80, so that criteria seems a little silly.

[bad_teammate 13132]

9 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

well, most women in politics are younger than 80, so that criteria seems a little silly.

Sounds like SOMEONE doesn't have a Ruth Bader Ginsburg workout tanktop!

[henrygandorf 29174]

4 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Sounds like SOMEONE doesn't have a Ruth Bader Ginsburg workout tanktop!

kidding aside, that would be an amazing tandem.

#jewishexperience 

[bad_teammate 13132]

The game done changed.

It's fascinating to see the words of the donor class. They are disgusting people who are terrified of losing their power and influence.

It reminds me of how much big money donors loved Mack even when he sucked, simply because he sucked up to them and made them feel special.

--------------------------------------------------------------

“There is like a competency level, which is kind of stunning. But these operations are not necessarily that good at this stuff,” said a Democratic donor, who has given heavily to presidential campaigns. “The people tasked with reaching out to us for money aren’t really that good at it.”

...

“What Obama did is he decided he would run in three primaries. And in order to do that David Plouffe [his campaign manager] ran a Republican campaign. It was businesslike. They decided what they needed financially for those three primaries and they raised what they needed to. That was really smart. And when Iowa occurred things just exploded,” said another major Democratic donor. “Now you have the reverse where Bernie and certainly Beto are betting on the internet. And that’s fine. But are you going to be able to raise $125 million in a year online? More importantly, if these campaigns aren’t run like a business, you are screwed.”

--------------------------------------------------------------

[henrygandorf 29174]

1 minute ago, bad_teammate said:

The game done changed.

It's fascinating to see the words of the donor class. They are disgusting people who are terrified of losing their power and influence.

It reminds me of how much big money donors loved Mack even when he sucked, simply because he sucked up to them and made them feel special.

--------------------------------------------------------------

“There is like a competency level, which is kind of stunning. But these operations are not necessarily that good at this stuff,” said a Democratic donor, who has given heavily to presidential campaigns. “The people tasked with reaching out to us for money aren’t really that good at it.”

...

“What Obama did is he decided he would run in three primaries. And in order to do that David Plouffe [his campaign manager] ran a Republican campaign. It was businesslike. They decided what they needed financially for those three primaries and they raised what they needed to. That was really smart. And when Iowa occurred things just exploded,” said another major Democratic donor. “Now you have the reverse where Bernie and certainly Beto are betting on the internet. And that’s fine. But are you going to be able to raise $125 million in a year online? More importantly, if these campaigns aren’t run like a business, you are screwed.”

--------------------------------------------------------------

you can't really compare donation stats like this.  the system has changed a ton in 12 years.  the platforms are so streamlined and smart these days. (i know it's the twitter piece, not you personally).

[Dropout 355]

10 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

so honest question - what's the big-picture plan with bernie?

he's 77, so let's say he wins.  he'll be 79 when he's sworn in.  is he trying to be a two-term guy (an 87 year old president)?  is he just righting the ship?  is he grooming someone to be his vp and then take over?

i'm not talking shit, i'm really asking, because i like bernie and what he's done the last few years, but i'm not current or on the inside of what the actual plan is.

i'll hang up and listen (presumably to b_t).

If Bernie is able I doubt you’ll find a supporter who will not back a Bernie 2024 campaign. We don’t really care about the age thing. At all. His mind is clear and he possesses the energy to get the job done. If this is still true in 2024 your damn right we have no problem w an 87 year old Bernie Sanders.

The sentiment that the leader of a movement should recognize his time has passed and step aside for someone else to lead is absurd in my eyes. A leader leads. This progressive leader will seemingly take a diverse representation of the next generation directly under his wings and show them the way. An administration full of Warrens AOCs Omars Khannas and Butts. This will be Bernie’s greatest gift. The most progressive politician grooming the most progressive generation the country has seen. America will be unrecognizable from today if Bernie is a two term president.

I sometimes think of Bernie as the trojan horse. Aside from all the progressive ideas it’s also filled with other progressive things like women, people of color, and empathy. The opposite of burning the city down will occur once inside the walls. At least in my story.

I’ve said Warren for VP in the past. I no longer believe Bernie will go this route based on what he’s said. Think bt is on the right track w Nina Turner. Perhaps a Tulsi Gabbard just so Hugo can flip the fuck out.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Dropout

[bad_teammate 13132]

The obsession with the age as a number (as opposed to mental flexibility, acuity, and stability, which are very important and which we should probably test in some way) reinforces some of the negative opinions I have of many peoples' politics. Which is to say, they either don't have any or they're pretty flimsy.

For some, it's like the field of candidates is just a lunch menu of identities and moods.

"A 47-year-old inspirational white man that's dorky-sexy... that sounds good."

"A grumpy 77-year-old Jew? Hmmm no. What are you having?"

"Oh, the tough and sassy 54-year-old black woman? That's really tempting. Wait, she's Indian AND Jamaican? Wow, I've never tried those together before I wonder what that's like."

[bad_teammate 13132]

That alleged Bernie chick in the panel of women is literally part of Talking Points USA and is a right-winger.

Oops

 

[bad_teammate 13132]

Broke: Don't allow felons to vote

Woke: Allow felons to vote

Bespoke: Allow prisoners to vote

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

Good to see someone embracing the Symbionese Liberation Army agenda. 

[bad_teammate 13132]

4 hours ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Good to see someone embracing the Symbionese Liberation Army agenda. 

https://i.ibb.co/zXrqXn5/bernie-sla.jpg

[Dropout 355]

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-bernie-sanders-front-runner-nomination-20190407-story.html

The biggest difference between 2016 and 2020 is that this time will likely see more than a dozen candidates vying for votes in Iowa and New Hampshire — which means a candidate could win there with no more than 30% of the vote.

There’s precedent for that. Jimmy Carter won Iowa with only 28% in 1976 and went on to win the nomination and the presidency. Twenty years later, Bob Dole won Iowa with 26% and won the Republican nomination.

If Sanders can win both Iowa and New Hampshire, even with narrow pluralities, he’ll be the odds-on favorite for the Democratic nomination. Since 1972, five of six candidates who won both states in contested races went on to become their party’s nominee.

 

One lesson we should have learned from 2016 is that in fractured times, implausible outcomes are possible. Don’t count Sanders out.

[bad_teammate 13132]

 

[bad_teammate 13132]

lol @ the look on Bernie's face as a 10-year-old girl just kills the whole game

Adorable and being raised well in super-tiny little Malcom, Iowa

 

[maninblack 7974]

Is Bernie going to fight against red menace during the campaign?

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

Where is an open borders candidate when you need one? 

[Bama Chick 28596]

That sounds an awful like “We’re full up on our quota of poor folks. Try again later.”

[bad_teammate 13132]

"Comprehensive immigration reform" and "common sense gun reform" are Democrat pablum that's always annoying to hear.

I'd like to hear him expound upon what he means by "at this point". There's basically zero light between the 2020 Democratic candidate field on immigration and I suspect Sanders is the only one who has a larger global vision beyond "this point".

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

Ouch.  Come on Bernie.  You can do this.  Release your damn taxes.