# Sanders 2016? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 7, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086 "2014-03-07T07:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [March 7, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/1 "2014-03-07T07:25:16Z")
Bernie Sanders has indicated that he is considering running for President in an interview with the _Nation_: [http://www.thenation.com/blog/178717/bernie-sanders-i-am-prepared-run-president-united-states](http://www.thenation.com/blog/178717/bernie-sanders-i-am-prepared-run-president-united-states) I have mixed feelings about Senator Sanders’s potential candidacy. While he is one of my favourite Senators (along with Casey of Pennsylvania and Warren of Massachusetts) and undoubtedly one of the most courageous, I fear that an independent run in the general election will end up causing a spoiler effect much as Ralph Nader did especially if the Republicans nominate a supposed “moderate” such as Chris Christie or Jon Huntsman. However I heartily endorse the idea of him running in the Democratic primaries as it may cause other Democratic candidates and perhaps the whole political discourse to shift to the left. In addition his plan of a populist appeal to the white working class is a desperately needed move after decades in which the Democratic Party has been losing in that constituency and hopefully may serve as the basis for a new New Deal coaliton. On the other hand due to his age and relative obscurity, I don’t think Senator Sanders will actually receive the Democratic nomination and he will probably do much more in the Senate (although the idea of a Clinton-Sanders ticket is tempting)/ ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/2 "2014-03-07T10:53:05Z")
Too old, too leftist, too Northeastern. And you’re right, if he ran as an independent he’d just take votes away from the Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/3 "2014-03-07T13:09:54Z")
Sanders is a national treasure. I salute the voters of Vermont for sharing him with us for all these years. That being said, he’s too old and would never get the nomination. Should he run as an independent, it would merely split the Democratic vote and assure a Republican win and with it the apocalypse. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/4 "2014-03-07T15:23:25Z")
If he runs as an Independent he’ll screw everything up for us. That would irritate people he shouldn’t want irritated. Let him run as a Democrat, influence the discussion a bit, and then go back to being a Senator when he loses. Because he WILL lose in the primaries. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/5 "2014-03-07T15:39:51Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > . . . (although the idea of a Clinton-Sanders ticket is tempting)/ It is . . . but with Hillary’s own age problem, she really needs a younger running mate. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/6 "2014-03-07T15:56:47Z")
And one that won’t give credence to claims that she’s a socialist. Putting an actual socialist on the ticket kinda establishes that you’re probably a socialist, no? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/7 "2014-03-07T15:58:59Z")
He won’t run as an independent - it wouldn’t accomplish anything. In the Democratic primaries he could perhaps steer the conversation toward issues that matter to him. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/8 "2014-03-07T16:06:53Z")
Adaher, do you really think that Bernie Sanders is a socialist? What do you think that term means? How would you describe the differences between a liberal/progressive and a socialist? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/9 "2014-03-07T16:08:09Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Adaher, do you really think that Bernie Sanders is a socialist? Bernie Sanders does! He calls himself a Democratic socialist. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/10 "2014-03-07T16:08:46Z")
I don’t know if he is, but he has called himself that. His voting record has been disappointingly soft though. He doesn’t cause nearly as many problems for his caucus as Ron Paul did in the Republican caucus. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/11 "2014-03-07T16:18:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Bernie Sanders does! He calls himself a Democratic socialist. Yeah, he’s got zero capability of claiming not to be a socialist when he’s on record as using the word to describe himself. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/12 "2014-03-07T16:21:21Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Yeah, he’s got zero capability of claiming not to be a socialist when he’s on record as using the word to describe himself. I don’t think he would claim to not be a socialist. It’s just that conservatives have trotted out this “socialist” bullshit so many times that I think **Gagundathar** assumed it was being used incorrectly here. But for once, it’s more or less accurate here. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/13 "2014-03-07T16:39:01Z")
I stand (or sit) corrected. The pejorative tone of the word in current political parlance is always off-putting. I looked at a summary of his voting record, and gosh I sure wish he were MY senator, political tags notwithstanding. But then, I have such wonderful men as Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson to compare him with, I daresay that is not much of a compliment. Thank you all for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/14 "2014-03-07T16:45:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Putting an actual socialist on the ticket kinda establishes that you’re probably a socialist, no? Well, no, no more than putting a Southerner on the ticket for geographic balance implies that the lead candidate is a Southerner. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/15 "2014-03-07T17:09:54Z")
No, but it does imply endorsement of southerners. Or socialism. There’s a reason she ain’t putting Jon Manchin on the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/16 "2014-03-07T17:19:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, no, no more than putting a Southerner on the ticket for geographic balance implies that the lead candidate is a Southerner. That’s a somewhat strange comparison, but yes, the logic is odd and it doesn’t quite scan. The VP’s ideas always get subordinated to the presidential candidate’s, and there’s no such thing as “endorsing a Southerner.” There is trying to appeal to Southerners, though. And you know that Clinton would have trouble trying to bat away “socialism!” attacks if she actually picked a socialist. That’s not all that unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/17 "2014-03-07T19:52:44Z")
I hope he doesn’t run. I wouldn’t want him to hang out in a vanity candidacy like Jerry Brown or Dennis Kucinich. Once it’s clear who the nominee is, bow out gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/18 "2014-03-08T04:23:42Z")
I agree with **Jonathan Chance**. Run in the primary for long enough to pull the Overton window as far left as he can, then bow out gracefully and endorse the winner. Hopefully, rehabilitate the word “socialist” a bit in the process, too. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/19 "2014-03-08T04:34:45Z")
That’s about as likely as rehabilitating fascism. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086/20 "2014-03-08T07:23:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s about as likely as rehabilitating fascism. This implies socialism is an ideology as terrible as fascism. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-2016/683086.md?page=2)