You can find a local meeting (There will be over a thousand across the nation for a live Organizing cast on July 29th) ^^^^ at the link.
As some may know, I am a frequent poster in the US Politics thread. Rather than spam it up with all the cool Bernie Sanders stuff that is coming out of his grassroots campaign I figured I'd make a blog.
Without a SuperPAC Sanders is at a great disadvantage financially. The countermeasure for that has been crowdsourcing his campaign basically. Sanders has attracted a lot of creative and inspired people and from them some pretty cool stuff is being created organically.
He's the man I'm rarely excited for a presidential candidate, but Sanders actually makes me happy. I hope his hype doesn't die down... it'd be crazy if he actually beat Hillary.
On June 28 2015 07:11 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: He's the man I'm rarely excited for a presidential candidate, but Sanders actually makes me happy. I hope his hype doesn't die down... it'd be crazy if he actually beat Hillary.
When people actually listen to him, many realize he's actually the only one who even wants to talk about the real problems we face.
He's been at it for decades, fighting the good fight. He's been saying the same things for years and the numbers and situations have only gotten worse while people ignored him.
People are finally wising up ever so slowly to how badly they are being conned.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
mmh, Sanders and Obama are pretty different from the get go. But yeah, it would be very naive to believe that Sanders could actually change US politics in a meaningful way.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
He has a long history of not selling out, and doing what he says. Bernie Sanders is a lot of things but another Obama or typical politician he certainly is not.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
mmh, Sanders and Obama are pretty different from the get go. But yeah, it would be very naive to believe that Sanders could actually change US politics in a meaningful way.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
mmh, Sanders and Obama are pretty different from the get go. But yeah, it would be very naive to believe that Sanders could actually change US politics in a meaningful way.
hmm as much as I don't want to admit it I feel like you have a point. You can't just elect bernie sanders and then expect to pass all the laws he wants to pass; he still needs approval from the house and the senate. And most of those people are nowhere near as progressive as Bernie is. Its a bit of a tragedy...but at the very least you would have a genuinely smart president. Maybe he could make a few things happen by executive order, but if you stray too far down that path it becomes dangerous, I don't think Bernie is the type to do that either. I think he really respects the constitution and people's rights.
Bernie really is a great man, I wish him all the best. If I were an American citizen I'd vote for him. That guy is seriously inspiring, not just in a vague 'we can do better' kind of way like with Obama. He's clear on every issue and completely honest. Its kind of funny how the most basic thing that people want in politics is the rarest thing to find
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
mmh, Sanders and Obama are pretty different from the get go. But yeah, it would be very naive to believe that Sanders could actually change US politics in a meaningful way.
hmm as much as I don't want to admit it I feel like you have a point. You can't just elect bernie sanders and then expect to pass all the laws he wants to pass; he still needs approval from the house and the senate. And most of those people are nowhere near as progressive as Bernie is. Its a bit of a tragedy...but at the very least you would have a genuinely smart president. Maybe he could make a few things happen by executive order, but if you stray too far down that path it becomes dangerous, I don't think Bernie is the type to do that either. I think he really respects the constitution and people's rights.
Bernie really is a great man, I wish him all the best. If I were an American citizen I'd vote for him. That guy is seriously inspiring, not just in a vague 'we can do better' kind of way like with Obama. He's clear on every issue and completely honest. Its kind of funny how the most basic thing that people want in politics is the rarest thing to find
Which is why part of the campaign is remembering not to stop at Bernie, but to push congress too. Most of them are just husks anyway, if enough polling tells them to do something it will happen regardless of what their previous positions were.
That's Bernie's advantage, overwhelming majorities of Americans support many of his positions. By focusing on those and by forcing them into the discussion he brings attention to the fact that people want what he is offering a lot more than anyone else. (Hillary's fluid positions being the only real competition.)
Bernie Sanders confuses me a little bit and I don't know where to stand because on one hand, I think he's what the US needs to fix a bunch of its social problems and the crippling wealth disparity that is causing a bunch of ills. On the other hand, around here we always say that "our most conservatives politicians are more liberal than the US liberal". How can we expect a man like Bernie Sanders, who seems to be on the proper, actual left, to win an election in a country that was so deeply influenced by the notions like communism and socialism are outright evil? Even the people who believe they're not influenced by Fox News live in a culture where social programs are openly mocked and taxes are considered theft and otherwise reasonable people have started to seriously believe that there is no difference between the democrats and the republicans!
It seems to me like not only Sanders is going out against a population which has decades and decades of accumulated dislike for his ideals (due to propaganda and a deep misunderstanding of what redistribution entails), he's also faced with a large corrupt structure which uses SuperPACs to get elected, and who's expected to more or less collude with certain people.
Sanders strikes me as an honest man, if nothing else because of his refusal to run PACs, and I wonder how effective it'll be. I mean, the idea that politicians are corrupt is tossed around in stupid ways, but there's truth to it. To get his presidency, Obama certainly fiddled, promised shit to people, and after he won the democratic primary he rushed to the center against McCain and we saw him hide parts of the platform he had during the primaries. Will Sanders be willing to strategize, to soften his views to convince swing voters? Or will he be honest throughout, be what the US needs, and get crushed under the weight of a population which is desperate for change but demands more of the old tired ideas that have kept a disproportionate number of Americans in a position where they can work 40-60 hours a week and still struggle to pay their bills while the rest of the world has been gaining in those areas for the last decades.
I don't know what the polls are saying if there are polls, but I assume Clinton is towering above everybody else. If Sanders was to win the primaries through some sort of divine intervention, he would then get absolutely destroyed by whoever the GOP throws at him. I'd argue that that's dangerous, especially if it ends up being a mad dog like Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Scott Walker or god forbid Donald Trump. Now I don't know what the chances are of Trump winning his primaries but oh my GOD that is *TERRIFYING*.
Edit: Note that maybe I'm mischaracterizing Sanders's character by assuming he's honest. My reasoning is that someone who just wanted to get elected wouldn't start from such a tough position to defend in the US, and so I think he's a very different candidate from the others. And I understand that he may not necessarily expect to become president through this, but to gain influence, which makes everything I said before moot, but there you go nonetheless.
On June 28 2015 09:13 Djzapz wrote: Bernie Sanders confuses me a little bit and I don't know where to stand because on one hand, I think he's what the US needs to fix a bunch of its social problems and the crippling wealth disparity that is causing a bunch of ills. On the other hand, around here we always say that "our most conservatives politicians are more liberal than the US liberal". How can we expect a man like Bernie Sanders, who seems to be on the proper, actual left, to win an election in a country that was so deeply influenced by the notions like communism and socialism are outright evil?
So what you're saying is that he's the hero we need, but not the hero we deserve.
It would be fantastic if Bernie won, but the odds are certainly stacked against him. As one of the more 'extreme' candidates he may struggle to win over the center.
On June 28 2015 15:12 Plexa wrote: It would be fantastic if Bernie won, but the odds are certainly stacked against him. As one of the more 'extreme' candidates he may struggle to win over the center.
I think it'll be harder for him to win in the primary against Hillary than for him to win in the final election... if he can beat her, then I think he has a really good shot of beating out whatever Republican nutjob ends up winning the other primary.
On June 28 2015 15:12 Plexa wrote: It would be fantastic if Bernie won, but the odds are certainly stacked against him. As one of the more 'extreme' candidates he may struggle to win over the center.
I think it'll be harder for him to win in the primary against Hillary than for him to win in the final election... if he can beat her, then I think he has a really good shot of beating out whatever Republican nutjob ends up winning the other primary.
Debates are going to be Bernie's best friend. Would be nice if we actually had some.
If they are going to put 10 people on the stage for the first republican debate, why not have some 5v5 debates? Those would be fun.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
Obama was always sold out, the appearance otherwise was just marketing.
Anyway, the powers-that-be will never allow Sanders to come close to the presidency. I'm sure they'll find a loophole somewhere to prevent him from actively campaigning, or they'll dig up enough dirt to discredit him in the eyes of the public. See what happened to John Edwards and Howard Dean when they ran populist campaigns. Or see how Ralph Nader was demonized in the media and barred from presidential debates.
I like that the citizens are even willing to consider such a candidate, huge difference from just 10 years ago. I am not from the USA, but in my hometown some while ago, we finally elected a true left candidate. The thing is, the banks have to sign of on a proposed budget for the year, which they did not not, practically shut down government for almost a year. Also showed that it is irrelevant on local scope who gets elected. Good for Bernie that he realizes he has to take away power from the banks and finally, finally revolutionize the energy business, though Obama's 500million loan to Tesla was a good start in that direction, I think. Then again Obama got the Nobel peace for promises he didn't keep, at least if Bernie gets voted in and fails to deliver, the majority of people will hopefully start to reject democracy.
On June 28 2015 07:53 Shiragaku wrote: Obama, Sawant, and SYRIZA have been let downs and I am certain that Sanders will be just another Obama when he sold out to the Democrats
Obama was always sold out, the appearance otherwise was just marketing.
Anyway, the powers-that-be will never allow Sanders to come close to the presidency. I'm sure they'll find a loophole somewhere to prevent him from actively campaigning, or they'll dig up enough dirt to discredit him in the eyes of the public. See what happened to John Edwards and Howard Dean when they ran populist campaigns. Or see how Ralph Nader was demonized in the media and barred from presidential debates.
That you think that John Edwards and Howard Dean had their campaigns torpedoed by anyone but themselves indicates that you really didn't pay much attention to those elections.....
On June 28 2015 15:12 Plexa wrote: It would be fantastic if Bernie won, but the odds are certainly stacked against him. As one of the more 'extreme' candidates he may struggle to win over the center.
I think it'll be harder for him to win in the primary against Hillary than for him to win in the final election... if he can beat her, then I think he has a really good shot of beating out whatever Republican nutjob ends up winning the other primary.
Debates are going to be Bernie's best friend. Would be nice if we actually had some.
It'd be nice if they were *real* debates too... like this format:
If they are going to put 10 people on the stage for the first republican debate, why not have some 5v5 debates? Those would be fun.
In the video in the OP Bernie suggests taking a little funding from the large military budget and putting it into education. Certainly, some funding should go to both.
What I'm curious about is how he intends to take money from military spending (specifically) and how he intends to provide that money to education in an effective manner. If he can provide a plan for that which satisfies me then I'll have respect for his campaign (note I've worked in both of those fields).
On June 28 2015 23:33 micronesia wrote: In the video in the OP Bernie suggests taking a little funding from the large military budget and putting it into education. Certainly, some funding should go to both.
What I'm curious about is how he intends to take money from military spending (specifically) and how he intends to provide that money to education in an effective manner. If he can provide a plan for that which satisfies me then I'll have respect for his campaign (note I've worked in both of those fields).
Yeah that's a good point. While it's never a bad thing to have more money put into education, it's often the case that a mismanagement of current funds is a big reason for schools not having appropriate infrastructure.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/IM6EjDa.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/N8e0J9Q.jpg)
I'm rarely excited for a presidential candidate, but Sanders actually makes me happy. I hope his hype doesn't die down... it'd be crazy if he actually beat Hillary. 
