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Title: Bernie Sanders to announce 2016 presidential bid
Source:
Politico
URL Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/ ... 6-presidential-run-117433.html
Published: Apr 28, 2015
Author: Jonathan Topaz
Post Date: 2015-04-28 23:55:09 by Hondo68
Keywords: None
Views: 3404
Comments: 6
Getty Bernie Sanders will announce a presidential bid on Thursday, a source close to the second-term senator confirmed. The Vermont independent, a self-described democratic socialist, will run as a Democrat in a field that includes frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The launch will likely be a low-key announcement — no big rally or high-budget video. The senator is expected to have a larger campaign kickoff in a few weeks, most likely in Vermont, before heading to early presidential nominating states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Sanders, 73, has been openly considering a presidential bid for months, and in recent days has begun to focus his attention on staffing. Tad Devine, an informal adviser and longtime friend to the senator, has said that a Sanders campaign would focus heavily on three major issues — campaign finance reform, climate change and income inequality. The senator often boasts that he’s never run a negative ad, and Devine insists that he won’t go negative on Clinton. “He has to plot a completely different path that doesn’t have a lot to do with her,” he said last week, adding that Clinton came up “very little” in recent conversations about a potential run. Sanders will be a long-shot — he has little campaign infrastructure, a limited fundraising base and trails Clinton by a wide margin in the polls. Still, Sanders will be the first official candidate who will run to Clinton’s left — former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley isn’t expected to announce his candidacy until late May. Sanders, who frequently appears on cable news, does well in town-hall settings and has staked out strong stances on issues that animate progressives — including his staunch opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and fast-track authority. His home state of Vermont borders New Hampshire, where his aides hope he will run strongly with the help of Mark Longabaugh, who ran former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley’s Granite State operation in 2000. He’ll be welcomed into the race by many liberals and early-state activists who have expressed significant concerns about a Clinton coronation and a sleepy primary season so far. Earlier this month, Sanders spent a weekend in Vermont with his wife, Devine, and Phil Fiermonte, his Vermont state director for more than a decade, to discuss a potential run. Devine — a veteran of the John Kerry, Al Gore and Michael Dukakis presidential campaigns and who has spoken to Sanders several times since their Vermont meeting — said Sanders was wary of playing a spoiler role. “The one thing he’s determined not to do is to be another Ralph Nader. And the only way to avoid doing that is to avoid being a third-party candidate from the left in the general election,” Devine said, noting that Sanders has caucused with Democrats for decades. The senator has ramped up his activity in recent weeks. He held rallies in California, Nevada, Texas and Chicago during a busy six-day swing in late March and early April. He was in Hanover, New Hampshire, for a house party earlier this month and was in South Carolina last weekend for several events, including the state’s Democratic convention and Rep. Jim Clyburn’s annual Fish Fry. After months of staying above the fray, Sanders has started to throw jabs at Clinton. Last week, he said he doesn’t think Clinton is “prepared” to take on the “billionaire class.” Sanders — who repeatedly chastises the media for not focusing on major issues — recently joked twice about Clinton incorrectly saying in Iowa that her grandparents were all born abroad. And he has called on Clinton several times to come out against the TPP, the trade deal supported by the Obama administration but opposed by the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Clinton has not yet said definitively whether she supports or opposes the trade pact, which was a major part of the administration’s “pivot to Asia” that she helped formulate at the State Department. On that issue, a source close to Sanders noted last week, Clinton will be in trouble “either with the base of the Democratic Party and unions or her funders.” Sanders initially intended to decide on a presidential bid by March, but pushed back his timetable due to his obligations as ranking member of the Budget Committee, his spokesman said at the time. He’s said repeatedly that he wouldn’t declare his candidacy unless he thought he could run a credible campaign, and has often expressed concerns that a poor showing would harm the progressive movement. “If you do it, you gotta do it well,” Sanders said at a town hall in D.C.’s Columbia Heights last week. “And I say that not just for my own ego, of which I have a big one, but because I would be carrying the hopes and views of many millions of people.” Sanders, born in Brooklyn, has been a force in Vermont politics for decades. He served four terms as mayor of Burlington in the 1980s before being elected to the U.S. House in 1990. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in congressional history, but has been a reliable Democratic vote and held several top committee spots — including Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman in the last Congress and his current role as ranking member on Budget. Sanders’ campaign committee has more than $4.6 million on hand, according to its first-quarter report. The committee raised more than $1.1 million during the 2014 cycle, while his political action committee, Progressive Voters of America, raised over $535,000.
Poster Comment: Need Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel to pummel Hillary in the debates too. Bill Richardson? Is John Edwards out of jail yet?
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#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
My Grannie and Grandpa lived in Brooklyn. My ex-boss lives in Vermont. He's my man!
He's got a lot more to offer that Billery. I don't think he faces the same legal issues as Billery. That has to count for something:) Folks talk about the GOP field...the Dims have an awful bench of corrupt liars and a fake "native."
"The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.” (Psalm 121:7)
Bernie's an honest commie. If he says he'll empty you wallet and give it to illegal aliens, he'll give it his best shot.
It's so quaint these days to find an actual Red under the bed. Usually they just pretend to be liberals.
Will this country never run out of lunatics running for president? We've cleaned out the incurable patients from mental hospitals and converted them to aspirants for high political office.
He's my man! Sandesr is a piece of shit who should face a firing squad for his murder votes in congress.
Sanders, born in Brooklyn, has been a force in Vermont politics for decades.
#2. To: hondo68 (#0)
#3. To: redleghunter (#2)
(Edited)
The D&R terrorists hate us because we're free, to vote second party
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#4. To: hondo68 (#0)
#5. To: hondo68 (#0)
Bernie Sanders to announce 2016 presidential bid
#6. To: Fred Mertz (#1)
Sanders, born in Brooklyn, has been a force in Vermont politics for decades. My Grannie and Grandpa lived in Brooklyn. My ex-boss lives in Vermont.
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