Michael Stipe: Bernie Sanders' Appeal and Honesty Are Perfect for Now
"It's refreshing to have a candidate who speaks his mind, who makes sense, who isn’t demagogic," former R.E.M. singer says
Michael Stipe first heard about Bernie Sanders after the then-Vermont representative voted against the Patriot Act, shortly after 9/11. "I became aware of his 'outsider-insider' position in Congress," Stipe tells Rolling Stone in an email. "He's the senator who has consistently voted the way I would if I were a politician, and who has stood firm in his position and belief."
Stipe has since become a vociferous supporter for Sanders' presidential candidacy, releasing a brief video to Rolling Stone explaining his support. "In art and in music, I seek out and listen for honesty and realness," Stipe says in the clip. "That's why I'm backing Bernie Sanders for President of the United States. In politics, he is the person who is offering me the most honesty and the most realness."
The former R.E.M. frontman says his positions on civil rights and other social and political issues are nearly identical to Sanders'. "I'm a feminist. I've marched, supported and fought for black rights, privacy rights and LGBTQ rights. I'm deeply concerned about the environment. I'm completely freaked out by fracking," Stipe says. "Sanders takes positions on all of these issues that have [outshone] any other candidate that I've seen — and I have looked, believe me. I identify with him. I'm a proud liberal, but I also lean more center when it comes to policy. I get it that there are people who don't see things exactly the way I do.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-stipe-bernie-sanders-appeal-and-honesty-are-perfect-for-now-20160225
= new reply since forum marked as read
it does not get any easier, it is a shame isn't??? 
