# 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:** 42
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/821 "2016-02-10T15:04:25Z")
The problems in Houston are well documented: > **[Doctors Make House Calls On Tablets Carried By Houston Firefighters](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/04/09/396583624/doctors-make-house-calls-on-tablets-carried-by-houston-firefighters)** > > Most calls to the Houston Fire Department are for health problems, not fires. All those medical calls strain the 911 system and make a career in firefighting seem more like a career in health care. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/822 "2016-02-10T15:08:58Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So damn lame. You know, you probably could have spent some time looking and found how co-pays lower frivolous medical visits. Instead, you are lazy as shit and find some article that is heavy on anecdotes and includes “difficult to discern how much abuse” there is. And that many people use emergency services because they aren’t covered by insurance. Awesome job dude. That’ll earn you a warning, CarnalK. You should know better than to insult another poster. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/823 "2016-02-10T23:52:02Z")
Well, Bernie has a chance now, but [he’s really gonna have to hustle](http://www.salon.com/2016/02/10/trumps_on_fire_bernies_in_trouble_why_the_post_new_hampshire_primaries_tell_a_tale_of_two_candidates/) to even come close to winning. > [@](#): > > On a long enough timeline, it’s possible for Sanders to chip away enough Clinton voters and undecideds in order to carve out a path to the nomination. The conundrum is whether there’s simply enough time for Sanders to achieve that goal. February 20 is the Nevada caucus, where Clinton is favored by 23 points. (The last poll in that state was conducted in December, so things could have changed. But it’s hard to predict that they will without some solid numbers to back up it up.) Nevada is followed seven days later by South Carolina, where Clinton is up by 31 points. Then it’s Super Tuesday three days later where Sanders might win a few of the 12 states, including Vermont and but not nearly enough to narrow Clinton’s growing delegate total. Most of Texas’ 252 delegates will likely be awarded to Clinton who defeated Barack Obama there in 2008. Super Tuesday is followed by primaries on March 5, 6, 9, 12 and 15 — the latter of which includes Florida with its 246 delegates at stake. Three more election days follow Super Tuesday, rounding out the month. > > With the existence of “internet time,” anything’s possible. Though modern precedent for such a turnaround doesn’t really exist. > > Take a look at FiveThirtyEight’s polling forecast for several of the big ticket primaries, and it’s really, really difficult to work out the math in Sanders’s favor unless his campaign works hastily to secure the necessary support, both in terms of voters and party superdelegates, between now and the onslaught of primaries leaning significantly in Clinton’s favor. Again, there’s always a chance that events could continue to propel Sanders into a place where he could overtake Clinton state-by-state. But all things being equal, the window for this series of unforeseen waves of support to occur is rapidly closing. Likewise, there’s really no way, come March, for any of the candidates from either party to dedicate quality time stumping in those states with the same vigor employed in Iowa and New Hampshire. Metaphorically speaking, Sanders’ first two albums were hits perhaps because, like most first albums, a lifetime is spent composing the initial batch of songs; the subsequent albums too often tend to fall off dramatically in terms of quality. That could be the case here. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/824 "2016-02-10T23:59:11Z")
So by “has a chance” you mean it’s theoretically possible? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/825 "2016-02-11T00:40:33Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So by “has a chance” you mean it’s theoretically possible? Put it this way: A bet on Bernie to win is still long odds, but no longer the sucker-bet it would have been two weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/826 "2016-02-11T00:50:54Z")
Two weeks ago people thought they were close in Iowa and Sanders would win New Hampshire. Are you saying that actually happening changed things or something else? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/827 "2016-02-11T01:11:39Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Two weeks ago people thought they were close in Iowa and Sanders would win New Hampshire. Are you saying that actually happening changed things or something else? The margin of his win in NH gives his campaign a lot of momentum. Likewise, the broad range of classes and age groups and genders where he found support. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/828 "2016-02-11T01:29:50Z")
If you say so. The bit you quoted above certainly doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/829 "2016-02-11T01:55:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think we could be talked into supporting single payer if it was catastrophic coverage only. People could then buy insurance if they didn’t want to pay cash below the deductible. Since insurance companies’ risk would only be like $10,000 on average, that wouldn’t be very expensive insurance. For the poor, of course, we would continue to use Medicaid. > > Conservatives need for patients to have skin in the game, and we also need for our system to continue to be the most advanced and innovative. That’s why the single payer model of everything being free at the point of service and price controls doesn’t suit us. Why have Medicaid, then? Or Medicare? In any case, you can probably guess how much I care what suits today’s American so-called conservatives. Your side lost all credibility in the Hastert/DeLay/W years. What suits you best is not having power. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/830 "2016-02-11T15:16:49Z")
I’m curious if a Sanders fan can address something that’s been nagging me. It’s seems to be taken as a given that Sanders is good at working out deals and generally being bipartisan, after all he’s an independent. That should make it easier to bridge the divide. And certainly on certain issues, he can find support from different quarters. He can find Republicans who’ll back his gun stances, Tea Party members who’ll back his bank ideas and Dems who’ll be with him on climate. But beyond that, on the whole, he appears quite partisan. Whenever I look at sources that track voting records, he does poorly. For instance: [The Lugar Center](http://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-Index.html#Score) ranks him 217 out 225 on their bipartisanship index. [Open Congress](https://www.opencongress.org/people/show/400357_Bernard_Sanders) notes that he most often votes with Senator Maria Cantwell (she votes party line 95% of the time) [Ballotpedia](Https://ballotpedia.org/Bernie_Sanders) describes him as an “average Democrat”, meaning he votes Democratic the majority of the time. So what is the notion that Sanders is so bipartisan based on? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/831 "2016-02-11T22:36:40Z")
[Trump-loving Alex Jones compares Bernie Sanders to Hitler and calls for his supporters to have their “jaws broken”.](http://www.salon.com/2016/02/11/trump_loving_alex_jones_compares_bernie_sanders_to_hitler_and_calls_for_his_supporters_to_have_their_jaws_broken/) ---
**Author:** ![ElderSign](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eldersign/32/8263_2.png) [@ElderSign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElderSign)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/832 "2016-02-11T23:07:44Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So what is the notion that Sanders is so bipartisan based on? > **[Congress's only socialist becomes a bipartisan dealmaker](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/congresss-only-socialist-becomes-bipartisan-dealmaker-msna347296)** > > Bernie Sanders has long prided himself on being a liberal gadfly and outsider. But he's becoming better at turning his ideas into reality inside the Beltway. [http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you](http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you) > **[Senators reach bipartisan deal to reform VA health care system](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sanders-miller-reach-deal-reform-va-health-care-system-msna378031)** > > After months of contentious negotiations, Congress has announced details of the bipartisan bill to overhaul the Veterans Affairs health care system. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/833 "2016-02-11T23:32:08Z")
> [@ElderSign](#): > > [Congress's only socialist becomes a bipartisan dealmaker](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/congresss-only-socialist-becomes-bipartisan-dealmaker) > > [http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you](http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record-pushing-through-major-reforms-will-surprise-you) > > [Senators reach bipartisan deal to reform VA health care system](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/sanders-miller-reach-deal-reform-va-health-care-system) It looks like your first and third article are about the same Veteran’s health bill which seems to me about the easiest thing on the planet to get bipartisan action on. Your middle one postulates that he gets things done through amendments. I’m not sure but I think at least a couple of those listed died because they didn’t pass both houses. Pretty sure a couple were mentioned specifically in the Rolling Stone article I read about him - in it they mentioned that sometimes they let unfavorable amendments slide through because they know no one will sponsor it in the next house. Anyway, do you think those articles fully refute the cites I gave? I said he wasn’t exclusively partisan but his overall numbers indicate he mostly is. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/834 "2016-02-12T00:04:11Z")
That is indeed interesting. It helps sell him to Democrats, but it does undercut the “independent” label. I think he’s “independent” of Wall Street, if that makes sense. He’s “principled,” I think. Or ideologically inclined. He’s part of the Democratic caucus. He does vote with Democrats, maybe more than the actual Democrats. That’s apparently helped his career in the Senate. He is much more part of the Democratic Party than when he started out. I don’t know that moderation always indicates independence. A weathervane who always votes with the plurality isn’t actually a leader, even if they have similar voting records. Does Sanders consistently voting with Democrats indicate a lack of independence? Maybe they’re just closer to acceptable for him. If Sanders votes with progressives a lot more than with moderates, I’m not sure that’s bad. “Moderates” are kind of the bad guys these days due to the bailouts. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/835 "2016-02-12T00:28:08Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > So what is the notion that Sanders is so bipartisan based on? Rumors that he experimented in college. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/836 "2016-02-12T01:13:27Z")
Well that’s just it, foolsguinea. A lot of Dems think of him as a johnny come lately, a lot of his supporters think of him as some trail blazing bipartisan. But the truth seems to be he’s a fairly reliable left side Democrat. He does have a good “Liberal” voting record from what I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/837 "2016-02-12T04:26:24Z")
I don’t know about “bipartisan” in the typical USA sense. More that he’s not invested in the Democratic machine and its own flavors of corruption. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/838 "2016-02-12T05:20:19Z")
So I found the [Rolling Stone article](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-the-horror-show-that-is-congress-20050825) I was talking about. It’s not particularly unbiased, lol, but it’s not a bad read. But I misremembered - I think the only amendment mentioned in it that matches one from the alternet article is the one about the Chinese Nuclear plant loan. And it didn’t get ignored in the Senate, it was voted down there. So while it’s an example of bipartisanship, it’s not truly successful bipartisanship. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/839 "2016-02-14T23:17:39Z")
The Hillary campaign (and her supporters at Time and the Washington Post) are claiming that the photo the Sanders campaign is posting showing Bernie attending civil rights demonstrations in the 60s is not really him. The Washington Post even said the Bernie campaign should stop sending it out because it’s a lie. [Apparently nobody bothered to ask the person who took the picture.](http://www.liberalamerica.org/2015/01/26/ted-cruz-proposes-bill-to-strip-5th-and-6th-amendment-out-of-us-constitution/) [Let’s not forget that it was the Hillary campaign who spread around the photo of Obama wearing a turban.](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/25/barackobama.hillaryclinton) ---
**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:** [February 14, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754/840 "2016-02-14T23:23:11Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Apparently nobody bothered to ask the person who took the picture.](http://www.liberalamerica.org/2015/01/26/ted-cruz-proposes-bill-to-strip-5th-and-6th-amendment-out-of-us-constitution/) Ted Cruz took the picture? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-bernie-sanders-d-vt-campaign-for-potus-thread/718754.md?page=43)