Sen. Bernie Sanders Enters Presidential Race

[Pam]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us...dent.html?_r=0

Senator Bernie Sanders the Vermont independent, announced Thursday that he was running for president as a Democrat

[Jimaz]

There are some related posts and links on the Thom Hartmann thread starting at:

DetroitYES Home » Non Detroit Issues » Thom Hartmann » Bernie Sanders: I'm Running for President

• Current Senate website: Sanders.Senate.gov
• Presidential Campaign website: BernieSanders.com

[Ray1936]

Nuts. Lowell for President. Sumas for Veep. I'd campaign for that slate.

[old guy]

I'm in with Bernie. I wouldn't doubt that Elizabeth Warren might consider a V.P. position if this were to play out. I think she would have made a good president but realized the odds she was up against.

This would be like a presidency that we've possibly never seen. But that could be a good thing. Our current election and representation system has been sub-par for several decades now. Both sides of the aisle.

[Jimaz]

Bernie Sanders starts presidential bid in New Hampshire

MANCHESTER, N.H. – One day after raising $1.5 million in donations [in one day], Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was out to convince supporters in the early voting state of New Hampshire on Saturday he could raise the $40 million to $50 million to run a competitive presidential primary campaign against Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"The question to me is not whether we can raise as much money as our opponents — we can't. The question is whether we can raise enough money to run a strong, credible and winning campaign," Sanders said. "And based on this first day, I believe that we can."...

[Jimaz]

Employ Our Youth

• Sanders and Conyers Propose Youth Jobs Bill
• Bernie Sanders: Let's Spend $5.5 Billion to Employ 1 Million Young People
• BernieSanders.com

[canuck]

Nuts. Lowell for President. Sumas for Veep. I'd campaign for that slate.

I read the news of Sumas' passing after driving my wife to work this A.M. Lo and behold, the car parked in front of me had Michigan plates and a Sanders bumper sticker. What a coincidence:

[Jimaz]

Turn Left on Main Street

[Jimaz]

Onion satire:

Tanned, Exquisitely Coiffed Bernie Sanders Tells Supporters Corporations Actually Have A Lot To Offer

DAVENPORT, IA—Expounding upon the many ways in which they’ve positively impacted the country at large, a tanned and impeccably coiffed Sen. Bernie Sanders [[I-VT) reportedly informed supporters gathered at a campaign stop Thursday that corporations actually have a tremendous amount to offer the American people. “Businesses both large and small play a vital role in our society, creating good jobs and pumping billions back into the economy, and corporations are just the largest and most successful of these businesses—and certainly we shouldn’t punish success,” said the presidential hopeful, adjusting the alligator-skin band on his diamond-encrusted Bulgari watch as he elaborated on the ways in which publicly held companies in the financial, telecommunications, and oil and gas sectors have spurred growth and development in communities across the country. “And when you think about it, these companies aren’t just some faceless entities—they’re our neighbors, our family members, and our friends, all working together to make America the truly great nation it is.” At press time, Sanders could be seen smiling and waving from the stairs leading up to a brand-new Gulfstream personal jet before heading off to a private fundraiser at Sheldon Adelson’s estate.

[canuck]

Colonel Sanders would have made a nice President too, in another era. Very dignified.

[Jimaz]

Onion fakery aside, in lieu of the traditional Brunch With Bernie on the Thom Hartmann thread, here's a real family values agenda:

Attachment 27048
A Real Family Values Agenda

... As I go around the country, what I notice is that we are a stressed-out nation. People are tired. People are exhausted. People are overworked. People need vacation time. And it is absolutely absurd that nearly one in four workers in this country get no paid vacation time....When we compare ourselves to wealthier countries in Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, we discover that the United States is the only country that does not require employers to provide at least ten days of paid vacation time and that has got to be remedied and that has got to be addressed and that is exactly what our legislation does.

• BernieSanders.com

[Pam]

Bernie merch:

https://store.berniesanders.com/

[Zacha341]

He's making sure to cover all of his bases.

[Crumbled_pavement]

Whether you agree with Bernie Sanders politics or not, I have to say I like the dignified way he is carrying out his campaign. Rather than rely on rhetoric and attacking his opponents while dodging answering tough questions, he instead comes across as honest, authentic, and engaging. Katie Couric asked him several questions that Sarah Palin would have characterized as "gotcha" questions, yet he still gave very dignified answers. Again, whether you agree or disagree with his politics, I sure wish more politicians conducted themselves with the same class as Bernie Sanders.

[Zacha341]

I agree. I also like that he does not assume he will win as some do.

[Jimaz]

Attachment 27115
Rachel Maddow - Bernie Sanders campaign quick to draw crowds and cash

Kurt Meyer, Tri-County Iowa Democrats chair, talks with Rachel Maddow about the large numbers of people showing up for Bernie Sanders campaign events, and how his popularity is likely to shape the 2016 race and particularly Hillary Clinton's campaign.

• The Rachel Maddow Show

[Jimaz]

Attachment 27347
The U.S. Should Not Be Such An International Embarrassment

Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke on the Senate floor about child poverty and youth unemployment in America.

• Sanders.Senate.gov
• BernieSanders.com

[Pam]

Tomorrow night, lots of meetings for Bernie plus a webcast:

https://berniesanders.com/press-rele...house-parties/

Speaking Wednesday night from a house party in southwest Washington, D.C, Sanders will thank supporters and talk about ways they can help build a political revolution. Bernie’s remarks on BernieSanders.com will be live streamed for the meetings in thousands of homes and other meeting locations.

[oladub]

A couple of policy positions held by Sanders could popularize him among Reagan Democrats and independents. For a Democrat, Sanders has a reputation for being relatively supportive of the 2nd. Amendment. He also supports more limitations on immigration than most Democrats [[and establishment Republicans) although he does support pathways to citizenship for illegal aliens already here. “You know what youth unemployment is in the United States of America today?” he said. “If you’re a white high school graduate, it’s 33 percent, Hispanic 36 percent, African American 51 percent. You think we should open the borders and bring in a lot of low-wage workers, or do you think maybe we should try to get jobs for those kids?” “I think from a moral responsibility we’ve got to work with the rest of the industrialized world to address the problems of international poverty, but you don’t do that by making people in this country even poorer,”
Bernie Sanders Denounces Higher Immigration -the Daily Caller

[Pam]

New Bernie video:


https://youtu.be/qyee_sxJpXc

[Jimaz]

On July 28, Thom Hartmann asked former President Jimmy Carter for his opinion on the 2010 Citizens United decision and the 2014 McCutcheon decision. These decisions allow unlimited secret money, including foreign money, to fund U.S. political and judicial campaigns. President Carter had this to say:

It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it's just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or being elected president. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. Senators and congress members. So, now we've just seen a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over.

Yesterday, Bernie Sanders had President Carter's comment entered into the Congressional Record. See it here:
DetroitYES Home » Non Detroit Issues » Thom Hartmann » Bernie Sanders: The United States is an Oligarchy!

• Jimmy Carter Is Correct That the U.S. Is No Longer a Democracy
• Sanders.Senate.gov
• BernieSanders.com

[Pam]

From an email I got from the Sanders campaign:

The last time we emailed you about a poll in New Hampshire six weeks ago, Bernie had cut Hillary Clinton’s once-large lead to a manageable ten point spread. Now a new poll released just yesterday shows our campaign has closed to within four points in New Hampshire: 43% to 39%.
That's not all. New polls in Iowa, Minnesota, and Washington show our campaign with all the momentum.

[Jimaz]

Total duration 37 minutes:

Attachment 27669
Bernie Sanders: The Vox conversation

In a wide-ranging discussion, Bernie Sanders discusses his views on socialism, single payer, open borders, Zionism, and more with Vox Editor-in-chief Ezra Klein.

[Pam]

Clip from the Bernie rally in LA. Impressive crowd.

https://youtu.be/izqrUwbJszo

[Jimaz]

The 13 Home-Run Lines from Bernie Sanders' Portland Speech — An estimated 28,000 people rallied at the Rose Quarter on Sunday night

Sen. Bernie Sanders threw a socialist social in the Rose Quarter on Sunday night—and so many people came, thousands didn’t get to see him speak.

The insurgent Democratic presidential candidate from Vermont drew an estimated 28,000 people to his Portland event. The 19,000 supporters that managed to get into the Moda Center drank Widmer beer, chanted his name, and cheered a stump speech that pledged to dismantle the power of the “billionaire class.”...

Not even the Moda Center's seating capacity could dampen the enthusiasm. The Sanders campaign turned away as many as 9,000 additional people at the door of the arena. Many of them stayed outside, listening over speakers.

If you were among the thousands who missed the party, here are the 13 lines that most electrified the crowd. [[At least as measured by our ears.)

13. “If a bank is too big to fail, I think it’s too big to exist.”

12. “We must end the embarrassment of this country being the only country on earth that does not guarantee workers paid medical and family leave.”

11. “We see kids getting criminal records for having marijuana, but the CEOs of these large institutions get away with theft.”

10. On the Koch brothers: “When you have one family spending more than either political party, that is not democracy, that is oligarchy, and that has got to end.”

9. On Republicans: “What they mean by family values is that our gay brothers and sisters should not be able to marry and enjoy all the benefits of citizenship. I disagree.”

8. “Men, stand with the women and demand pay equity. There is no defensible reason why women are making 78 cents on the dollar. That has got to change.”

7. On [rally] attendance: “Portland, you have done it better than anyone else.”

6. “A minimum wage of $7 an hour is a starvation wage. I applaud those cities—Seattle, Los Angeles and others—that have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And that is exactly what we will do at the federal level.”

5. On the very rich: “They have unlimited sums of money. But we have something they do not have. We have a united people.”

4. “Every public college and university in America will be tuition-free.”

3. “The cost of war is real, and it is terrible. I believe that war should be the last resort, not the first resort.”

2. On his Supreme Court nominees: “They will have to tell the American people that their first order of business will be to overturn Citizens United.”

1. “This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class: Yes, we have the guts to take you on.”

• Full Video of Bernie Sanders Portland, OR Rally [[8/9/2015)
• Sanders.Senate.gov
• BernieSanders.com

Feel the Bern.