Say what you want: Sanders has been working hard since 2015 to get his ideas out front.

[rgbecker]

His name recognition has increased steadily and his favorability polling has remained high for 4 years now. No other candidate has spent as much effort get his issues front and center and the results show as his issues are the ones the party is talking about. Medicare, Living wage, "Free" college, make the rich pay their share. More than half of the 20 or so candidates for the Democratic nomination were not on the national radar a year ago and many are still working on name recognition much less issues. Some are still formulating positions on the issues people are talking about.

Hopefully the early start to the campaigning will give them time to get their names and positions out there so we have the best chance to pick the best candidate to go up against Trump.

Here's some polling from last Sept, 2018.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/243539/americans-maintain-positive-view-bernie-sanders.aspx

[WeekiWater]

1. Agree.

He has been working hard since 2015.

[Hortensis]

13. :) at convincing a following they were

his ideas instead of mainstream tweaked to create difference. If only this U.S. senator had committed himself to making those ideas a reality instead, what might we have accomplished by now?

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread rgbecker.

[SidDithers]

3. Then shouldn't he be better at it?...

He appeared unprepared and uninterested at the She the People forum.

Sid

[LongtimeAZDem]

5. No kidding

[comradebillyboy]

17. He always looks that way when he gets unscripted questions.

[brooklynite]

6. Re: 2018 polling...

We won the House by running centrist candidates in suburban districts. OUR REVOLUTION and JUSTICE DEMOCRATS endorsees crashed and burned.

[George II]

7. That poll is from more than six months ago...

Here's an article about a more recent poll, only a few weeks ago:

Polls show Bernie Sanders popularity among all voters is plummeting

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/politics/bernie-sanders-favorable-unfavorable-rating/index.html

[DoctorJoJo]

8. Bernie: Independent for President. Where the Incarcerated Should Have Right to Bear Arms!

[Uncle Joe]

9. You might try posting the truth, it doesn't hurt, although there might be some discomfort.

[BlueFlorida]

10. His ideas and his name are well-known

but he is consistently polling between 20 and 25%. Obviously 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 5 Democrats are not supporting him.

Sanders has peaked and there is no upward room.

[RainCaster]

11. I wish he was more consistent about supporting the DNC

Why did he go back to being an independent after the last election?

[Skya Rhen]

12. Because he is an opportunist...

[comradebillyboy]

18. Same reason he will go back to being an I after the primaries are over.

[katmondoo]

14. What hard work did he do before 2015?

[redstatebluegirl]

15. I take issue with the 4 out of 5 democrats have a favorable feeling about him.

I know A LOT of active Democrats and I can tell you that number is not accurate in the crowds I work in. What was done in 2016 has left many Democrats with a bad feeling about Mr. Sanders. They also take issue with his constant criticism of the party.

[emmaverybo]

16. Impressive how hard he works for his ideas...But

And that he works for them even at the expense of his electability. I think those ideas have had a potent effect on other candidates, on the electorate, and the terms of the debate on economic and social justice overall. But somehow his idea-driven approach puts me off. Maybe it’s the his ideas part. He comes across to some of us as more ideologue than public servant, more leader of ideas than this country and its people. In theory I like some of Bernie’s ideas, but am leery of their pragmatic application. I also find him more attached to this getting out his ideas than to responding to the multiple urgent domestic and global issues that confront us. His ideas don’t suggest a roadmap to confront these, except to say that if we root out the worst evils of capitalist corruption, focus on his ideas, they solve themselves.
He’s an idea factory for ideas rooted in a strongly felt and experienced progressive ideology. Nothing in that is bad or should be dismissed.
But the president of the United States wears many hats: domestic and foreign policy maker and negotiator, upholder of democratic values that bind us as a nation together and make common cause with our allies, commander-in-chief, chief of party, chief executive—over the FBI, CIA, national security agencies.
Sanders shows unflagging enthusiasm and industry on behalf of a relatively narrow set of ideas and policies. I look for him to address his ability to carry out the fuller panoply of responsibilities he will have as executive in chief, and what policies or ideas intersect with that role.

[msongs]

19. glad he's managed to accomplish something in the past 4 years nt