Like it or not, Bernie is now the most influential Senator

[cali]

in the Democratic Caucus. He has millions of supporters and hundreds of thousands of activists. There is no other Senator in the Caucus who can come close- including Warren.

And that won't vanish if he doesn't win.

[Autumn]

1. That's got to be chapping some asses

[cali]

6. Undoubtedly.

[closeupready]

2. OH yeah. He damn sure is.

[LonePirate]

3. People and politicians in DC can no longer say his bills and ideas are not popular with the public.

Reid would be wise to start forcing debates on Bernie's bills and amendments.

[Autumn]

5. I don't think he will. The democrats really don't want to go there.

It's out of their comfort zone.

[bettyellen]

4. Love it!

[Hortensis]

7. Oh? What committe does he head?

Which colleagues are abandoning the moderate ideology their constituents elected them on in order to "follow" the new leader? And why haven't they endorsed him?

I do agree, though, that Bernie has become an extremely prominent voice for his views, rather than an almost completely unknown one, who had to run with the Democratic pack or sit alone, that he was this time last year.

[cali]

8. Are you truly that uninformed?

No dem is a committee chair. But he is the ranking member of the Budget Committee. And actual liberals and progressives have been familiar with Bernie for years.

<snip>

Sanders rose to national prominence following his 2010 filibuster[12][13] against the proposed extension of the Bush tax cuts. Sanders favors policies similar to those of social democratic parties in Europe, particularly those instituted by the Nordic countries.[17] He is a leading progressive voice on issues such as income inequality,[18] universal healthcare, parental leave, climate change,[19] LGBT rights, and campaign finance reform.[20] Sanders has long been critical of U.S. foreign policy and was an early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War. He is also outspoken on civil rights and civil liberties, and has been particularly critical of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system[21] and mass surveillance policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act[22] and the NSA surveillance programs.[23]

<snip>

Here are his committee assignments:



Committee on the Budget (Ranking Member)
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy
Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy
Subcommittee on National Parks
Subcommittee on Water and Power
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Subcommittee on Children and Families
Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging (Ranking Member)
Committee on Veterans' Affairs

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Sanders#2016_presidential_campaign

[Hortensis]

10. Why did no one know of him until now

if he was so effective? He was not.

He didn't work well with others, so he was never the leader he obviously wanted to be in the Senate. We've had majorities in the House and Senate in the almost quarter century he was there, but he never became one of the powerful committee chairmen. His contribution was almost always voting for legislation written and proposed by others. And that's the simple truth.

You know, Bernie might become a great man. Who knows? He's made an interesting start. But he was not a great man in the Senate, and almost all his colleagues are very worried about what would happen if he had to run against the GOP nominee.

[cali]

11. Lol. He's been effective for a long time.

Don't project your ignorance of him onto everyone.

By the way, Hillary is so well known because she was first lady. And she carpetbagged her way into the Senate where she did jack..

[roguevalley]

14. don't give air to the kind of spew she's making. It is just spiteful stuff, Cali. Hugs

to you, my friend.

[cali]

15. Thank you and

Right back at you.

[pangaia]

31. Your next question could very well be, "Why does he wear cotton socks?"

[pangaia]

32. So vote for somebody else.

Who cares?

[valerief]

18. ^^^THIS^^^ and regarding Bernie's effectiveness-->

Here are a few examples of the amendments Sanders passed by building unusual but effective coalitions:

Corporate Crime Accountability (February 1995): A Sanders amendment to the Victims Justice Act of 1995 required “offenders who are convicted of fraud and other white-collar crimes to give notice to victims and other persons in cases where there are multiple victims eligible to receive restitution.”

Saving Money, for Colleges and Taxpayers (April 1998): In an amendment to H.R. 6, the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Sanders made a change to the law that allowed the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education to make competitive grants available to colleges and universities that cooperated to reduce costs through joint purchases of goods and services.

Holding IRS Accountable, Protecting Pensions (July 2002): Sanders' amendment to the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 2003 stopped the IRS from being able to use funds that “violate current pension age discrimination laws.” Although he faced stiff GOP opposition, his amendment still succeeded along a 308 to 121 vote.

Expanding Free Health Care (November 2001): You wouldn't think Republicans would agree to an expansion of funds for community health centers, which provide some free services. But Sanders was able to win a $100 million increase in funding with an amendment.

Getting Tough On Child Labor (July 2001): A Sanders amendment to the general appropriations bill prohibited the importation of goods made with child labor.

Increasing Funding for Heating for the Poor (September 2004): Sanders won a $22 million increase for the low-income home energy assistance program and related weatherization assistance program.

Fighting Corporate Welfare and Protecting Against Nuclear Disasters (June 2005): A Sanders amendment brought together a bipartisan coalition that outnumbered a bipartisan coalition on the other side to successfully prohibit the Export-Import Bank from providing loans for nuclear projects in China.

Once Sanders made it to the Senate in 2006, his ability to use amendments to advance a progressive agenda was empowered. Here are some of the amendments he passed in the Senate:

Greening the U.S. Government (June 2007): A Sanders amendment made a change to the law so at least 30 percent of the hot water demand in newer federal buildings is provided through solar water heaters.

Protecting Our Troops (October 2007): Sanders used an amendment to win $10 million for operation and maintenance of the Army National Guard, which had been stretched thin and overextended by the war in Iraq.

Restricting the Bailout to Protect U.S. Workers (Feburary 2009): A Sanders amendment required the banking bailout to utilize stricter H-1B hiring standards to ensure bailout funds weren't used to displace American workers.

Helping Veterans' Kids (July 2009): A Sanders amendment required the Comptroller General to put together comprehensive reporting on financial assistance for child care available to parents in the Armed Forces.

Exposing Corruption in the Military-Industrial Complex (November 2012): A Sanders amendment required “public availability of the database of senior Department officials seeking employment with defense contractors” – an important step toward transparency that revealed the corruption of the revolving door in action.

Support for Treating Autism in Military Health Care: Sanders worked with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to pass an amendment by a vote of 66-29 ensuring that the military's TRICARE system would be able to treat autism.

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you

[Jefferson23]

21. +1. n/t

[cali]

24. Thank you, Valerie

[arcane1]

27. "But what has he done for me lately?" you can almost here.

That "ineffective" talking point has long out-lived its credibility.

[lostnfound]

41. Jesus that's a resume that prepares him to be president!

It's a who's who of what's important.
Before someone squeaks about "foreign policy" I'd point out that I'm interesting in electing a President not a King (or Queen) of the Empire. Domestic policy is what we all live with every day.

[DanTex]

9. Could be true, and this is good news for progressives. We just need to win the GE now,

and get more Senators and Representatives elected.

Not sure if he's more influential than the leadership, but definitely close.

[DemocraticWing]

12. He reminds me of Ted Kennedy

[cali]

13. On first reading your comment, I went huh?

But on thinking it over, I kind of see what you mean.

[DemocraticWing]

16. More in terms of ideological influence than personality.

[KittyWampus]

17. Most of those people are useless ideologues who aren't willing to fight the long battle.

Witness: Obama getting thrown under the bus almost immediately.

Politics is a never-ending struggle. And most of those who are listening to Sanders expect unicorns by simply showing up to vote for him.

[cali]

28. Boy are you spectacularly wrong.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/

Read it and rejoice. This is good for the party.

[cyberswede]

30. One feature of Iowa Caususes is to identify party volunteers and office holders

In my precinct, several new Bernie people signed up to be Central Committee members, as well as various convention committees (like Platform Committee, etc). New blood is good for us.

I went to my first caucus as a strong lefty (supporting a liberal candidate) and ended up on the Central Committee, then Secretary, and later delegate to the State convention.

What does your state do to engage new people in the process? (I'm genuinely curious...I don't mean for that to sound snarky).

[angrychair]

33. Are you serious?

Not sure how to take this. Are you talking about people that support Sanders?
To start, there are very intelligent and politically astute people on this site that take Sanders very seriously and do not believe in political unicorns.

Second, that you would so thoughtlessly discount hundreds of thousands of people and the millions of dollars they have contributed as "expecting unicorns" shows either your ignorance or lack of honest perspective.

That you would so easily insult the intelligence of fellow Democrats is disappointing.

Says a lot more about you than it does them.

[jomin41]

19. "And that won't vanish if he doesn't win."

EXACTLY! And thanks for saying it. Go Bernie!

[JonLeibowitz]

20. Makes sense that he founded the Progressive Caucus. He is an inspiration who is only now

being appreciated.

And you're right cali, he is a leader of a movement. Hills might have to negotiate with him in the unlikely event she wins against a repub. Wouldn't that be a fun meeting to be at.

[ErikJ]

22. Just the facts Ma'am.

He sticks to the facts, hammering them over and over again even as they try to deflect to personality issues. He's doggedly stibborn.

[Jefferson23]

23. I agree with your statement, overall. I question the understanding of Clinton

supporters commenting in this thread, there seems to me to be a disconnect
as to the type of candidates and legislation he is looking to support vs Clinton.

That division will be healthy, imo and I am encouraged he will continue
to assist voters reaching their goals to build a viable grassroots movement
despite a Clinton administration.

[NurseJackie]

25. I doubt it.

[cali]

26. Ooh, typical nothing burger from you.

Sorry, hon. If you can't see how much influence he now has, you're just being obtuse.

Like it or lump it, there is no Senator with the following he has.

You'll just have to lump it, nurse.

[hack89]

29. That means nothing to the other Senators

incumbents are damn near impossible to vote out of office so they are not concerned about all those supporters and activists. And if Sanders uses his supporters and activists to primary incumbent Dems instead of Repukes, standby for a real war.

[cali]

35. Oh yes it does. Witness Elizabeth Warren

[hack89]

37. I have no idea what you are trying to say

she is a good Senator but her peers certainly do not feel any obligation to change their beliefs to conform to hers.

[malokvale77]

39. Is that a threat or a challenge?

[hack89]

40. Statement of fact

a carpet bagging Independent who thinks he can throw his weight around with long time Dem senators is going to be cut down to size very quickly.

[Blue_Tires]

34. If only he'd joined the Dems sooner....

[cali]

36. Why?

[Blue_Tires]

38. He would have been better placed

to take advantage of all that newly found influence, millions of supporters and hundreds of thousands of activists??