# Bernie Sanders Should Run As An Independent **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441 "2019-01-09T02:02:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/1 "2019-01-09T02:02:11Z")
3 choices are better than 2 (which becomes no choice essentially) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/2 "2019-01-09T02:09:28Z")
The moderate/liberal vote would then split between him and the Democratic candidate–and leave the Republican candidate the winner. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/3 "2019-01-09T02:10:39Z")
Which is obviously what the OP wants, or he wouldn’t have floated such an idea. Bernie Sanders should go away. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/4 "2019-01-09T02:23:31Z")
OPs feeling the burn. Sanders is over and done. He cannot win. He can only hurt the democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Dacien](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dacien/32/5663_2.png) [@Dacien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dacien)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/5 "2019-01-09T04:00:53Z")
If you want Donald Trump to be removed in 2020, this would be disastrous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/6 "2019-01-09T04:16:21Z")
That would guarantee a trump victory. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/7 "2019-01-09T04:27:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That would guarantee a trump victory. Which is doubtless why it’s being pushed. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/8 "2019-01-09T04:50:12Z")
The biggest name who might run as an independent is John Kasich. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/9 "2019-01-09T12:19:40Z")
Ralph Nader approves: being a boil on the ass of the Democratic Party is far more important than advancing your political priorities. Because, you know, once it gets so bad, that’ll bring the revolution. Thankfully, Sanders is done. He doesn’t want any more stories about his 2016 campaign and the culture of sexual harassment. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/10 "2019-01-09T12:25:24Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > 3 choices are better than 2 (which becomes no choice essentially) Like **dalej42** , I’m old enough to remember the results of Ralph Nader’s 2000 campaign. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/11 "2019-01-09T14:12:37Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > 3 choices are better than 2 (which becomes no choice essentially) I thought if we learned _anything_ from the 2016 election, it’s that the 2 major parties are _not_ the same. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/12 "2019-01-09T14:55:15Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I thought if we learned _anything_ from the 2016 election, it’s that the 2 major parties are _not_ the same. Let me explain: 1. A party that supports raising the minimum wage to, say, $12 is the same as a party that would keep it at $7.25 but would kinda like to abolish it altogether. But there’s a big difference between the party that would raise it to $12 and a party that would raise it to $15. 2. The party that passed and would like to keep and improve on the ACA is the same as the party that’s voted roughly one googolplex times to kill it. But there’s a huge difference between the party that would like to keep and improve on the ACA, and a party that wants Medicare For All. Etc. I mean, jeez, isn’t it _obvious?_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/13 "2019-01-09T17:03:10Z")
Probably best if he does. With the ‘Third-Way’ DLC firmly in control of the democratic party, he and his supporters will be increasingly at odds with the party’s continuing rightward shift in search of their coveted “moderate suburban republican” voters and even more coveted corporate donors. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/14 "2019-01-09T17:12:04Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Probably best if he does. With the ‘Third-Way’ DLC firmly in control of the democratic party, he and his supporters will be increasingly at odds with the party’s continuing rightward shift in search of their coveted “moderate suburban republican” voters and even more coveted corporate donors. Pssst, 1992 called and they want their rant back. The DLC??? Are you kidding me?. It hasn’t even existed for years. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/15 "2019-01-09T17:19:34Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Let me explain: > > 1. A party that supports raising the minimum wage to, say, $12 is the same as a party that would keep it at $7.25 but would kinda like to abolish it altogether. But there’s a big difference between the party that would raise it to $12 and a party that would raise it to $15. > > 2. The party that passed and would like to keep and improve on the ACA is the same as the party that’s voted roughly one googolplex times to kill it. But there’s a huge difference between the party that would like to keep and improve on the ACA, and a party that wants Medicare For All. > > Etc. > > I mean, jeez, isn’t it _obvious?_ 😉 Here are the choices: 1. A party that wants to lower the minimum wage to $6. 2. A party that wants to raise the minimum wage to $12. 3. A party that wants to raise the minimum wage to $18 but will not get elected and will help the party that wants to lower the minimum wage to $6 win. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/16 "2019-01-09T17:22:21Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Probably best if he does. With the ‘Third-Way’ DLC firmly in control of the democratic party, he and his supporters will be increasingly at odds with the party’s continuing rightward shift in search of their coveted “moderate suburban republican” voters and even more coveted corporate donors. If there were enough liberals in this country to win an election, Bernie Sanders would be President today. So liberals need to face up to reality and decide if they would rather have a moderate Democrat or a conservative Republican as President. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/17 "2019-01-09T17:41:57Z")
Oh yeah? Mitt Romney and Sean Hannity should run as independents, too. Five choices are better than three. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/18 "2019-01-09T17:49:01Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > 3 choices are better than 2 (which becomes no choice essentially) No. I don’t want another 4 years of Trump. Hell, I’m still hopeful the guy will be impeached so we don’t even have another 2 years. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/19 "2019-01-09T19:21:23Z")
Nah, but John Kasich should run as an independent. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441/20 "2019-01-09T20:42:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bernie Sanders should go away. But I want another series of _Curb Your Enthusiasm_! > [@Ravenman](#): > > Oh yeah? Mitt Romney and Sean Hannity should run as independents, too. Five choices are better than three. I think we should eliminate all political parties and just have a scrum in which the contenders enter into a Thunderdome-style cage and battle it out for supremacy. Let’s see if Hannity’s [years of MMA training](http://fightland.vice.com/blog/everything-is-awful-lets-make-fun-of-sean-hannitys-street-martial-arts) will allow him to prevail over Liz Warren’s mom-sense and fiscal/somatic combat skills. Trump, of course, won’t even be able to enter the cage because of his “bone spurs”, so he concedes by default. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-should-run-as-an-independent/827441.md?page=2)