Check out the Catholics for Bernie & Vets for Bernie FB pages

[Divernan]

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is Jewish. He’s also the likely 2016 presidential candidate whose political philosophy lines up most closely with the economic and social theories of Pope Francis.

https://www.facebook.com/Catholics4Bernie?hc_location=ufi

featuring links to articles like:
The Possible Presidential Candidate Who Agrees the Most With Pope Francis
http://time.com/3661552/bernie-sanders-pope-francis/

Sanders’ social-media accounts are filled with quotes from the Holy Father about the need to reform socioeconomic systems. Unlike many leaders who name-drop Pope Francis to score political points — he is, after all, likely the most popular man on the planet — Sanders quotes the Pope because he actually believes his message. When asked about casino capitalism, Sanders points to Pope Francis, who says that is not what human life should be. “He’s saying, you know what … the economy should serve people, not people serving the economy,” Sanders explains. “The market is the billionaire class who want to get richer, that is what it is. I don’t think we should have an economy serving their needs.”

As he mused on the possibility of a 2016 campaign during an hour-long visit to TIME’s Washington bureau Thursday, Sanders hit the Pope’s main talking points before even mentioning his name. Health care as a universal right for the elderly. The economic injustices of income inequality. Climate change.

Pope Francis’ economic and political views were shaped in Argentina during the Juan Perón years. Peronism is a genre of socialism powered by working-class populism that rejects both communist and capitalist extremes. It is an ideology that resonates in some of then-Jorge-Bergoglio’s early writings, especially his appreciation of people. In this view, the poor are not just poor people who need help, Gustavo Morello, professor of sociology at Boston College, once explained to me — they are people who have a contribution to make. For Francis, this translates into “an appreciation for the folk Catholicism or the street wisdom, the things that the academia and officials tend to dismiss,” he said.
The sheer number of potential Catholic presidential candidates means that political jockeying around the Pope will only rev up this year, especially because Pope Francis’ first visit to the U.S. coincides with the launch of 2016 campaigns. It will be all the more important to parse the difference between claiming Catholic kinship with the Holy Father and actually sharing the same political ideology.

Sanders hopes to meet the Holy Father during the trip. In the meantime, he says he is continuing to read up on what the Pope says. “I’m not quite as radical as the Pope is,” he smiles. “But.”

[Divernan]

1. Another pro-Bernie link.

Have you seen this in depth interview with Bernie Sanders and Bill Maher? -- where they muse about their love of Pope Francis -- "This Pope, dare I say is a miracle for humanity. God Bless the Pope," said Bernie. Watch this all the way thru....I think you might find a man that deserves to be our next POTUS

#bernieSanders2016 https://www.facebook.com/brandon.weber.upw/videos/vb.526961900699651/936734956389008/?type=2&theater

This made such a perfect post for my daily Bernie post on FB, because I have a lot of FB friends/former classmates around the country (Catholic elementary & high school, plus Jesuit university & Catholic law school - and yet, on a good day I'm an agnostic! go figure!), many of whom are still practicing Catholics (in their late 60s-early 70s). They are wild about the new pope, and they will be quite favorably impressed by Bernie's praise of the Pope.

This campaign is going just great!

[Divernan]

2. Bernie is in solid with the vets. https://www.facebook.com/vets4bernie

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/06/27/bernie-sanders-surge-partly-fueled-veterans/e1qNTpzFpIaoxIGKygKa9J/story.html#
Bernie Sanders’ surge is partly fueled by veterans

Michael Dwyer /associated press

Bernie Sanders battled over veterans issues as head of the Senate’s veterans affairs panel.
By Annie Linskey Globe Staff June 28, 2015

DES MOINES — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders railed against the Vietnam War. He voted against invading Iraq — both times. He wants to cut the defense budget. He might not be a friend to the MIC, but many veterans believe he’s gone to war for them. And that’s why they’re out there cheering for a socialist as he launches a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

There’s the former Marine who drove about six hours to hear Sanders speak in Des Moines. There’s another former Marine, this one a registered Republican, going door-to-door to collect signatures so Sanders’ name will appear on the ballot in Indiana. Entire Reddit threads are dedicated to how veterans can best pitch Sanders to other veterans. “He is revered,” said Paul Loebe, a 31-year-old who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan during eight years of active duty and spends three hours a day updating a Facebook page promoting Sanders to veterans. “He’s very consistent with where he stands. He’s the first politician that I’ve believed in my life.” https://www.facebook.com/peloebe

Veterans also credit Sanders for striking a deal with Republicans to pass a smaller — $16 billion — package aimed at erasing the lengthy wait times at veterans hospitals. Passing it earned Sanders top awards from the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Military Officers Association of America.

For Louis Celli, at the American Legion, Sanders’s progressive views make some sense in the context of advocating for veterans’ programs. “Who better than a socialist to advocate for veterans’ health care?” he asked.
--------------------------------------------

Passing the fix showed something else about Sanders: He was willing to make a deal. It’s a notion that runs counter to commonly expressed concern — even among some attendees at Sanders’s rallies — that the senator’s far left views prevent him from working with others.
Last summer, the bill fixing wait times at hospitals appeared to be heading for defeat. Faced with possibility that Congress would adjourn without enacting it, Sanders joined forces with John McCain, the Arizona Republican and GOP presidential nominee in 2008. Sanders dropped his opposition to a provision that let veterans who live far from VA hospitals use private doctors. In exchange, he got an additional $5 billion to hire more staff and build more facilities, according to a member of Sanders’s staff.

[nenagh]

3. Thank you, Divernan...

makes me smile

[swilton]

4. Thanks for the referral to Vets for Bernie!

Been there done that!

[vlakitti]

5. This is really getting good

I support Mr Sanders and it's clear the Pope is consistent in his views and getting more radical.

[grasswire]

6. love it: not quite as radical as the Pope.

And this: "In this view, the poor are not just poor people who need help, Gustavo Morello, professor of sociology at Boston College, once explained to me — they are people who have a contribution to make."

[MisterP]

7. well, it's separate from Peronism per se

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology
Peronism's more of a pure "populism" (or demagogy) that can cover anything--and did: by 1973 it literally covered *the entire Argentinean political spectrum*: didn't work out well
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_%28World_War_II_aftermath%29