Bernie Sanders Running for US President

[dust1n]

The coalition of progressive groups that tried to draft Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016 has officially endorsed Bernie Sanders for president.

The group has rebranded itself as Ready To Fight andannounced their support for Bernie Sanders:

But having demonstrated how much support Elizabeth Warren has, we’ve spent the past few weeks listening to our grassroots supporters and the progressive community about what they want to do next. And one thing we heard time and again is that they’re ready to play a big role in 2016, fighting alongside Warren on issues like trade, student debt, and reining in Wall Street.

They are also ready to back “Warren Wing” candidates who embody Warren’s fearless brand of progressive populism. And although it isn’t just about the presidency, 58% of supporters have urged us to back Bernie Sanders as the candidate currently running for president who best embodies the values that Warren champions.

That’s why on Friday, Ready for Warren is launching a new grassroots initiative called Ready to Fight — and Ready to Fight is endorsing Bernie Sanders as its candidate for president.

Former Ready For Warren Group Formally Endorses Bernie Sanders For President

The Teamsters union represents 1.4 million members. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers also endorsed the bill Thursday.

Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., and in the House by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, the legislation would undo provisions that allow severely distressed plans to reduce benefits for current and future retirees, after trustees have exhausted all other measures and the plans are likely to be insolvent within 15 or 20 years.

The legislation would also create a legacy fund at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. to cover the benefits of workers whose companies stop paying benefits. Funding would come from closing loopholes on taxes paid by the highest income earners, including the estate tax and deductions for sales of expensive art.

The new fund would help shore up as many as 200 multiemployer plans covering an estimated 1.5 million workers, Mr. Sanders estimated. “If we do not repeal this disastrous law, retirees all over this country could see their pensions cut by 30% or more. Instead of asking retirees to take a massive cut in their pension benefits, we can make these plans solvent by closing egregious loopholes that allow the wealthiest Americans in this country to avoid paying their fair share of taxes,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement.

The legislation is also supported by AARP and the Pension Rights Center, who complain that the new law “undoes 40 years of pension protections,” according to Karen Friedman, executive vice president and policy director for the Pension Rights Center.

PIOnline : Subscription Center


"As I sit on the Senate education committee, it’s fair to say that there are few people on the committee who are as opposed to No Child Left Behind and as opposed to this absurd effort to force teachers to spend half of their lives teaching kids how to take tests," Sanders said. "If I have anything to say in the coming months we would end NCLB."

The Bush-era law emphasizes standardized testing and consequences for schools whose students score poorly. Although the law expired in 2007 and has yet to be reauthorized, it still in effect in some states. The Obama administration has been working around the more cumbersome aspects of the law through a patchwork of waivers provided to states.

Last week Clinton also expressed dissatisfaction with the current standardized testing system.

“Are tests important? Yes. Do we need accountability? Yes. But we’ve gotten off track in what we test and what we test for that we sacrifice so much else in the curriculum, in the school day and school year," she said.

García told HuffPost she was impressed by different aspects of her interviews with O'Malley and Sanders -- though she would not say which candidate she preferred.

She appreciated O'Malley's understanding that it "takes more than a test score" to measure student learning or teacher success and his personal discussion of college affordability.

"He spoke as a dad, and said, 'here's what I know it cost me to put my kids through college, how does an average middle class family –- a family living paycheck to paycheck, working hard, how do they put enough away?'" García said. "I appreciated that he could use a very personal family experience; I think that’s what people are looking for too. And I think that spoke well of his ability to connect with educators."

Sanders spoke about his desire to work with educators, not for them, in a way that treated them as collaborators in a shared struggle -- something that impressed García.

"I think that's something you don’t hear a lot of politicians say... 'I can't do it alone,'" García said.

The NEA got started on its 2016 endorsement process in March.

"It is not too early to be thinking about who the next president of the United States is going to be, even though it's one and a half years away," García said then. "We know that educators have to step up and have our voices heard in this 2016 presidential election."

It's clear, she said, that candidates are interested in winning the union's favor. During the 2014 midterm elections, the NEA spent about $40 million in an effort to get union-friendly candidates elected.

Teachers Union Leader Weighs In On Democratic Contenders For President

 

[dust1n]

Bernie was in Vegas today.... doing what he does:

Bernie Sanders hits the Las Vegas Strip, takes aim at billionaire Sheldon Adelson - The Washington Post

LAS VEGAS -- Directly across the Las Vegas Strip from the Venetian, the lavish hotel and casino built by wealthy political donor Sheldon Adelson, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied more than 700 supporters here Friday to join his revolution against the billionaire class whose greed he says is crushing the United States.

“Today we live in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, but the vast majority of the American people do not know that, do not feel that, because almost all of that wealth today rests in the hands of a tiny few," Sanders said. "What we are saying to the billionaire class is, 'Your greed, which is destroying this country, has got to end.'"

Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who describes himself as a socialist but caucuses with Democrats, took direct aim at Adelson, who together with his wife, Miriam, spent roughly $100 million to help elect Mitt Romney and other Republicans in 2012.

"People like Sheldon Adelson -- you know who he is! -- and the Koch brothers are now spending unbelievable sums of money," Sanders said. When he argued that such political spending had created an "oligarchy" and wrecked "the foundations of American democracy," the crowd stood on its feet and chanted, "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!"

Sanders received a raucous reception here Friday, with repeated standing ovations and loud cheers. The hour was early, especially by Las Vegas standards -- 9 a.m. -- but hundreds of people, young and old, streamed in, sipping coffee and munching on muffins and breakfast cake.

The Sanders campaign received so many responses from locals wanting to see him that they relocated his town hall meeting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas to a venue that could accommodate hundreds more -- the ballroom at Treasure Island, a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

On Saturday, Sanders is scheduled to hold an event in Denver, where campaign officials said they already have received about 7,000 RSVPs. If they all show up, it would be perhaps the largest rally any candidate in either party has staged thus far in the 2016 campaign cycle.

Sanders argued that the reception he saw here in Las Vegas and in other recent stops, from Iowa to Minnesota to New Hampshire, shows that his message is resonating with progressive activists.

“This campaign is about you, your kids, our parents, our grandparents," he said. "It is about having the courage to do something which is pretty hard, and that is to say very loudly and clearly that enough is enough, that this government, our country belongs to all of us and not just a handful of billionaires."

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think Sanders needs to embrace the "class warfare" idea, and launch it from the reality of the plight of the working poor and the shrinking middle class. Of course all politicians are "for the middle class," but very few of them are willing to stand in front of a crowd and go on record and point the blame where it lies, the billionaires who have bought this country, and say that yes, it is a very bad thing when so few are gaining fist fulls of cash while the masses are making less.

 

[dust1n]

Bernie Sanders' debt-free college plan - Business Insider

College affordability has recently become the preeminent issue in higher education, as student debt figures have hit staggering levels.

A number of prominent Democrats have decried the excessive cost of college, and Hillary Clinton even proposed making college as "debt free as possible."

But of all the Democrats calling for debt-free college — including US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley — only Bernie Sanders has laid out a detailed plan that explains how he will finance the legislation, Inside Higher Ed reported on Friday.

Sanders will finance his plan by imposing a "Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street," according to Inside Higher Ed.

In May, Sanders held a press conference in Washington where he called the US government irresponsible for allowing students to incur massive levels of debt to pay for college.

"It is unacceptable that in many instances interest rates on student loans are two to three times higher than interest rates on auto loans," he told an audience that included student groups and a nurses union.

Sanders unveiled his ambitious College For All Act, which would provide free tuition at all public colleges and universities in the country.

He didn't mince words over the substantial cost that such legislation would require, estimating that it would cost $750 billion over the next 10 years. And he jumped into how he would finance the plan, striking out at the investment industry while doing so.

"At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, at a time when trillions of dollars in wealth have been shifted from the middle class and working families of this country to the top one tenth of one percent, at a time when the wealthiest people in this country have made huge amounts of money from risky derivative transactions and the soaring value of the stock market, this legislation would impose a speculation fee on wall street investment houses and hedge funds," he said.

2016 Disclosures Show Gulf Between Rich — and Not So Rich - Washington Wire - WSJ

The 2016 presidential field has so far divided into two camps: the very wealthy, and the less so.

At the upper end of the spectrum are Republican longshot candidate Carly Fiorina, 60 years old, and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, 67. Mrs. Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and her husband, Frank, have a net worth of $59 million, she reported earlier this month. Mrs. Clinton, together with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has assets between $11.3 million and $52.7 million, she has reported.

On the lower end of the spectrum are two very different candidates currently in the Senate: the 44-year-old Florida Republican Marco Rubio, and the 73-year-old Vermont independent Bernie Sanders. Mr. Rubio had assets between $300,000 and $840,000 in 2014, while Mr. Sanders’s assets range between $194,000 and $737,000.

Presidential candidates are required to file personal financial-disclosure statements showing their income, assets and liabilities in the year leading up to their campaigns. Those numbers are disclosed in broad ranges, though some candidates, such as Mrs. Fiorina, disclose precise figures as well. The filings also don’t always include assets such as property or cars in the net worth calculation.

For some candidates, their lack of wealth compared to the rest of the field may be beneficial. Mr. Rubio’s campaign has sought to play up his image as an everyday American who faces the same financial stresses as everyone else. Mr. Sanders, on the campaign trail, has railed against billionaires’ influence on the political system and has criticized an economic system that he says rewards the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans.

Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, has run into trouble for the hefty sums she and her husband have collected from paid speeches—$25 million in a recent 16-month period—and has been criticized for describing her family as “dead broke” after leaving the White House. Mrs. Fiorina, prior to releasing her disclosure, had said the Clintons were worth “far more money” than she and her husband—though it’s unclear whether that is the case as her filings show her slightly ahead. (Complicating matters: The Fiorinas disclosed the value of their residences, while the Clintons have not.)

Still, the contrast between the candidates’ levels of wealth is at times stark. The Clintons, for example,are at least 58 times as wealthy as Mr. Sanders, who is polling second-highest among Democratic voters.

In 2013, Mr. Rubio ranked as the 83rd richest senator, of 100, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Mr. Sanders ranked 86th on that list.

In the middle of either extreme is retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Mr. Carson earlier this month reported assets ranging between $8 million and $19.6 million. His disclosure also included a surprisingly high amount he had collected from delivering 141 paid speeches over a 16-month period, which netted him $4 million.

The disclosures also show gulfs in what candidates’ are taking in for speaking and appearance fees. Mrs. Clinton earned as much as $335,000 apiece for paid speeches after she left the State Department. Mr. Sanders, who is barred from giving paid speeches while a senator, disclosed he collected $850 for appearing on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Later this month, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley are expected to file their disclosures.

2016 Disclosures Show Gulf Between Rich — and Not So Rich - Washington Wire - WSJ

 

[dust1n]

There were an estimated 5,000 people in that crowd in Denver, gathered to hear socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders speak. And speak he did. This from the Denver Post:

Breathing a progressive political fire, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ignited Colorado supporters with a blistering condemnation of billionaires and corporations, drawing a crowd of nearly 5,000 to Denver — the largest of his Democratic presidential campaign since the May kickoff.

And as the story notes, while this crowd was the largest for Sanders since he began running for president last month, it's far from the only big crowd he has drawn. More than 3,000 people were at a Sanders event in Minneapolis at the end of May. Earlier this month, more than 700 people were at a Sanders rally at Drake University in Iowa. In early June, an overflow crowd turned out to hear Sanders in Keene, New Hampshire.

5,000 people came to hear Bernie Sanders speak in Denver. And that means … - The Washington Post

Last week, we learned about an obscure state law called Wilson-Pakula, which bars any candidate from running for the nomination of a political party that he or she is not officially affiliated with, and therefore seemed likely to prevent Bernie Sanders, an Independent, from challenging Hillary Clinton in next year's presidential primary election in New York.

However, in the aftermath of this news, first reported by Capital, the New York State Board of Elections has back-pedaled on previous statements, which had alarmed Bernie fans so much that 6,592 of them and counting signed an online petition to have Wilson-Pakula overruled.

Today, Capital reported that Richard Winger, an analyst and blogger for California-based Ballot Access News, questioned their initial interpretation of Wilson-Pakula. An excerpt:

The Wilson-Pakula law does not pertain to presidential primaries.... No state’s presidential primary nominates a major party’s presidential candidate. Only the party’s national conventions do that. The candidates in New York Democratic presidential primaries are individuals running for Delegate to the national convention.

Bernie Sanders May Not Have To Fight To Get On NY Democratic Primary Ballot After All: Gothamist

The Bernie Sanders in this Funny or Die video is not the Bernie Sanders who's serving his third term in the United States Senate. This Bernie Sanders is the latest interpretation of James Adomian, a 35-year old comedian who previously perfected a dopey version of George W. Bush and a realistically paranoid spin on Jesse Ventura. For a decade, Adomian has done for put-upon white male politicians what Wendy Carlos did for synthesizers.

"I’ve always liked Bernie Sanders," says Adomian, who lives in Los Angeles. "I’ve always wanted to do a Bernie Sanders impression, but I didn’t believe people were familiar enough with him to pull it off. And I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of doing impressions that not everybody gets. It's not fun. Sometimes, when you do Christopher Hitchens, the audience says, ‘Who?’ and you want to say, 'Don’t you people read the news?' But I always wanted to do Sanders. When he ran for president, I just pounced on it. Ah-hah! Well, he’s running–everyone has to know who he is."

Adomian had tried out the Sanders persona before, briefly, when performing in front of Washington, D.C. audiences that might have recognized it. Over the last month, as Sanders has campaigned for president, Adomian has taken "Bernie Sanders" onto other stages, and onto comedy podcasts. On May 18, "Sanders" walked ontoCommunity creator Dan Harmon's podcast Harmontown, wearing a blazer, slacks, and vest that Adomian had cobbled together because he did not own a suit.

"I'm a presidential candidate that everyone agrees with on everything, but no one will vote for me," Adomian-as-Sanders said. "If one third of the two thirds that support my position were to vote for me, that would be one sixth of the population and I still would not win."

"So you think it would be tough—you don't think you're going to win?" asked Harmon.

"Look, I'm not here to talk about winning and losing," said the "candidate," wearing two white wigs on either side of his dome to simulate the Sanders hairstyle. "That's the problem with American capitalism. We've been too obsessed with the losers. That's how the middle $40 billion in the federal budget goes to the top 1 percent of the top 2 percent of the top, let's say, 17 percent of the country."

On the May 29 episode of "Sklarborough Country," Adomian had further refined the character. He was less self-deprecating, more wonkish; he'd spit out numbers and statistics faster than hosts Randy and Jason Sklar could process them.

"Let’s talk hard numbers," said Adomian-as-Sanders. "The top 10 percent of the top 12 percent controls over 40 percent out of the top 80 percent of all of the income that’s enjoyed by the bottom 4 percent of the top 9 percent of the bottom 9 percent. That’s the kind of numbers we’re looking at. There was a time in this country, 1950, a family of four could afford a house for only $50,000. Now, for that same amount of money, $50,000, year on year, inflation adjusted–you can only afford a doorknob and turn it halfway."

Meet the Hilarious Comedian Now Impersonating Bernie Sanders - Bloomberg Politics

 

[dust1n]

Hillary Clinton went to New York’s Roosevelt Island earlier this month to relaunch her campaign for president. Her first kickoff fell flat, perhaps because she herself didn’t attend, opting instead to send a video greeting card in which people she still insists on calling ‘everyday Americans’ shared their life plans. (To go to school! Plant a garden! Get married!) She came on at the end to say she had plans of her own that include being president, and that she does it all for us.

She delivered a 45-minute speech that told us little more than that three-minute video. She still won’t say where she’d peg the minimum wage or if she’d ever rein in the surveillance state or get us out of Iraq. Most amazing is how she finesses the Trans Pacific Partnership that President Obama so covets. It’s the biggest deal in the history of commerce; its investor tribunals would substitute corporate for democratic will here and around the world — and Clinton hasn’t said boo about it. Some ask how she gets away with it. I’m not so sure she does.

Politicians have always ducked tough issues, but today’s Democrats are the worst. When the TPP came before the House, enough Democrats played it cute to leave the outcome in doubt till the very end. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi didn’t tip her hand until just before the vote. Many who voted no never said exactly why. Some want to curb currency manipulation. Some oppose the fast track process, others the secret tribunals or the intellectual property rules that actually restrain competition. If the caucus as a whole has a bottom line, no one knows what it is.

The TPP is a mystery because our leaders wish it so. We don’t know what’s in it because our president won’t let us read it, and not out of respect for precedent or protocol. George W. Bush showed us drafts of his trade agreements. We’re negotiating one right now with Europe, and Europeans get to read those drafts. If a comma gets cut from the TPP, hundreds of corporate lobbyists know in an instant. The only people who don’t know are the American people — and that’s only because our president thinks our knowing would ruin everything.

Hillary Clinton is going to lose: She doesn’t even see the frustrated progressive wave that will nominate Bernie Sanders - Salon.com



Wish it were so. Hillary is still 75%-15% on latest national poll. That's 5:1.



RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - 2016 Democratic Presidential Nomination

 

[dust1n]

“I’ve said from the beginning that I’m a socialist,” Black says. “And now I have a candidate running: Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination, which is a little upsetting to me, because I wish he’d just say, ‘**** ’em.’ But that’s the way of the world.”

Lewis Black Endorses Bernie Sanders, Tells Bill Cosby to F Himself - The Daily Beast

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has six campaign stops Saturday and Sunday in New Hampshire.

The U.S. senator from Vermont is also secured a campaign office in Concord, starting July 1, the Union Leader has learned.

Sanders begins the two-day swing with a 10:30 a.m. town hall-style meeting at Nashua Community College. He is scheduled to speak at a house party at the Bow home of Ron and Meredith Abramson at 2 p.m., then speak at a town hall meeting at New England College in Henniker.

Sanders has three town meetings on Sunday: 10:30 a.m. at the Governor’s Inn in Rochester, 1:30 p.m. at Oyster River High School in Durham, and 4 p.m. at Lake Opechee Inn in Laconia.

Bernie Sanders plans 6 stops this weekend | New Hampshire

In a press release issued by Sanders, the Democratic candidate said he was given Young’s blessing to use the song for a Democratic Party Presidential event at the University of Denver over the weekend.

While Young can’t vote, that apparently isn’t going to stop him from throwing his support behind a candidate.

After Shaming Trump, Neil Young Allows Bernie Sanders to Use Campaign Song - Breitbart

 

[Shadow Wolf]

“I’ve said from the beginning that I’m a socialist,” Black says. “And now I have a candidate running: Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination, which is a little upsetting to me, because I wish he’d just say, ‘**** ’em.’ But that’s the way of the world.”

Feeling the same way as Lewis Black, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Hopefully I don't start yelling at the time and having odd-looking-seizure-like convulsions.
I've already used his line as an excuse on why I don't want to live in DC.

 

[dust1n]

As this very early stage of the presidential campaign continues, the speculation is rampant as to the outcome of the nominating process and then the election itself. Despite media bias, which includes burying stories, misrepresentation, dismissal and ridicule, Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) candidacy is becoming a reality. He is actually gaining traction.

Sanders appears at a rally in Colorado that draws a crowd that is at least as large as Hillary Clinton's "kickoff" event in New York and larger than any crowd attracted by the Republican candidates. Ann Coulter, conservative political commentator, and certainly no fan of Democrats, suggests Sanders would be a stronger candidate against Republicans than Clinton. Why? Because he appeals to the American workers, rather than Clinton, "who's now on the side of the Chamber of Commerce." According to the most recent Suffolk University poll, Sanders and Clinton are essentially tied among men in New Hampshire, even though Clinton holds a 19 percentage point lead among women.

The most intriguing comment of late was quoted by a middle-aged conservative leaving a Sanders rally in Iowa. Paraphrasing: "He may actually have a chance. What he says should appeal to everyone I know."

Most everything that is written or said at this point in the campaign needs to be taken as hyperbole, since it is really early and the time when inaugural events of the season receive the enthusiasm of base support that overstates broad acceptance. It is still the fact that only 25 percent of the electorate identify themselves as liberal, versus 35 percent as conservative. It is still the fact that the overwhelming polling results show Clinton's lead over Sanders starting at 38 percent and moving up from there to 55 percent (Real Clear Politics has Clinton's lead over Sanders averaging 47 percent). It is also clear that Clinton has shifted her rhetoric to a more progressive tone, and that will impact voters as more moderates enter the fray. It is also the case that Sanders is relatively unknown and has very little of name recognition enjoyed by Clinton.

We have argued that Sanders actually does have a chance, not just because the message is candid and direct, but because his appeal crosses party lines. The "disappearing middle class" he refers to includes 80 percent of the Republican Party. Coulter is right: Sanders actually does pose a greater threat to a Republican candidate more so than Clinton.

So, the question becomes how that threat can, or should, materialize? Starting with the facts on the ground, it is the case that Sanders has raised money from over 200,000 contributors whose contributions averaged $40. What if Sanders had access to the Obama for America contact list that included 13.5 million donors? To quote from an article that appeared in Reader Supported News, "According to Marshall Ganz, one of the architects of Obama's 2008 organizing strategy, Obama's campaign had 3,000 organizers who recruited thousands more local leaders, who then helped mobilize 1.5 million volunteers and 13.5 million contributors." What would happen if that support moved to the Sanders's column? Not likely right now, but you never know.

Sanders's independent status in the Senate may be remembered when he filibustered in 2010 against extending "tax breaks for the wealthy." At the time, he was considered quite the maverick, but he is now joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whose agenda and presence has literally changed the dynamic of the Senate Democratic caucus. It is no longer easy for senators to "get along by going along," and her powerful stance against the influence of Wall Street banks, income inequality and the Trans-Pacific Partnership has created an underlying current that forced or permitted Clinton's move to the left as she began her campaign. While Warren has publicly endorsed Clinton, the legitimacy of progressive stances also indirectly benefit Sanders. And Warren's astuteness as a politician virtually guarantees that she will end up endorsing either outcome, also a plus for Sanders.

The compelling need for Sanders at the moment is not just "more of the same." His message does resonate with virtually every worker, at every level, irrespective of party affiliation. It is clear that his current strategy of being as ever present and available in the primary efforts in New Hampshire and Iowa and engaging in other venues to introduce himself will, and should, continue. This strategy is garnering success.

What he has also to address is the media's need to continuously slander him with innuendo. "Sanders the socialist from Vermont." "Sanders rumored to have dual Israeli citizenship." "Sanders the grumpy old man." Or the repeated exclusion of his name from discussion or consideration when campaign topics are addressed.

In the past, Sanders has made himself continuously available to MSNBC, which draws essentially no one other than its less than 1 million viewers. Moving up to a slot on "Real Time with Bill Maher," which he did this past week, broadens the audience to 4 million viewers. So, if he can keep snagging coverage from National Public Radio, that number would rise to 34 million (the average listening audience for its news broadcasts). But he needs to extend that reach to the guys who speak to conservatives like Don Imus (3.25 million average), Rush Limbaugh (14.25 million), Bill O'Reilly (3.2 million), Sean Hannity (11.75 million), Dr. Laura Schlesinger (8.5 million), Michael Savage (7 million), etc.

It is not just because Sanders needs to introduce himself cross party lines; it is because he is indifferent to bluster. While conservatives like Limbaugh, O'Reilly or Hannity have made it their preferred mode of operation to interrupt, outshout or bully their interviewees, Sanders is impervious, and he stays on message no matter what is being said. And that is all that is actually needed. He needs to do as he has done for the past 40 years: just keep saying the same simplified message over and over again. It is hard to listen to if you're expecting variety, but his is the right message. Bernie Sanders is a true phenomenon.

Russell is managing director of Cove Hill Advisory Services.

The Bernie Sanders phenomenon | TheHill

Denver Speech:

Sen Bernie Sanders IVT Denver Campaign Speech | Video | C-SPAN.org


Bernie Sanders, the iconoclastic independent senator from Vermont, was the first candidate from the left to officially challenge Hillary Clinton, with a low-key announcement outside the Capitol building in late April. He held a campaign kickoff in Burlington on Tuesday before heading to New Hampshire and Iowa later this week.

Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, has done relatively well with early fundraising efforts and will put pressure on Clinton with specific proposals on core progressive issues. Since his announcement late last month, he has already introduced legislation to break up so-called Too Big to Fail banks and to provide tuition-free public college. He has also been one of the Senate’s most vocal opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and fast-track authority, which Clinton has not weighed in on.

The campaign staff will continue to grow and likely won’t be fully set until early July. Here’s an early look at many of the key players in Sanders’ political orbit:

• Jeff Weaver is Sanders’ campaign manager. He served as the senator’s campaign manager during his successful Senate run in 2006 and served as chief of staff in Sanders’ House and Senate offices. He first began working for Sanders as a 20-year-old on his 1986 gubernatorial campaign.

• Phil Fiermonte, Sanders’ longtime state director, is the campaign’s field director. Fiermonte, who has worked for Sanders for 16 years, has long been in Sanders’ inner circle and helped manage his past campaigns. Most recently, he was heavily involved in coordinating the senator’s upcoming trip to Iowa. He was also previously listed as the treasurer of Sanders’ leadership PAC. In April, he joined Sanders, Sanders’ wife Jane and another adviser, Tad Devine, in Vermont for a planning weekend to discuss his bid. He’s a former member of the Burlington City Council and previously worked as executive director of the Vermont American Federation of Teachers. Both he and Weaver are Vermont natives.

• Tad Devine, a longtime Democratic strategist, has helped shepherd Sanders’ political efforts. Devine is a big name in Democratic politics: He has worked for several other presidential candidates, including John Kerry, Al Gore and Michael Dukakis. He also has a rapport with Washington reporters, giving Sanders’ early political efforts some cachet. His exact role with the campaign remains undetermined, but he has been an important veteran Democratic voice for Sanders, the longtime independent who has said he will run to win the party’s nomination.

• Mark Longabaugh, one of Devine’s business partners, has played a central role in helping to organize the early stages of Sanders’ campaign, serving as an unofficial campaign manager of sorts before Weaver signed on. He ran former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley’s 2000 presidential campaign operations in New Hampshire.

• Pete D’Alesandro is Sanders’ Iowa campaign coordinator. The Des Moines Democratic operative has worked on campaigns for two decades, including for former Govs. Chet Culver and Tom Vilsack.

• Digital firm Revolution Messaging runs Sanders’ online fundraising and social media efforts — big for a candidate who’ll rely on small-dollar contributions and benefits from a strong social-media presence. Four members of the team worked on Barack Obama’s insurgent 2008 campaign — Scott Goodstein, who ran Obama’s social media efforts; Shauna Daly, who was deputy research director for the campaign; Arun Chaudhary, who ultimately became the first official White House videographer; and Walker Hamilton, the site architect for Obama’s campaign. Kenneth Pennington, who ran Sanders’ Senate social media platform, and Keegan Goudiss, a Revolution Messaging partner who has worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, will also work on the digital team.

• Nick Carter, managing director of Sanders’ campaign committee, is working full time on Sanders’ presidential campaign, playing a role in fundraising and communications efforts. Other communications staffers in Sanders’ orbit include Jeff Frank, Sanders’ press secretary, and Michael Briggs, his communications director, who is handling most of the press for the campaign so far and may transition full-time.

Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign staff: The power players - POLITICO

 

[dust1n]

Feeling the same way as Lewis Black, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Hopefully I don't start yelling at the time and having odd-looking-seizure-like convulsions.
I've already used his line as an excuse on why I don't want to live in DC.

I bet once you start having those convulsions, they start happening involuntarily all the time.

 

[TurkeyOnRye]

Bernie Sanders rapidly gaining ground: trailing by only 10 points in New Hampshire poll.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...rs-on-the-rise-in-new-hampshire-polling/?_r=0

 

[dust1n]

Bernie Sanders rapidly gaining ground: trailing by only 10 points in New Hampshire poll.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...rs-on-the-rise-in-new-hampshire-polling/?_r=0

"Mr. Sanders was beating Mrs. Clinton among male voters..."

My god, Mr. Sanders.

 

[dust1n]

Apparently I've been posting too much Bernie and not enough me.

So, it looks like Bernie is well on his way of achieving his fund raising goal. Do you think he could do it? Has he been sorely underestimated so far? what do you think?

"The enthusiastic crowds that have been greeting Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail have been matched by online donor excitement.

Mr. Sanders, the socialist Vermont senator running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has raised at least $8.3 million online through June 17, according to Federal Election Commission records. His campaign won’t file its initial report until July 15, but filings by ActBlue, the online fund-raising committee that serves as a conduit for Democratic campaigns, show that Mr. Sanders has brought in more money in May and the first half of June than any other Democratic candidate using ActBlue.

It’s likely that Mr. Sanders will report more than $9 million raised as of June 30, the deadline for midyear F.E.C. reports. That amount is larger than any Republican not named Mitt Romney raised in the first half of 2011."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/u...ine-haul-8-3-million.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1


Also, the gap lessens in NH:

"A new poll shows Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders closing the gap with frontrunner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire — the state that holds the first-in-the-nation primary — a sign the Democratic nomination might not prove to be the coronation that some of her supporters would like to see.

A CNN/WMUR poll released Thursday showed Mrs. Clinton with 43% of likely Democratic New Hampshire voters, compared with 35% for Mr. Sanders.

The eight point gap is a substantial improvement for Mr. Sanders, who was nearly 40 points behind Mrs. Clinton as recently as May in another CNN/WMUR survey."

Bernie Sanders Closes Gap With Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire - Washington Wire - WSJ

 

[Iti oj]

@dust1n are you a registered dem? if not are you going to register as one to vote in the primary? I am. Can't wait. .. I saw a head line about him surpassing Hillary know anything about that?

EDIT: idk about the money part, but yes he is underestimated and people are not aware of the truth of American, voter apathy is his biggest threat.

 

[dust1n]

@dust1n are you a registered dem? if not are you going to register as one to vote in the primary? I am. Can't wait. .. I saw a head line about him surpassing Hillary know anything about that?

I'm not a registered anything. I just send my voter registration in to the tax collectors office last week. Luckily, here, Texas has semi-open primaries. So I can vote for Sanders in the primary without registering, which I intend to do.

EDIT: idk about the money part, but yes he is underestimated and people are not aware of the truth of American, voter apathy is his biggest threat.

Indeed. That's why I'm ordering a Bernie campaign shirt. And got a free bumper stick too. Got to normalize the name.

 

[dust1n]

Is it going to be embarrassing when the whole world has to put their own foot in their mouth?

"Bernie Sanders is down by just 8 points in New Hampshire and has gained tremendous momentum in Iowa. If the Vermont senator wins both the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, the odds will favor him getting the Democratic nomination. What was once thought of as a long shot is becoming a reality, primarily because Bernie Sanders has energized his base while Hillary Clinton has been forced to defend against email and foreign donor scandals. However, this isn't the first time in recent history that a challenger to Clinton was once thought of as a long shot.

In 2008, Hillary Clinton finished third in Iowabehind Obama and John Edwards and eventually lost the Democratic nomination to the first African-American elected as president. This eventuality was once described as "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen" by Bill Clinton, when the former president was asked about Obama's record and chances of winning the presidency. Even Hillary Clinton's "It's 3:00 am"advertisement, described by Harvard Professor of Sociology Orlando Patterson as having a "racist sub-message," couldn't prevent history from taking place and a more progressive electorate from deciding their own destiny at the ballot box.

Therefore, if you're a person who says, "I'd vote for Bernie Sanders, but he can't win," then compare the world in 2015 to another time period in American politics. Imagine in 1972, shortly after Nixon won reelection in a legendary landslide, that in 2015 The New York Times would read, Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide. Imagine just a decade ago, what you'd think about Strom Thurmond's son calling for the removal of the Confederate flag, or the Supreme Court ruling favorably on a national healthcare program. Even before Caitlyn Jenner, transgender Navy Seal Kristin Beck decided to run for Congress and Barney Frank came out publicly in 1987. Therefore, Bernie Sanders isn't George McGovern and this isn't 1972; Americans are willing to vote for any candidate they feel will make a positive change."

Therefore, even if minorities vote at the same rate for any Democratic nominee, including Bernie Sanders, Republicans will still have an uphill battle for the White House in 2016.

He voted against the Iraq War, championed gay rights and other issues before they were popular, and works against unfair trade deals and Wall Street greed, so there'sno denying the appeal of Vermont's senator to millions of voters. As for his appeal to minority voters, Professor Cornell West posted a message on Facebook stating, "Senator Bernie Sanders is one of the few elected officials who is fundamentally devoted to dealing with the plight of poor & working people." In contrast, Twittergrilled Hillary Clinton for waiting close to three weeks to address Ferguson, andEbony published a piece titled, Is Hillary 'Ready' for Black Voters?.

As for the Electoral College and Bernie Sanders, a closer look at the numbers and the electoral map shows that Vermont's senator is indeed a pragmatic choice (no email scandals, voted consistently on progressive issues before they were popular, energizeda base of Democratic supporters) for Democratic nominee. Also, Sanders has a better chance than Hillary of defeating Jeb Bush or any other GOP challenger. According to a POLITICO piece titled The 2016 Results We Can Already Predict, Democrats across the nation simply have to vote in a similar manner to 2012 for Sanders to win:

That leaves just seven super-swingy states: Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia, all of which backed Bush and Obama twice each, and Iowa and New Hampshire, which have voted Democratic in three of the last four elections.

For the Democrats, a victory in 2016 entails zero expansion of the blue map, merely the limiting of blue-to-red transformations. Assuming the lean, likely, and safe Democratic states remain loyal to the party, the nominee need only win 23 of the 85 toss-up electoral votes. And if a lean Democratic state such as Wisconsin turns red, it is relatively easy to replace those votes with one or two toss-ups.

On the other hand, Republicans must hold all their usual states plus find a way to stitch together an additional 64 electoral votes, or 79 if they can't hold North Carolina. To do this, the GOP candidate will have to come close to sweeping the toss-ups under most scenarios--a difficult task...

What gives Hillary Clinton a better chance of winning states like Ohio (Brookings has a study titled Did Manufacturing Job Losses Hold the Midwest Back) than Bernie Sanders? Unlike Sanders, Hillary was for the TPP and voters weary of China and Vietnam taking jobs away from Americans will think twice about Hillary Clinton.

Also, communities around the country hit by the repercussions of American counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where close to 7,000 Americansdied, over 50,000 wounded in combat, and over 900,000 injured, will think twice about voting for Hillary Clinton after her Iraq War vote. Bernie Sanders, however, was on the right side of history with Iraq and Afghanistan, he's always against horrible trade agreements, supported gay marriage and marijuana legalization (Hillary was against even the decriminalization of marijuana not long ago) and championed a range of other issues.

In other words, the electoral map shows that Bernie Sanders is not only a realistic candidate for president, but his record on a number of issues speaks to a wide range of voters. If Democrats simply vote based on their value system (considering demographic shifts favor Democrats), Bernie Sanders can easily win the presidency. If they nominate Hillary Clinton out of despair, thinking this is still 1999, then email scandals and an Iraq War vote could mitigate any advantages a Democratic challenger has over Jeb Bush or another Republican.

Why Bernie Sanders Will Become the Democratic Nominee and Defeat Any Republican in 2016 | H. A. Goodman


Any thoughts on this assessment? I thought it was scarily spot on. More Bernie news all about.

"With his stance on gun control under attack from a Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Sunday defended what he called his “strong record” and called for a national dialogue to produce “common-sense legislation” balancing public safety against gun rights.

“What we need to do is bridge the cultural divide” between rural gun-rights advocates in states like his, and urban gun-control proponents, Mr. Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

“We can’t have people demagoguing against folks just because they go out and hunt and they own guns,” he said. “On the other hand, rural America has got to understand that guns in Vermont are not the same thing as guns in Chicago that are used to kill kids or to shoot at police officers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/28/bernie-sanders-defends-gun-record/

What do you guys think about his stance on gun control?


"WATERLOO | More than a dozen Iowa labor leaders announced support for Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders this past week.

Two Northeast Iowa union members were among those signing onto the Labor for Bernie initiative that urges primary support for the independent senator from Vermont.

“We need a presidential candidate willing to confront big money and its corrupting influence on American politics,” supporter Steve Abbott, president of the Communication Workers of America Local 7108 in Waterloo and head of the CWA’s Iowa State Council, said in a statement.

Sanders has criticized the growing influence of money in politics, a topic he mentioned frequently during his last stop in Waterloo on June 14.

Abbott continued: “That kind of leadership is not going to come from someone trying to raise a billion dollars from Wall Street banks and other business interests. We need a voice of our own, not an echo of the Republicans.”

Kevin Cook of Oelwein, of United Auto Workers Local 411, was also among the 14 Iowans to sign a letter showing support for Sanders’ campaign.

The two men are among the first 1,000 labor leaders across the nation to sign on to support Sanders."

Some local labor leaders back Bernie Sanders

 

[dust1n]

Been a bit, so I thought I would catch you all up with some... bam bam bam, Bernie News.

Alright, so geeks love 'em.

"When over 130,000 souls descended upon Comic-Con over the weekend in San Diego in search of Batman, Superman, and Han Solo, they were greeted by an unlikely face: Bernie Sanders.

Each day of the four-day pop culture confab, congoers trudging across the train tracks separating downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp district from the massive Convention Center passed by Sanders himself—well, in the form of a cardboard cut-out.

“I’m sure he would love Comic-Con. He likes being with people,” said Mike Thaller, a member of the local San Diego For Bernie Sanders 2016. “And where else can you meet 130,000 people at once but Comic-Con?

Cardboard Bernie was flanked by a small but passionate group of stumpers preaching the Bernie gospel to anyone who would listen, including a Princess Leia cosplayer. Like their wild-haired leader, the Bernie boosters thought outside of the box when they started planning their Con appearance two weeks ago.

To connect with the geek masses, they even created a poster of Sanders as Doc Brown from Back to the Future, whom he resembles so closely many a meme has been wrought from the likeness.

Alas, the group left Doc Bernie at home and attempted to capture the zeitgeist with a Mad Max-themed Bernie graphic. “It didn’t go over that well,” Thaller sighed. They did however issue 1,500 Bernie stickers and posters along with Sanders’ 12-point plan—although it’s worth noting that anyone will take just about anything handed to them while slogging through the crowds at Comic-Con."

Bernie Sanders Fanatics Invade Comic-Con, Try to Drown Out Christian Radicals - The Daily Beast

Clinton hates 'em:

Although the Clinton campaign is expected to raise $2.5 billion, some things can’t be purchased with money. Enthusiasm is a precious form of currency in American politics, and Bernie Sanders is filling arenas with thousands of people. Vermont’s senator recently drew crowds of 10,000 in Wisconsin, 2,500 people in Iowa, a “packed to capacity” venue in New Hampshire, and a “huge crowd” of 7,500 in Maine. In contrast, Michael Calderone of the Huffington Post explained how the Clinton campaign is dealing with journalists in an article titled “Clinton Campaign Frustrates Journalists Yet Again By Roping Off Media at Parade.”

The 2016 race for Democratic nominee is starting out as the political version of a Rocky movie. While the Sanders campaign is gaining an “unexpectedly strong showing” in Iowa, the juggernaut Clinton team is trying to “rope you like a cow” (as described by the Daily Beast’s executive editor) and doesn’t seem in touch with the masses. As a result, Democratic strategist Paul Begala stated that “Roping off the press is horrible” and called the tactic a “terrible optic.”

Therefore, why is Bernie Sanders down by just 8 points in New Hampshire, showing “Bernie-mentum” in Iowa, and able to raise $15 million in two months, when few people thought he had a chance of winning even three months ago? Also, why is Clinton “worried” about Bernie Sanders, even though it’s doubtful that any of her top strategists predicted such a groundswell of support for Sanders?

If only Hillary could rope in Bernie Sanders: The primary nightmare she suddenly can’t avoid - Salon.com

The South seems strangely silent on 'em:

In the 22 years that she's been eligible to vote, Elizabeth Hewitt was never motivated to cast a ballot.

"I didn't like either candidate. I didn't care who won because I felt it didn't matter," Hewitt said.

But the 40-year-old Blount County resident is no longer apathetic about politics, now that independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is running for president. Hewitt said Sanders' platform on income inequality persuaded her to get off the sidelines in 2016.

Hewitt was one of some 300 people who attended the first Alabama for Bernie Sanders meetup Sunday at Good People Brewing Company in Birmingham. The gathering was a way for Sanders supporters to organize and spread the word about the senators' Democratic campaign for president.

Sanders has seen a surge in interest since he started his campaign in late May. Packed crowds have come out to hear him in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and about 250,000 people have contributed to his campaign.

The event was organized by three strangers -- Mallory Anderton, Jared J. Vanderbleek and Jess Mathieu -- who found each other on social media after discovering they all hailed from Alabama and supported Sanders. When they first began organizing the event, they expected 30 people would show up.

"We decided we're kind of going to put our money where our mouth is and have an event here," Anderton said. "We are just networking and really just putting our feelers out."

Alabamians showed their support for Sanders with "Bernie for President" t-shirts and stickers. One supporter sported a temporary Sanders tattoo on her cheek.

The meetup brought out people like Peter Stuart, 56, of Lincoln, who has been observing Sanders' campaign for about three weeks and found the Vermont senators' platform resonating with him.

"He's got me excited in politics again," Stuart said. "He's not just in it for the money or his own career. To me, he's what politicians should be."

Stuart said he never volunteered for a campaign before, but has donated to Sanders and plans on giving "a little bit each month." He said Sanders' democratic socialist views are aligned with his Christian beliefs.

"I think Jesus was a socialist," he said, adding that Republicans "talk Christian values and family values, but they don't do them."

Marty Colby, 27, of Pelham, said he was impressed by the turnout, especially for Alabama. "For a state that's so red, it's exciting to see [hundreds] of people for this. It sticks to the grassroots theme," he said.

Earlier in the day, Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, said on "Face the Nation" that his Democratic campaign for president would be a grassroots effort that "will bring more people into the [political] process," in part by campaigning in areas that Democrats have written off for decades, including the Heart of Dixie. "We're going to go to Alabama, we're going to go to Mississippi, we're going to go to conservative states," he said.

Alabama 'Feeling the Bern' for Sanders | AL.com

The election system don't like 'em:

"What's most surprising to many political observers is how the Sanders campaign on the Democratic side has managed to tap small donors to quickly raise large totals. As of its most recent reporting, the campaign raised $15 million from 400,000 donations from 200,000 donors. This puts it ahead of its Republican opponents. In contrast, Jeb Bush raised $11.4 million. Ted Cruz raised around $14 million. No GOP campaign matched the Sanders haul.

But there's a catch. While Sanders is creating the broadest base of financial support, recruiting donors at a much quicker rate than other insurgent candidates like Ron Paul in 2008, and out-raising his Republican opponents' official campaigns, there is another factor at play: super PACs.

These entities, created by the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, allows billionaires and corporations to effectively spend whatever they want in support of a candidate. While they are not supposed to officially coordinate with candidates, this law has been more or less openly flouted this cycle.

Bush's super PAC raised $103 million, around 10 times as much as the candidate raised through his actual campaign. Cruz's super PACs raised over $30 million, twice as much as what his campaign raised.

These numbers are evidence of the Citizens United bump, and make it so a candidate doesn't have to go out and recruit lots of small donors and actually meet lots of Americans in order to raise money. Bush's super PAC has only 9,900 donors; and they're the only fundraisers he really has to listen to.

Thanks to the Supreme Court, this is the way things are now."

Bernie Sanders Out-Raises all the Republicans, Except for One Disgusting Loophole | Alternet

 

[dust1n]

berniee.... berniee... berniee... berniee TIME:

Polls are ever-changing, but Americans will never long for a king or queen. When Run the Jewels rapper Killer Mike tweeted "I cannot support another Clinton or bush ever," he echoed the sentiments of Americans throughout the country tired of entrenched political factions in Washington. As for why political dynasties are ruinous to any democracy, the Atlanta rapper says, "I am beginning to see American political families like monarchs and I have no affection for monarchs." This sentiment, in addition to the reasons Killer Mike has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, can't be accurately assessed by opinion polls or political wonks.

In fact, it could spell trouble for the Clinton campaign and Democratic strategists enamored with poll driven forecasts. When a recent analysis says that Bernie Sanders is popular primarily among "white liberals," the aggregate data used to make such a claim ignores the fact that black children face a 38% poverty rate and African-Americans as a group face a 27% poverty rate. This analysis questioning Sanders's appeal to minority voters also ignores a finding from Pew Research that states, "In 2011, the typical white household had a net worth of $91,405, compared with $6,446 for black households."

In terms of wealth inequality, one candidate in 2016 has been referred to byPOLITICO as "Wall Street Republicans' dark secret," while the other "Goes Biblical"on income inequality. As for tackling Wall Street and income equality, Hillary Clinton for some reason hasn't endorsed a renewed Glass-Steagall Act, while Bernie Sanders has long supported a reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. Therefore, it's safe to say that voters experiencing the injustice of economic disenfranchisement might side with Killer Mike's choice of candidates in the long run; especially when more people become aware of the differences in economic policy between Clinton and Sanders.

Also, the fact that an artist known not only for his music (he's been on Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, and has been vocal about politics) but also for his stances on Baltimore, Ferguson and racial injustice in America has endorsed Bernie Sanders illustrates an awakening in American politics that numbers can't accurately assess. The fact that Killer Mike posted a photo on Instagram of Sanders and Clinton (one was a civil rights advocate and the other was a Young Republican and "Goldwater Girl," but eventually a supporter of Eugene McCarthy) in the 1960's highlights a willingness to dig deeper into the true nature of opposing politicians. It also illustrates a growing discontent among many Americans about a political class that shrugs its shoulders regarding Ferguson, yet expects 45 million Americans to still vote Democrat...

Why Rapper Killer Mike's Endorsement of Bernie Sanders Spells Trouble for Hillary Clinton | H. A. Goodman

With Hillary Clinton widely in the lead as we get closer to the initial Iowa caucus that sets the tone for who will be the democratic presidential nominee, rival Bernie Sanders just got some added ammunition: the Based God is on his side. Hip hop and cultural icon Lil B has recently gone on his Twitter to publicly announce his support for the socialist senator from Vermont with a series of Tweets expounding on why he’ll be voting for Bernie. If the power of his curses have showed their potency within the NBA, Hillary should be worried.

Lil B Gives His Blessing to Bernie Sanders




Other news, packing the houses!!!:

Might be able to go see Bernie speak in Houston this weekend... will have to see if I can make the drive.

"There are a couple of reasons why a Texas visit is unusual for any presidential campaign this early in the election cycle, let alone a Democratic one. The state’s primary isn’t among the four earliest contests crucial to establishing momentum -- Texas’ primary is on March 1, otherwise known as “Super Tuesday.” And for general election purposes, the state remains out of reach for Democrats, who haven’t won a statewide race since 1994.

But that’s besides the point for Sanders, who has said he’d travel not just to Iowa and New Hampshire but to states in the deep South, where despair often sets in for Democrats. He visited Austin in late March.

"I'm going to be going around the country not only to blue states ... but to red states, conservative states,” he said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. “We're going to go to Alabama, we're going to go to Mississippi. ... I think the message that we have is resonating. People are going to get involved in the political process, we're going to drive turnout up, and when we do that, we win."

Bernie Sanders Visits Texas To See If He Can Keep Drawing Huge Crowds

Bernie Sanders for President | Event | Houston Town Meeting at 7pm on July 19

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has a message that is so popular that he was forced to move a rally in Texas to a larger venue to accommodate the growing crowd.

The Sanders campaign announced the change in venue for the Democratic candidate’s Houston, TX rally on July 19, “With turnout projections mounting, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign has shifted the location of Sunday’s town meeting in Houston, Texas, to the Hofheinz Pavilion.”

These events were intended to be town hall meetings, but demand is so high that format has been getting changed to a campaign rally. I anticipate that the Houston event will also be more of a rally than a town hall.

Republicans Terrified As Texas Demand For Bernie Sanders Forces Rally To A Bigger Venue

This weekend’s scheduled speech in Phoenix by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been moved to a larger venue.

The Vermont senator originally was to appear Saturday night at Comerica Theater, but now will speak at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The Comerica Theater seats 5,000 while the Phoenix Convention Center has rooms that can hold about 12,000 people.

Bernie Sanders moves to larger venue for Phoenix speech


Money:

Sen. Bernie Sanders wants people to know he's fighting for the little guy. And so far, his donations are matching up to the image.

Sanders's presidential campaign received roughly $15.2 million in donations this quarter, according to his campaign's quarterly report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

According to his campaign, 76 percent of the campaign haul came from donors who gave less than $200. Roughly 284,000 individual donors gave to the campaign since it launched on April 30, and the average contribution was $35.18, according to Sanders's campaign.

Sanders's campaign spent around $3 million during the quarter, leaving him with roughly $12.1 million cash on hand. According to the filing, Sanders has not given any of his own money to pad his campaign, though he did transfer $1.5 million from his Senate campaign to his presidential campaign.

Mark Ruffalo, Ben & Jerry Among Bernie Sanders’ Donors - NationalJournal.com

“The rise of Bernie Sanders is proving awkward for the Democratic Party,” contends Politico in a recent piece about the surprisingly popular socialist presidential candidate.

Well, maybe it’s not that surprising. And it’s probably not that awkward. Politico could have just as easily declared: The rise of Bernie Sanders is a completely predictable outcome of the Democratic Party’s trajectory. Or, maybe: The rise of Bernie Sanders portends a socialistic future for the Democratic Party.

After all, while the press had fun detailing every rightward lurch of the conservative movement, not only has the “socialist surge” been a restive force within Democratic Party politics during the Obama Age, but it’s been making tremendous policy progress.

Although we rarely frame politics in these terms, as a philosophical matter, we’ve often been engaged in a debate that pits the theories of 18th-century liberalism — the kind that brought us the Constitution and limited government — against ideas first embraced in 19th-century Marxism. Is there any doubt the left’s grassroots is driven by the latter, whether it’s intuitively or on purpose?

So Sanders is polling at 35 percent in one recent CNN poll of New Hampshire, even though he is supposedly operating far outside the norms of American political debate. Sanders can draw 10,000 fervent fans at a campaign event in Wisconsin — a number that would be envied by most presidential candidates this cycle. Sanders correctly points out that his positions on higher minimum wage, pay equity and other state interference in markets enjoy high approval ratings with most voters. “It is not a radical agenda,” he says. “In virtually every instance, what I’m saying is supported by a significant majority of the American people.”

This is almost true.

Bernie Sanders is the future of the Democratic Party

SupePACs.

LOL for this one:

"Bernie Sanders detests the influence of wealthy individuals on elections.

“I do not believe that billionaires should be able to buy politicians,” the Vermont senator said in May.

Well, a super PAC called “Billionaires for Bernie” was filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission by Eric C. Jacobson, a Los Angeles public interest lawyer, to support Sanders’s presidential bid.

As the Washington Post pointed out, Jacobson will have to change the name of “Billionaires for Bernie,” because “unaffiliated PACs can’t bear the name of the candidate.”

As ruled by the Supreme Court, super PACs can spend unlimited amounts of money for or against campaigns, as long as they do not directly contribute to or coordinate with the candidates.

Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs told Boston.com that Sanders does not want billionaires spending unlimited amounts of money for him, or any other candidate.

Briggs also questioned the seriousness of the PAC and pointed out that Jacobson does not seem to himself be a billionaire.

According to the FEC filing, Jacobson—who did not immediately respond to requests for comment—has not yet commenced any fundraising, but would himself provide the minimum $1,000 deposit required to start a super PAC.

Jacobson told the Post that he believes “liberals’ general position against unlimited contributions in politics is limiting their ability to compete.”

Briggs said Sanders is proud that the campaign’s average donation was less than $35 and pointed out that Sanders had introduced a constitutional amendment to repeal Citizens United—the Supreme Court decision that allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections.

However, Briggs said there isn’t really anything the Sanders campaign can do to stop Jacobson.

“It’s a free country,” he said.

This is not the first time the Sanders campaign has faced this irony.

In May, the Burlington Free Press reported that multiple super PACs had been formed to support Sanders, including one hybrid PAC named “Bet on Bernie,” whose chairman Cary Peterson said he intended to raise $50 million.

Sanders said he had not sanctioned any super PAC and an campaign advisor reportedly said of Peterson: “I don’t even know who this guy is.”

“A major problem of our campaign finance system is that anybody can start a super PAC on behalf of anybody and can say anything,” Sanders said at the time. “And this is what makes our current campaign finance situation totally absurd.”"

Supporter creates super PAC for Bernie Sanders, who hates super PACs - Politics - Boston.com

Sanders, by contrast, has no listed assets on his entire financial disclosure form, save for a municipal pension — all the assets provided in the form are listed in his wife’s name. He reported no trusts or stock of any kind.

His two credit cards, issued through the Congressional and Senate credit unions, carry interest rates of 8.5 and 10.25 percent respectively.

Bernie Sanders' wife accounts for all his reported assets - POLITICO

 

[dust1n]

Even the rich are getting on bored:

""I'm a member of the 1% and I'm voting for Bernie Sanders,” wrote Reddit use thunderd11, who identified himself as a white male in his 30s who grew up "fairly poor."

Thunderd11 said after spending nearly a decade in the military, he founded a consulting firm, the success of which has "earned me membership in the 1% by pretty much any definition of the phrase."

He argued that Sanders' plan to return to the 90% top income tax rates of the early 1950s was the right way to address income inequality.

"After all the write offs, business expenses, mortgage interest deductions etc… My Taxable Income is less than half of my Gross Income.

"Add in my capital gains earnings at their super low tax rate even though my gross income is well over the top tax bracket my effective tax rate is usually around 17-18% every year and could actually be quite a bit lower if I put actual effort into (legal) tax avoidance strategies.

"This gives me a slightly lower effective tax rate than my housekeeper."

According to the business owner, returning to the higher a 90% rate would take his effective tax rate to "33% instead of an effective 18%."

He also agrees with Sanders on the issue of income inequality, and predicted that doubling the minimum wage would be "wonderful for business."

"Feel free to look up all the studies of how very little product prices would have to increase to support doubling the minimum wage and still maintain profit margins. It’s laughable. I pay every one of my employees above market rates cutting into my own profit margins and here's the result. I have a cult following."

The post had received more than 4,000 upvotes as of Thursday morning, more than any recent item in the "Sanders For President" subreddit.

"So please don't let the '91% top tax bracket' fool you. The rich will still be PLENTY rich. My standard of living will change exactly 0%. I'll still drive an expensive car and go on nice vacations and pay my employees and buy the same things I always bought."

Bernie Sanders Rises in the Polls, Gains Support From a One-Percenter / Sputnik International

 

[Shadow Wolf]

My boss and I were talking about Sanders at work the other day, and sharing all the reasons he would be awesome to those who would listen.
It is my hope that people find themselves tired of family dynasties sitting in the White House, say no more to it, and kick anyone with the name Bush or Clinton out of Washington.