# 2016 Bernie Sanders (D-VT) campaign for POTUS thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 28, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754 "2015-04-28T22:40:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/241 "2015-07-10T18:23:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You want nuttery? > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/04/us/politics/bernie-sanderss-revolutionary-roots-were-nurtured-in-60s-vermont.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/04/us/politics/bernie-sanderss-revolutionary-roots-were-nurtured-in-60s-vermont.html?_r=0) > > Scan for “cervical.” > > Bernie Sanders is the kind of fruitcake every free newsweekly has on staff. 70s Bernie seemed like kind of a nut (though still not even close to Bachmann/Akin-level). Do you have anything from the last 20 years? Anything he’s said while in office in the Senate, or while running for president? One nutty article from the early 70s is pretty weak as far as presidential-candidate-nuttiness. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/242 "2015-07-10T19:09:53Z")
Sanders has just released a letter, signed by three other senators (Franken, Warren & Markey), asking the FCC to investigate the pricing practices of cable & broadband companies like TWC and Comcast. Sanders contends that the majority of Americans are served by cable companies that are operating as defacto monopolies. The senators ask the FCC to start by examining the pricing practices of these companies, in particular, by bringing transparency to hidden fees. > [@](#): > > In addition to steeply rising prices, consumers arc often unaware of the various fees that are tacked onto their monthly bills because of the lack of transparency in pricing. To cite just one example, Time Warner Cable began charging a cable modem rental fee in 2012 of $3.95 a month. T WC then raised the price to $5.99 a month in 2013. Today it charges $8 a month, a 203 percent increase in three years’ time, in addition to monthly broadband charges. > > With increasing concentration in the industry, there are now de facto telecommunications monopolies throughout the United States. For example, just 37 percent of Americans have more than one option for high-speed broadband providers. Given the lack of incentive for companies to provide better quality service and competitive prices, it is no surprise that individuals rank cable and Internet providers last in customer satisfaction when compared to other companies in other industries. That’s right. Bernie Sanders is making “The Cable Bill Is Too Damn High” a part of his campaign. He just might win this thing, after all! Full letter is here: [http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/071015fccletter/?inline=file](http://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/071015fccletter/?inline=file) Ars Tech article about it here: > **[Senators ask FCC to investigate cable and broadband prices](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/07/senators-asks-fcc-to-investigate-cable-and-broadband-prices/)** > > Monopoly ISPs “charge ridiculous prices and add hidden fees onto a customer’s bill.”… Give 'em hell, Bernie! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/243 "2015-07-10T20:58:30Z")
A writeup on Bernie in Politico [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-119927.html](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-119927.html) You know what, he seems like one of the extremely rare birds - an honest politician, with principles, who says what he thinks and not what his aides/pollsters tell him to say. I am starting to like this guy. Of course, his policies would be anathema to me, but it is so freaking refreshing to actually see an honest politician, I am enjoying to see him run. Hope he does well. And that’s straight up, not just because I despise Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/244 "2015-07-10T21:17:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > 70s Bernie seemed like kind of a nut (though still not even close to Bachmann/Akin-level). Do you have anything from the last 20 years? Anything he’s said while in office in the Senate, or while running for president? > > One nutty article from the early 70s is pretty weak as far as presidential-candidate-nuttiness. The 70’s was at best over 35 years ago. Comparing that to the likes of Bachmann is the kind of false equivalency that I’ve come to expect from the right these days. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/245 "2015-07-10T23:27:12Z")
[Sanders breaks 20% in a national poll for the first time.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/10/1400974/-Bernie-Sanders-Breaks-20-in-a-National-Poll-for-the-First-Time-Gaining-Support-Across-Demographics) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/246 "2015-07-11T05:24:10Z")
That’s the disadvantage of a 73-year old candidate. He still thinks cable is important. And I don’t want to hear any whining if people use the fact he’s not tech savvy against him. You guys brought that out as a reason to not vote for McCain, so it’s fair game now. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/247 "2015-07-11T07:27:47Z")
How’s this for a dog whistle from Bernie? > [@](#): > > guns in Chicago and Los Angeles mean a very different thing than guns in Vermont and New Hampshire [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-makes-big-gun-control-pitch-marking-shift-in-presidential-politics/2015/07/09/4309232c-2580-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e\_story.html?hpid=z1](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-makes-big-gun-control-pitch-marking-shift-in-presidential-politics/2015/07/09/4309232c-2580-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html?hpid=z1) ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/248 "2015-07-11T08:24:17Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > How’s this for a dog whistle from Bernie? > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-makes-big-gun-control-pitch-marking-shift-in-presidential-politics/2015/07/09/4309232c-2580-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e\_story.html?hpid=z1](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-makes-big-gun-control-pitch-marking-shift-in-presidential-politics/2015/07/09/4309232c-2580-11e5-b72c-2b7d516e1e0e_story.html?hpid=z1) That’s just a fact. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/249 "2015-07-11T08:42:37Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > How’s this for a dog whistle from Bernie? I don’t know. How _is_ that a dog whistle? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/250 "2015-07-11T09:13:22Z")
Sounds to me like he’s saying guns in white states aren’t a problem, whereas guns in cities with large minority populations are a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/251 "2015-07-11T11:44:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s the disadvantage of a 73-year old candidate. He still thinks cable is important. > > And I don’t want to hear any whining if people use the fact he’s not tech savvy against him. You guys brought that out as a reason to not vote for McCain, so it’s fair game now. 1. He’s not just talking about cable tv; he’s also talking about cable & broadband internet. 2. His lack of tech savviness is only in your head, making it a reflection of your own lack of tech savviness. 3. Everybody in the country hates their cable company. The cable companies deserve it. Bernie is saying that he’s going to stick it to the cable companies. It’s a great move. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/252 "2015-07-11T12:12:52Z")
He also lacks constitutional knowledge. By definition it’s not interstate commerce. Localities grant those monopolies. Or not. If Sanders wants to change that, I suggest he run for mayor of Burlington. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/253 "2015-07-11T12:30:37Z")
You haven’t actually read the letter, have you? Cable, Internet and Telephone communications, among other things, are handled by the [Federal Communications Commision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Federal_Communications_Commission). > [@](#): > > The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government, created by Congressional statute (see 47 U.S.C. § 151 and 47 U.S.C. § 154) to regulate interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the media, public safety and homeland security. Bernie and the others are, quite properly, asking the congressionally appointed oversight organization to investigate the cable & internet companies’ pricing practices as well as their defacto monopoly status. The mayor of Burlington doesn’t enter into it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/254 "2015-07-11T13:19:38Z")
The FCC hasn’t tried to rein in local monopolies, because it can’t actually do it. A court challenge would see a pretty quick 5-4 decision saying they don’t have that power. Local monopolies are not interstate commerce. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/255 "2015-07-11T15:02:35Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Sounds to me like he’s saying guns in white states aren’t a problem, whereas guns in cities with large minority populations are a problem. I interpret it as inner-city guns are a different thing than rural guns. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/256 "2015-07-16T19:23:16Z")
I just got an email from Bernie’s campaign claiming that more people have contributed to his campaign than to any other candidate of either party. Clearly they aren’t donating as much _per person_ as some of the other campaign, but I think that’s a really encouraging sign for him. Still, I predict he’ll lose to Hilary. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/257 "2015-07-16T20:14:06Z")
Bernie keeps rising, and a lot of the gap between him and Hillary is because of her extraordinary name recognition. Not many non-political-nerds outside of Vermont knew much about Bernie a few months ago, and still few outside of NH and Iowa do. If he manages to win one or both of those states and not go all James Stockdale at the debates, his stock will continue to rise. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/258 "2015-07-22T00:28:04Z")
[_National Review_ writer accuses Sanders of “national socialism.”](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/bernie-sanders-rises-attacks-the-right-get-ugly?cid=sm_fb_maddow) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/259 "2015-07-22T06:50:30Z")
Well, if you are socialist but also nationalist, that is kinda national socialism. “Real” socialism is internationalist. And frankly, I think that socialism loses what moral authority it has when it’s combined with nationalism. The whole point of socialism is that people are equal and deserve economic and social justice, wherever they live. Nationalism says, “We come first!” I understand that a lot of Western socialists are comfortable with this, but it’s a far cry from the idealism of early socialism. More interestingly, Bernie Sanders still doesn’t understand African-Americans any better than white Republicans do: > **[Why Hillary Needs to Take the Black Lives Matter Netroots Fracas Seriously](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/07/netroots-nation-black-lives-matter-protest-hillary-clinton-needs-to-take-the-response-to-bernie-sanders-and-martin-omalley-seriously.html)** > > If you were plotting a fissure point for liberals in the 2016 election, you might look to the divide between Hillary Clinton supporters and everyone to... > [@](#): > > the confrontation with Sanders was a fiasco. Whereas O’Malley adjusted to protesters, Sanders tried to barrel through them. “Whoa, whoa, let me talk about what I came to talk about for a minute,” he said. Speaking over shouts of “say her name” and “black lives matter,” Sanders tried to establish his civil rights bona fides. “Black lives, of course, matter. I spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and for dignity,” he said. “But if you don’t want me to be here, that’s OK. I don’t want to outscream people.” Even if that response was understandable, Sanders only made things worse. When he tried to cite Obamacare as something he’s done for people of color, protesters responded with jeers. One woman said, “We can’t afford that!” When he talked up free college and opportunity for black Americans, a heckler yelled “Public college won’t stop police from killing us!” ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/260 "2015-07-22T07:07:14Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, if you are socialist but also nationalist, that is kinda national socialism. That ignores that “national socialism” is generally used to refer to Hitler and co., not anybody who has both socialist and nationalist tendencies. Its also pretty obvious that Kevin Williamson was deliberately using the term to smear Sanders, nevermind that Sanders is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust. > [@](#): > > “Real” socialism is internationalist. Why should socialism be confined to narrow utopian positivist 19th Century Marxism and the even more naive hippies of the 20th and Tumblristas of the 21st Centuries? Also by this reasoning “real” capitalism is also internationalist, at least if the reasoning of classical economics is taken to its logical conclusion. > [@](#): > > And frankly, I think that socialism loses what moral authority it has when it’s combined with nationalism. Why should it anymore than capitalism? > [@](#): > > The whole point of socialism is that people are equal and deserve economic and social justice, wherever they live. The question isn’t of either/or but between what can be achieved in the short-term and the long-term. > [@](#): > > The question is between what can be achieved Nationalism says, “We come first!” I understand that a lot of Western socialists are comfortable with this, but it’s a far cry from the idealism of early socialism. Its called adapting to the circumstances. If the choice is between achieving reform in one country or wasting support and time in pursuing utopianist schemes, the former is preferable. Very few supporters of capitalism outside of the Murray Rothbard types think its a good idea to engage in free trade with North Korea-does that undermine the “idealism of early capitalism”? :dubious::rolleyes: It should be noted that I have assumed in the above that the left-wing social democratic ideology of Sanders and kindred social democratic movements should be placed under the umbrella term of “socialism” in opposition to “capitalism”. > [@](#): > > More interestingly, Bernie Sanders still doesn’t understand African-Americans any better than white Republicans do: > > [Netroots Nation Black Lives Matter protest: Hillary Clinton needs to take the response to Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley seriously.](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/07/netroots_nation_black_lives_matter_protest_hillary_clinton_needs_to_take.html) Kudos to the Senator for standing up to those nilhistic hecklers, although I’d be delighted if the concern troll Right aligns itself with the Social Justice Warrior hacks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754.md?page=14)