I'm no longer for the fringe candidate.

[stage left]

Because after Iowa you can't call him that.

[azmom]

1. Woohoo.

[Ken Burch]

2. Nice. n/t.

[GatesofPunk]

3. Mic drop

*walks off stage*

[silvershadow]

4. Someone needs to make the Bernie hair meme with the words

I am for the front-runner.

[Bryce Butler]

34. Here you go:

[silvershadow]

42. Thanks! nt

[NurseJackie]

5. Well, actually ...

[hifiguy]

10. . . . .

[saidsimplesimon]

41. hifiguy, please consider deleting the turd.

That is an insult I save for the republican opposition.

I wish to thank Mrs. Clinton for her service. She is a woman I admire even when I disagree.

[rhett o rick]

25. Yes we can insure bigger and bigger profits for Goldman-Sachs. Squash the min wage.

Yes we can invade, invade, invade. God Bless the MIC.

The Clintons have amassed a huge wealth that some say puts them in the 0.1%, or in other words they are in the top 1% of the top 1%. While some of us fight to make ends meet, they are living as the new American Aristocracy.

But some worship the Wealthy. Sadly even some calling themselves Democrats.

[Hiraeth]

36. that is hilariously pathetic. pitiful. after she said no, we can't. hilarious.

[WillyT]

6. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Paka]

7. You got me on that one.

[restorefreedom]

8. well played. nt

[hifiguy]

9. Kickety rec!

[Duval]

11. I fell for it, at first glance.

And I thought," Say What???"

[AzDar]

12. Bernie!!

[blackspade]

13. I thought that was where you were going with that!

[mountain grammy]

14. Exactly!

[JohnnyRingo]

15. Who's further to the left than Bernie Sanders?

If he's no longer on the fringes of the party then there must be others who occupy that space to his left.

Perhaps you may mean to say he's strongly energizing certain demographics, which is true, but I doubt he's moved into the mainstream of the political spectrum. Does avid support from young liberals make him more electable to the entire nation? I don't know, but we'll see as the rest of the primaries play out.

If Clinton doesn't pan out, I certainly hope Sanders can sell himself to a moderate America. Maybe he can move toward the middle once he gets the nom.

[TBF]

16. Entire countries are to the left of Sanders

he is a democratic socialist - that is a capitalist by definition. Perhaps a kinder, softer capitalism (should such a thing exist) but a capitalist none the less. "Moderate America" wants all the things Bernie wants - raise wages, tax corporations, fund public entities like schools, make health care affordable, etc. If you can find an actual socialist or communist running for president in this country please let me know. I'd be thrilled to caucus for that candidate.

[stage left]

18. agreed.

"entire countries are to the left of Sanders."

[JohnnyRingo]

23. You're right, entire countries are the the left of Bernie

Unfortunately, Sanders isn't running for the Swedish Prime Ministry. He has to capture the hearts and minds of a much more moderate voting population here.

I misunderstood the OP. I thought they said Bernie is no longer on the fringes of the American Democratic Party. If there's someone to the left of Bernie in govt, now that he's gone mainstream, I'd like to know who that is.

Just saying that the majority agrees with Sanders doesn't tell the entire story. If you ask someone if we should help the poor, they overwhelmingly agree, but if you suggest social programs, they decry handout. If you poll people on too big to fail bailouts, they demand reform... until they sense big govt regulations, then they recoil in mock horror of a government gone wild. People only want wage raises when it's in their own paychecks. Sean Hannity isn't going away just because the left likes Bernie.

As I said, he can always move to the center to gain votes if he gets the nod, but how will that settle with his supporters?

[Bad Dog]

32. America more moderate than Sweden?

You're having a laugh. There are lots of words to describe an electorate that sent George W Bush to the Whitehouse, (twice!), moderate is not one of them.

[TBF]

33. Where in the OP was that said?

All the OP said is that if you're getting just as many votes as the front runner you are no longer an anomoly (a "fringe" candidate). It didn't say anything about the party itself.

We can talk about the party itself if you'd like to, but that would be off topic.

[stage left]

40. Thank you, TBF

That was exactly my point. Sanders is no longer an anomaly.

[stage left]

17. I'm an old liberal.

And the "middle" is now so far right, in my opinion, that I hope he won't move there. But, you're right. We'll see.

[farleftlib]

20. Agreed, the so-called "center" is republicanville.

I'm a baby boomer and my positions haven't changed in 35 years and I used to be the norm. Now I'm considered the far left fringe. I didn't change but the party did.

[hifiguy]

19. Bernie Sanders stands in the same part of the party's tradidion

as outliers like Hubert Humphrey, Jack, Bob and Ted Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Paul Wellstone, Harry Truman and (on domestic policy) Lyndon B. Johnson.

The mainstream of what the real Democratic Party used to be.

[stage left]

37. I know all those wild and crazy guys

like Hubert Humphrey.

[rhett o rick]

24. With respect you're way off the mark here. The logic that is seems some are using is that Sanders

is so far to the left of Clinton that he must be fringe. He isn't farther to the left than a lot of people like Sen Warren.

Instead of fixating on left of who, look at his stands on issues. They are right on target with Democratic Principles. Wanting health care for all Americans, safety nets for the unemployed, a living min wage, protections for our environment, fair trade agreements, jobs, jobs, jobs, and affordable education for our children, etc. is not fringe.

Tell me what he wants that is fringe?

[JohnnyRingo]

28. I see your point.

But after months and months of people claiming Sanders to be the one true liberal candidate, I'm now to understand that he's gone mainstream without changing a thing. That he's a liberal is OK with me, but I stand to the left of the average voter. Moving the goalposts doesn't make Bernie a moderate nor does it land me and Hillary Clinton in the Tea Party. I believe you're trying to say that there is no far left anymore, only moderate, right, and far right, because I see no one in politics to Bernie's left.

People can say that being a liberal is a plus in the general election all they want, but remember that the name had to changed to progressive to avoid negative political blowback. Socialist is a whole new level for the right wing slime machine. Let's hope he didn't say it too much in public because people like Hannity and Levin will devote two hours a day comparing him to history's worst dictators.

Sanders has avoided that trial by fire so far because the right is handily using him as a foil to destroy the one person they see as standing between them and a return to the White House, and the far left is joining them in the fray. Unfortunately.

[rhett o rick]

45. I think the problem is that "far left" is just perjoritive for left. Some people that are central

like to think of themselves as Left and therefore anyone to the left is far left. I have never gotten anyone to explain the difference between far left and left. To me Sen Sanders and Sen Warren represent the left, progressive wing while Clinton represents the conservative wing of the party, with many, many issues that agree with the Republicons.

I would call those that advocate violence to promote left causes are extremists.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

29. You seem to be operating under some weird false premise someone HAS to to his left ...

... for him not to be fringe.

He's in the center and HRC is center right.

[JohnnyRingo]

30. There is no one in politics further left than Bernie Sanders.

That's alright with me, because I'm to the left of the average voter, but most people reel from the term liberal so much it had to be changed to progressive to avoid political recoil. Moving the goalposts now to place Sanders in the middle of the playing field doesn't make him a moderate, nor does it land me and Hillary Clinton in the Tea Party.

I've heard for months and months here that Bernie Sanders is the only true liberal candidate and he'll have to own it now, for better or worse. And that takes us back to the crux of the OP.

[Jefferson23]

21. Well done...very nice. n/t

[LWolf]

22. Yes, but

I'll hang on to the graphic, in honor of Jackpine Radical, and simply because I like it.

[rhett o rick]

26. The graphic still works as it's mocking the claim that he is fringe. He is fringe to the RW and

even the Conservative Democrats.

[stage left]

39. agreed.

Sanders never was on the fringe in my opinion. Calling him that was a way of marginalizing him and his campaign. Embracing the term is like embracing the term liberal, taking it back from the people who have tried to make it a dirty word.

[stage left]

38. I like it, too.

and I always liked what Jackpine Radical had to say.

[Babel_17]

27. Truly the popular candidate

It's all about being lifted up by the people.

[99th_Monkey]

31. After CNN tried their damnedest to bury Bernie's campaign in Iowa, and failed miserably

i was pleased that Cooper treated Bernie with the respect he richly deserves at tonight's
CNN forum. . Like night & day, the difference between the two events.

[TIME TO PANIC]

43. K & R!

[SammyWinstonJack]

44. Nice one!