Readers React Bernie Sanders: So you're saying there's a chance?

[Jefferson23]

In his column on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders this week, The Times’ Doyle McManus asked, “How far can Sanders go?”


Although he answered his own question (“A Sanders presidency? Sorry liberals. It’s not going to happen”), a dozen Times readers cheerfully, pointedly and specifically begged to differ.


Steve Binder in Oxnard, with an almost audible sigh, wrote:

I guess McManus stopped believing in Santa Claus at too early an age. I’m sure he doesn’t remember the “miracle on ice,” when a group of young American amateur hockey players defeated the Russians and win the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics. I’m sure he thought that Hillary Rodham Clinton was a slam dunk when a relatively unknown black man entered the 2008 presidential race. I think McManus doesn’t realize how angry the American public is with both parties, and that people are looking for someone who tells it like it is and has a track record to prove it. Someone like Bernie Sanders.

Domenico Maceri in San Luis Obispo says the question is outdated:

Sanders has already gone far. He may not make it to the White House, but he has already made valuable contributions in shifting the campaign toward serious ideas. The media should pay serious attention to what he is saying instead of focusing their attention on the racist comments we hear from Donald Trump.


June Stephenson Bailey in Palm Desert pointedly observed:

I am a 95-year-old Democrat, feminist, author — and previous supporter of Hillary Clinton. I am today switching support to Sanders because he is more effectively telling what Republicans have done to our country, changing it from a democracy — government run by the people — to a plutocracy — government run by the people with the most money.

While I feel the discomfort of disloyalty to Clinton, I have weighed what I believe to be in the better interest of our country. Clinton has the support of the establishment, but Sanders is awakening the previously disenchanted nonvoters, and the first-time hopeful young voters, to the destructive force of inequality that holds 99% of us in wage stagnation.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0711-bernie-sanders-20150710-story.html

[HooptieWagon]

1. 1st K&R

We'll be hearing more stories like this...people recognizing the common good, and switching support from the corporatist candidate to the people's candidate.

[Jefferson23]

13. That's it, the message of truth. n/t

[peacebird]

20. K&R!

[mother earth]

2. In this day and age of the enslavement of the populace, there is only one candidate that stands

head & shoulders, above all, the lone representative of the people, Bernie Sanders.

As a woman, I would've loved to have seen a woman president, I'll take reigning in the oligarchy over any "token" corporate-BS attempt to, once again, screw with the populace and effect more of a stranglehold than we already are struggling with. TPTB play to us all, it is one big game, and then after the carrot is dangled, they plunge us into more debt & lower wages, there is REASON FOR INCOME INEQUALITY. Do you want more? Haven't we all had enough? I know I have.

I cannot, in good faith, support Hillary, as much as it pains me to say as I had loved her before the Obama election, but now I see, this is our last chance at retaking democracy and ending this corporate, predatory, oligarchy. Bernie Sanders is our FDR, and no substitution will suffice.

Look at the stances on TPP, look at the stances on the IMF...Bernie Sanders has no equal in this election, none...there is but one choice.

I salute June Stephenson Bailey, as I feel much the same way.

[Jefferson23]

4. His campaign is about democracy and it seems to be understood as such, which I am thrilled to see.

[99Forever]

9. Very well stated.

[marlakay]

21. So many women I know feel the same way

We want a woman president but want our country fixed more and we trust Bernie to do it.

[sabrina 1]

28. Great post, I can't add anything to it. I once supported Hillary too but

when she voted for Bush's war, when most of us knew he was lying, I knew she was too smart not to know that also, and knew we would not be able to stop him.

You cannot support War to the extent that Hillary does AND claim to support WOMEN. All statistics show how War diminishes the status of women, see Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, World organizations have catalogued the way in which women lose rights, lose any gains they may have made, and our policies are directly responsible for the destruction of the rights of women in so many places, that I know, anyone supporting these policies of forever war, does not support women.

When we have a female president, I want it to be someone who knows that war should never be fought for profit, as all our recent wars have been. That there is only one reason to fight a war and that is to defend this nation from an imminent attack.

She is far too enthusiastic about our terrible and devastating foreign policies to be an effective leader, and especially to be a champion of women's rights. Posing with a few women in some foreign land while NEVER meeting with eg, the Women of Afghanistan who so courageously are standing up for their rights under the worst of circumstances, because they OPPOSE our presence there, they say, because it has made their lives even worse than they were before. That doesn't mean much to me.

Sanders is a rare politician, wise, thoughtful, RIGHT when faced with critical decisions and he voted that way.

We have plenty of women in this country I would happily support, Barbara Lee eg, who did not vote for the Iraq War or the Patriot Act, like Bernie, who showed the good judgement and courage to do what was right at the time.

[JDPriestly]

42. With this, I strongly, strongly agree:

Bernie Sanders has no equal in this election, none...there is but one choice.

Thanks.

[BrotherIvan]

3. These comments are being echoed all over

as I read around the internet. I am still very conservative on his chances, but the fact that people are standing up and declaring their own stances is a very good start.

[Jefferson23]

6. It's the reasoning they're using that blows me away....yes, they're getting it. n/t

[Scootaloo]

29. His chances depend entirely on you and others like you going out there and giving him a chance

[cui bono]

5. June Stephenson Bailey is absoutely spot on.

Sanders is " effectively telling what Republicans have done to our country, changing it from a democracy — government run by the people — to a plutocracy — government run by the people with the most money". And sadly, too many Dems are accomplices. Time to get the money folks out and the people folks in!

[Jefferson23]

7. Yes, that's it, in a nutshell.n/t

[artislife]

8. I am very hopeful

Too many people have lost so much. And even if some are getting back on their feet, the majority are still far away from where they thought they would be at this time in their lives. We have to fight for us all, the 99%.

[Jefferson23]

10. Yea, think student loan bubble..that is only one that would shake up another mess.

I remain encouraged too..will be tough but worth the effort.

[artislife]

11. That and unemployment amongst the young, the minorities and the over 55s

That's a hell of a coalition. It will be hard work, but the price of failing is so very high.

[Jefferson23]

12. We have to try..no doubt in my mind about that. n/t

[davidpdx]

34. It's coming too

It's not a matter of if, but when.

[Jefferson23]

47. 1.2 trillion..or something like that..scary. n/t

[davidpdx]

59. Probably more than that by now depending on which figure you use:

This one says: $1,286,465,000,000

This one says: $1,336,600,000,000

[SoapBox]

14. I say...

As every single day goes by, more and more Americans learn about Bernie and what he stands for.

This election will have an unprecedented use of social media for communication...messages and truth will flow, with or without the lame MSM...it's a whole different world than even 2012.

I've watched Bernie's site today, that within just a few hours, there are now 417 postings, all over America in large and small communities, where people are organizing to work for Bernie...it IS a storm and there is going to be no stopping it. Those other candidates can use all the money they want...they can rig the endorsements...they can be roped off from America...

But WE vote and we vote by the millions and millions.

McManus is stuck in the rut of the 1%, Banksters and The Beltway...get out of the way McManus before you get run over.

Go Bernie!

[Live and Learn]

15. Just spoke to a friend tat was an ardent Hillary supprter the last go around

and she is now planning to vote for Sanders. It really is amazing how people change their minds once they actually listen to him.

[Jefferson23]

18. The reasons why they're switching is great and indicates so much more than this election

being about Sanders.

[Duval]

16. We are helping get Bernie's serious ideas out

on DU, and I'm letting my friends know what an important site this is, for learning the truth. Way to go, everyone.

[madokie]

17. Bless her

"I have weighed what I believe to be in the better interest of our country. Clinton has the support of the establishment, but Sanders is awakening the previously disenchanted nonvoters, and the first-time hopeful young voters, to the destructive force of inequality that holds 99% of us in wage stagnation."

[Jefferson23]

24. Powerful, isn't it. n/t

[Enthusiast]

19. Kicked and recommended to the Max! June Stephenson Bailey! Wow!

[Plucketeer]

22. Yup - there are those who SAY what we wanna hear

And there are those who's actions match their words. And frankly, I've got very fresh wounds from the last hope-pedaling Dem president.

[raouldukelives]

23. Mind your elders, young'uns. nt

[rhett o rick]

25. Sen Sanders has a great chance in spite of all the money the billionaires are expected to spend

to put HRC into the WH.

[tularetom]

26. Never has the tweedledee v. tweedledum analogy been more valid

And it appears that a lot of McManus's readers have caught on.

And God bless June Stephenson Bailey, I hope she sees Pres. Sanders second inauguration in 2021.

[cantbeserious]

27. I Will No Longer Settle For The Lesser Of Two Corporate Evils - Go Bernie Go

eom

[Locrian]

30. me neither

And I think it resonates with more than "the lesser of two corporate evils". I think that there is an urgency - a feeling that the pot is ready to boil over.

Kicking the can down the corporate road and hoping for some sort of crumbs from the establishment is not going to work. There are tremendous problems that are not going away with the "business as usual" corporate refrain.

[kenfrequed]

31. The opposition is increasingly desperate...

And transparent.

The pundits, I think, have an essential opposition to the excessive exuberance of populist candidates as they underline how unnecessary and powerless that group of people can be.

Moreover the very think tanks and organizations that pay them oppose the policies that Bernie puts forth. If you really want to stand up to the Koch brothers and big money in politics and the plutocracy, than Bernie is our best chance at doing so.

[Joe Chi Minh]

32. It's their old trick of trying to shape opinion by misrepresenting it,

killing two birds with one stone; especially, if they want to be naughty about the vote count.

[yurbud]

35. I think we're getting close to the day when MSM spin doesn't work

I don't know how many people even watch or read that stuff anymore. I don't.

Not so much because I disagree with it, but because it is so vapid, content free, and so carefully tiptoes around the heart of issues.

[davidpdx]

33. K & R

Careful there June, you'll be called a traitor to your own gender.

In all seriousness, I'm glad to hear that people like her are vocal about their support for Sanders.

[Snotcicles]

36. It's like going shopping for a car,

you had your eye on a really good one, until you were shown a better one, that met all your needs for the same price.

[marions ghost]

37. This is a critical time

--too critical to vote for gender over substance.

I am going Sanders all the way. Nothing anybody does or says will change that.

[BeanMusical]

38. Kick and R

[LuckyLib]

39. The MSM is paying attention to the $$$$ being raised.

We can help with even a small contribution. At this stage, support Bernie with a campaign donation, read and watch him, and tell your friends and neighbors to pay attention to someone who is telling it like it is!

[Jefferson23]

51. These kinds of stories are so important to spread around..powerful. n/t

[WillyT]

40. HUGE K & R !!!

[L0oniX]

41. Mega K & R

[Jefferson23]

50. Thanks, Loonix.

Share on facebook, twitter if you use that media, please.

[KoKo]

43. Recommend!

[CrispyQ]

44. I liked this comment:

"...The latest change in the political winds does not rumple the rumpled Vermont independent, and does not send him scurrying to seek a poll-tested alternative."

[blackspade]

45. That was mic drop by a 95 yr old!

[Jefferson23]

48. I thought so..she gets right to it. n/t

[brooklynite]

46. Here's the problem with the "anything can happen" response...

I’m sure he doesn’t remember the “miracle on ice,”

I remember it; and if the US had lost to the Soviet Union, there would have been disappointment; if Bernie Sanders loses to a Republican, the results will be far worse.

[Jefferson23]

49. If he gets that far he'll have the support of the Democratic party and all the perks that go

with it.

That is also a cynical attitude, I feel. You presume he'll fail, so he had better not try?

[brooklynite]

53. Like McGovern in 72?

[Jefferson23]

55. Oh come on. If we look at every opportunity and use fear to not advance ourselves

we'll get no where. If he manages to win the nomination which will be the
most difficult part..people will have more confidence in him than ever.

All the attacks will not be much different than before the nomination..it is our side
that worries me right now. Clinton lost once, she does not plan on losing again
without a fierce fight.

We'll see...campaigns are funny animals.

[Impedimentus]

56. The McGovern false analogy ...

is getting a little tiresome. How about a more interesting false analogy?

[Agony]

52. not any worse than if Hillary loses to a republican

[brooklynite]

54. Absolutely true...

...but my 35 years in politics tells me Hillary has a path to victory.

[Agony]

57. What you have been doing for 35 years ain't workin'

out so well, thanks for everything you have tried so hard to do. we got this

[brooklynite]

58. You're too kind...

...but since I engage in politics in the real world, I'll keep at it.