# Why don't you support Bernie Sanders? (if you don't) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 17, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632 "2019-06-17T02:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/541 "2019-10-03T00:06:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Altho Bernie is not my 1st choice for President, it’s important to have his voice in the senate, so i wish him well also. I’d be fine with another voice and I still wish him well. He’s been in previous good health and this is a pretty routine sort of procedure. Medically (assuming all is as described) it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect him up and around and handling routine workloads within a week or two … even counting that campaigning is not just a usual workload. Whether or not he chooses to is another matter. I hope he is well enough to and chooses not to … ---
**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:** [October 3, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/542 "2019-10-03T00:33:16Z")
He’s done. The only possible defense against charges that he’s too old is to appear vigorous and healthy at all times. This already took a hit when he was so hoarse during the debate, but now his goose is cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/543 "2019-10-03T01:17:10Z")
Praying for a quick and complete recovery. I’ll refrain from commenting on the political implications for now out of respect, but obviously they ain’t good. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/544 "2019-10-03T01:18:58Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The man with the splotch on his head fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/545 "2019-10-03T02:43:02Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’d be fine with another voice and I still wish him well. He’s been in previous good health and this is a pretty routine sort of procedure. Medically (assuming all is as described) it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect him up and around and handling routine workloads within a week or two … even counting that campaigning is not just a usual workload. Whether or not he chooses to is another matter. I hope he is well enough to and chooses not to … This. I hope that he is fine, but that he decides to drop out. And I hope he is well enough to campaign vigorously for whoever wins the democratic nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Northeast\_Refugee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@Northeast\_Refugee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northeast_Refugee)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/546 "2019-10-03T09:05:26Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > I see no implication other than that breadlines are better than starving to death, which I agree with and find uncontroversial. You know what’s even better then breadlines? Ability to get your food without any lines. Shocking, I know. Your argument is an equivalent of going to a room in children’s cancer ward, and saying “Hey, kids, I hear you all have thyroid cancer here. Sure, it’s kinda bad, but in the next room over, they all have glioblastoma. Oh, they’re f\*d in the next room, I tell ya!” Taking apart Sanders’ quote: **Sanders** : “In fact, as far as Nicaragua _is_, one of the nice things that I saw is that as a result of government policy (direct government policy), in terms of the distribution of food, people are not hungry by and large. I think it’s fair to say, you know it’s funny sometimes American journalists will talk about how bad a country is because people are lining up for food. That’s a good thing. In other countries people don’t line up for food, the rich get the food and the poor starve to death. In Nicaragua people are not starving uh to death” could you point the countries where “the rich get the food and the poor starve to death”? In return, I will point the countries, where even the poorest citizens are not starving (and somehow, they even manage to avoid standing in breadlines for hours) ---
**Author:** ![Northeast\_Refugee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@Northeast\_Refugee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northeast_Refugee)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/547 "2019-10-03T09:08:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Your description of those videos (one of which is a snippet with no context) is not accurate. The context for those videos is Bernie Sanders going to Soviet Union and absolutely failing to condemn its oppressive and inhumane treatment of its own citizens, and instead, praising life in the country, which would collapse a few years after Bernie so gloriously extolled its virtues. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/548 "2019-10-03T13:13:26Z")
If you want to argue with Bernie about his point, you can still write to him. He’s still alive and kicking for the time being. If you want to impose an entirely different narrative onto what he said in order to suit your own agenda, however, that’s not going to change what he really meant. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/549 "2019-10-03T13:52:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I can’t help but think Bernie’s heart problems might hurt Biden’s numbers a bit too. It reminds people that really old dudes often have serious health problems that younger people don’t. Maybe, although Biden has always looked considerably healthier than Sanders (in my opinion). Sanders straight up looks like an Old Man. [This doctor](https://slate.com/author/jeremy-samuel-faust), writing [for Slate](https://slate.com/technology/2019/10/bernie-sanders-heart-attack-diagnosis-stents-chest-pain.html), thinks that Sanders likely had a heart attack: > [@](#): > > Based on the information his campaign has released, this scenario seems to be what happened to Bernie Sanders on Tuesday evening. Without a close look at Sanders’ medical chart, it’s impossible to make a definitive diagnosis, and I have not reviewed the details of his case other than what has been reported to the media by his campaign. But even the scant information we have—that he had stents inserted overnight following an acute cardiac episode—is enough to be able to say: This was very likely a heart attack. > > I asked the Sanders’ campaign directly if they could confirm that this was or was not a heart attack. They declined to comment on the record. On Wednesday evening, the Wall Street Journal ran a story that originally stated a spokesperson for Sanders said the senator “didn’t suffer a heart attack,” but that story was later updated to remove that assertion. The story now states that the spokesperson said “more tests would be run to determine that diagnosis.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/550 "2019-10-03T15:34:47Z")
> [@Northeast\_Refugee](#): > > You know what’s even better then breadlines? Ability to get your food without any lines. That is very true. > [@Northeast\_Refugee](#): > > Your argument is an equivalent of going to a room in children’s cancer ward, and saying “Hey, kids, I hear you all have thyroid cancer here. Sure, it’s kinda bad, but in the next room over, they all have glioblastoma. Oh, they’re f\*d in the next room, I tell ya!” This is an inaccurate analogy. First, it’s Bernie Sanders’s argument, not mine. Second, Mr. Sanders was asked what the people of Puerto Cabezas needed most, _so that the city of Burlington can lobby or provide for that need_. The first thing that comes to mind is food. Do they need food? They do have breadlines for the poor, but “by and large” the people are being fed. What they need is medical supplies, books, lumber, an end to the civil war where the U.S. is supporting the other side, etc. According to Mayor Sanders, the people of Puerto Cabezas needed all of these things more than they needed food. The proper analogy would be a room in a children’s cancer ward, where all of the children have papillary thyroid cancer that is for the most part under control, and all of the children _also_ have some other treatable disease such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma which is not being treated properly because some U.S.-backed separatist group keeps attacking local Madagascar periwinkle farms (Madigascar periwinkle is a flower used to make one of the drugs used to manage Hodgkin’s; no idea if these two cancers can actually be treated at the same time). Yeah, levothyroxine wouldn’t hurt but what they _really_ need is Velban. > [@Northeast\_Refugee](#): > > could you point the countries where “the rich get the food and the poor starve to death”? This seems like an exercise in futility, but at the time Ethiopia suffered a severe famine due to both a natural drought and corrupt policies of Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam. ~Max ---
**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:** [October 3, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/551 "2019-10-03T15:46:10Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Maybe, although Biden has always looked considerably healthier than Sanders (in my opinion). Sanders straight up looks like an Old Man. > > [This doctor](https://slate.com/author/jeremy-samuel-faust), writing [for Slate](https://slate.com/technology/2019/10/bernie-sanders-heart-attack-diagnosis-stents-chest-pain.html), thinks that Sanders likely had a heart attack: I just assumed that was the case. My sister went through the same thing last Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/552 "2019-10-03T16:08:12Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Originally Posted by **Elendil’s Heir** > That reminds me. HAS he shown his taxes yet? > [Yes.](https://berniesanders.com/tax-returns/) > > 2019 is now included. Thanks. I’d missed that at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/553 "2019-10-03T18:50:31Z")
Speculation by a physician who doesn’t know Sanders and doesn’t have access to his medical record that he had a heart attack seems unprofessional. Sanders could’ve had an episode of angina that led to cardiac catheterization and then to stenting. It’s a common enough scenario. With Biden facing months of uncomfortable scrutiny over his son’s multimillion dollar Ukrainian haul and Bernie looking more decrepit, Warren’s camp must be gloating big-time.\* _Warren told “liberal activists in Las Vegas”_\* that she wants to see Bernie “strong and back on the trail as soon as possible”, which rings about as true as her previous declaration that she’s an enthusiastic beer drinker. \*\*probably not a huge crowd. 😃 ---
**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:** [October 4, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/554 "2019-10-04T00:33:16Z")
I think an honest person has to admit that at minimum what Bernie said was misleading hyperbole. In the US and other rich countries at that time, there was not a significant portion of the population starving to death. Hunger, food insecurity, OK. Starving to death? I don’t think so. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/555 "2019-10-04T01:42:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > With Biden facing months of uncomfortable scrutiny over his son’s multimillion dollar Ukrainian haul and Bernie looking more decrepit, Warren’s camp must be gloating big-time.\* > > _Warren told “liberal activists in Las Vegas”_\* that she wants to see Bernie “strong and back on the trail as soon as possible”, which rings about as true as her previous declaration that she’s an enthusiastic beer drinker. > \*\*probably not a huge crowd. 😃 You tend to have a very negative, mean spirited and cynical view of the humans who surround you. It’s quite distasteful. As I always say, cynicism is a poor substitute for intelligent thought. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/556 "2019-10-04T03:49:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Sanders could’ve had an episode of angina that led to cardiac catheterization and then to stenting. If you read the article, you’ll see that the angina scenario is covered in detail. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/557 "2019-10-04T09:32:54Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You tend to have a very negative, mean spirited and cynical view of the humans who surround you. It’s quite distasteful. As I always say, cynicism is a poor substitute for intelligent thought. Yes, I’d agree that Warren’s concerns for Bernie’s health are sincere. On a human level, no reason to think otherwise; and, on a practical level, I think she’d rather emphasize showing primary voters that she can siphon support away from Biden, not Sanders, because doing the former improves her perceived “electibility,” while doing the latter is just what’s expected. ---
**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:** [October 4, 2019, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/558 "2019-10-04T09:54:20Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You tend to have a very negative, mean spirited and cynical view of the humans who surround you. It’s quite distasteful. As I always say, cynicism is a poor substitute for intelligent thought. That’ll earn you a warning, CarnalK. Please don’t insult other posters. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/559 "2019-10-04T14:11:32Z")
Wishing Bernie a long and happy retirement. But the campaign season is hardly started, and the first primaries are months away, and campaigning is not going to be good for him. And “if he can’t make it thru a campaign, what will happen if he is President” is a perfectly legitimate question, and not one with a unambiguously reassuring answer. I doubt he ever had a realistic chance at the nomination. Maybe he will continue - more to push his issues to the forefront than because he will have a chance to do anything about them as President - but if he actually wants his issues to be enacted he might do well to drop out and endorse Warren. Will that automatically transfer all the Bernie Bros to her? I don’t know. But Warren plus Bernie’s support has a better chance than Bernie alone, or Warren alone. Probably won’t happen. Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [October 4, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632/560 "2019-10-04T14:22:48Z")
I don’t wish the man dead but I do wish he’d drop out. He can’t win. Not that some of his ideas are great, but the word “socialism” is like a millstone for him. Too many people are scared shitless over it and the last thing we need to do is make it easy for El Cheeto to get another term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-support-bernie-sanders-if-you-dont/835632.md?page=29)