# Would Bernie Sanders make a good POTUS? Why or why not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 10, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540 "2015-09-10T18:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/21 "2015-09-10T23:05:14Z")
Also, it’s not unrealistic to believe that a Sanders presidency might suffer crushing electoral defeat when time came around for reelection. By then the Democrats would have had the White House for 12 years, and voters tend to tire of the party in power after 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/22 "2015-09-10T23:08:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I think he would make a great one just because, stymied or not, his presidency would push the Overton Window leftward for cycles to come. But he would only push the Window left if he were _successful_. If he were perceived as a big failure, then that might make future politicians steer to the right for fear of being labeled another “Bernie Sanders.” Carter’s presidency, for instance, did not push America left; \*it paved the way for Reagan and the Republican right. \* ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/23 "2015-09-10T23:09:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Also, it’s not unrealistic to believe that a Sanders presidency might suffer crushing electoral defeat when time came around for reelection. By then the Democrats would have had the White House for 12 years, and voters tend to tire of the party in power after 12 years. I predict after Trump gets his ass handed to him in 2016, the Republicans will nominate a professional wrestler in 2020. It’s Democrats all the way down from here on. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/24 "2015-09-10T23:44:23Z")
Why would it be better for a progressive to choose a non-progressive hawk who will ‘competently’ move the country to the right and continue with corporatism over a progressive who may not get things done but will at least try to move it leftwards ? At least nail your colours to the mast. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/25 "2015-09-11T00:04:02Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Why would it be better for a progressive to choose a non-progressive hawk who will ‘competently’ move the country to the right and continue with corporatism over a progressive who may not get things done but will at least try to move it leftwards ? > > At least nail your colours to the mast. Yup. I agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/26 "2015-09-11T00:30:21Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Why would it be better for a progressive to choose a non-progressive hawk who will ‘competently’ move the country to the right and continue with corporatism over a progressive who may not get things done but will at least try to move it leftwards ? > > At least nail your colours to the mast. What matters for progressives is getting the Democrat elected because it’s the president who’s going to pick our next few Supreme Court justices. It doesn’t actually matter which Democrat or how competently they enact their goals. What matters is keeping the Republican out of the White House. Yeah, I know. The Democrats are not progressives. I know that. It doesn’t matter. The Progressive Party is not a player in this immediate election. Maybe one day, but not at this time. Therefore, this is not the time to go all wobbly over Ralph Nader. The only nailing that matters is the stake I want nailed through the shriveled lump of coal that is the heart of the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/27 "2015-09-11T01:02:49Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > As much as I would _love_ to see Sanders’s policies enacted, I know that he wouldn’t be able to get a damn thing done as POTUS. > > For all that we liberals criticize the GOP for over stymieing Obama, that would PALE in comparison to how they would thwart the agenda of an _actual, genuine_ socialist president. Well, there’s a difference: Bernie is a white man. (Well, Jew, technically white, you know . . . at any rate, I didn’t hear much RW anti-Semitism when Lieberman was Gore’s running mate.) And he speaks to concerns even many Tea Partiers actually share – that is at least part of Trump’s appeal to them, his economic populism. A Sanders presidency would not fire up the base-hate in quite the same way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/28 "2015-09-11T01:04:01Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > What matters for progressives is getting the Democrat elected because it’s the president who’s going to pick our next few Supreme Court justices. It doesn’t actually matter which Democrat or how competently they enact their goals. What matters is keeping the Republican out of the White House. > > Yeah, I know. The Democrats are not progressives. I know that. It doesn’t matter. The Progressive Party is not a player in this immediate election. Maybe one day, but not at this time. Therefore, this is not the time to go all wobbly over Ralph Nader. > > The only nailing that matters is the stake I want nailed through the shriveled lump of coal that is the heart of the Republican party. Yes, yes, all true. But for a different thread. Here, we’re discussing what kind of POTUS Sanders would make. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/29 "2015-09-11T01:06:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > And he’s just old. So’s Hillary. And looking at all the (comparative) striplings and whippersnappers in the Pub field, maybe youth is overrated, at least for these purposes. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/30 "2015-09-11T01:29:11Z")
> [@XT](#): > > her hubby IS able to bridge the gap, somewhat, with the Republicans…at least with some of them. He has pictures of all the Congressmen with their boy toys, mistresses and ducks. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/31 "2015-09-11T01:38:23Z")
I think Sanders will probably not be a very effective President (due to congress) but I think 4 years of a Progressive President will help pull the country away from the right a bit and be good for the country overall. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/32 "2015-09-11T01:47:56Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > But he would only push the Window left if he were _successful_. If he were perceived as a big failure, then that might make future politicians steer to the right for fear of being labeled another “Bernie Sanders.” > Carter’s presidency, for instance, did not push America left; \*it paved the way for Reagan and the Republican right. \* Yeah, well, Carter was no liberal, let alone a progressive. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/33 "2015-09-11T02:22:23Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Political outsider, IMHO out of touch left winger type who will basically be unable to get anything done, will be unable to work with Congress (on either side) and who’s potential presidency would be marked by a lot of rhetoric and hot air, but would get nothing done. You say “would get nothing done” as if that’s a bad thing. Most of what the government does is harmful, so a president who gets nothing done is generally preferable to one who gets a lot done. I don’t like Sanders’ positions, but I’d take him over Hillary or some other mainstream Democrat. Under Obama, I’ve seen thousands of new regulations reducing my freedom on issues ranging from health insurance to food to employment to speech to [dishwashers](http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/248385-industry-rails-against-obamas-dishwasher-rules). Bernie Sanders may [hate my deodorant](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/26/sorry-bernie-sanders-deodorant-isnt-starving-americas-children/), but as long as he doesn’t successfully ban it, why should I care? Sanders is like a character from _This Is Spinal Tap_. He’s an idiot, but he’s a sincere idiot. Whatever he says, you can be sure that he means it. Compare that to Hillary, who will always flip-flop if the price is right. I much prefer the Sanders approach. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/34 "2015-09-11T02:53:09Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > You say “would get nothing done” as if that’s a bad thing. Most of what the government does is harmful . . . That has not been true for most of American history. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/35 "2015-09-11T04:10:21Z")
Jimmy Carter was no liberal? [OnTheIssues](http://www.ontheissues.org/Jimmy_Carter.htm) joins me in strongly disagreeing: > [@Bottom line from OnTheIssues](#): > > Jimmy Carter is a Hard-Core Liberal. Sanders has no foreign policy experience and no record of getting any agenda accomplished. It would take decades to recover from the backlash. The mid-terms would likely result in veto-proof majorities against him in both houses of Congress. The hard-core Right agenda would accomplish its goal as a result of his Presidency as surely as if a GOP candidate won. The one good thing would be his impact on the Supremes as judges retire or die. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/36 "2015-09-12T01:50:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I think he would make a great one just because, stymied or not, his presidency would push the Overton Window leftward for cycles to come. He’s not all that far left. There’s nothing this alleged socialist actually wants to nationalize. And [real leftists are far from swooning over his foreign policy.](http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-sanders-troubling-history-supporting-us-military-violence-abroad) Contrast with Jeremy Corbyn, expected next leader of the British Labour Party, and an actual socialist: [http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/08/07/jeremy-corbyn-interview-nationalise-the-big-six-a-solar-panel-on-every-rooftop-clean-coal/](http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/08/07/jeremy-corbyn-interview-nationalise-the-big-six-a-solar-panel-on-every-rooftop-clean-coal/) > **[Jeremy Corbyn backs boycott of Israeli universities involved in arms research](https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/jeremy-corbyn-backs-boycott-israeli-universities-involved-arms-research)** > > Frontrunner in Labour Party leadership campaign also committed to pushing for a two-way arms embargo on Israel. I’m not for Corbyn. Not at all. I’m just saying that he really may be responsible for a substantive Overton shift in his country. But Sanders views are just too close to the Democratic mainstream for this to be likely in his case. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/37 "2015-09-12T02:07:49Z")
I believe that nationalizing health care would be good. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/38 "2015-09-12T02:16:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > He’s not all that far left. > > There’s nothing this alleged socialist actually wants to nationalize. Leftists of previous generations promised to seize the means of production. Today’s leftists promise free stuff. Free health care. Free college education. Free solar panels and windmills. Free public transportation. They seem to think this will sell better than violently taking away everyone’s property. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/39 "2015-09-12T02:21:18Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Leftists of previous generations promised to seize the means of production. Today’s leftists promise free stuff. Free health care. Free college education. Free solar panels and windmills. Free public transportation. They seem to think this will sell better than violently taking away everyone’s property. Folks have it just about everywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540/40 "2015-09-12T02:22:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I believe that nationalizing health care would be good. This reminds me that there is one industry Sanders is in favor of nationalizing. It isn’t health care, but health care insurance. I can’t find any evidence that Sanders wants to outlaw for-profit drug companies, physician groups, or hospitals, let alone nationalize them. Personally, I think it would be much better to outlaw for-profit hospitals than insurance companies. I like this better than the Sanders plan: > **[Healthcare in the Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_the_Netherlands)** > > Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated along three dimensions (1) level (2) physical versus mental and (3) short term versus long term care. > The three levels indicate how a patient is referred throughout the system. The first level is the level where people go to with health issues. This consists of mainly Huisartsen (U.S.: physicians / U.K.: general practitioners; lit.: home doctors), often organised in "huisartsenposten" ((acute) GP/primary medical centers) to ensure 24/7 availab... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-bernie-sanders-make-a-good-potus-why-or-why-not/730540.md?page=3)