VPR News has learned from several sources that Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday.
Sanders will release a short statement on that day and then hold a major campaign kickoff in Vermont in several weeks.
Sanders' entry into the Democratic race ensures that Hillary Clinton will face a challenge to win the support of the liberal wing of the party.
Sanders' basic message will be that the middle class in America has been decimated in the past two decades while wealthy people and corporations have flourished.
His opposition to a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (T.P.P.) shows how he plans to frame this key issue of his campaign.
"If you want to understand why the middle class in America is disappearing and why we have more wealth and income inequality in America than we have had since the late 1920s, you have to address the issue of trade,” Sanders said in a phone interview on April 23.
The Huffington Post has also confirmed that Sanders will announce.
God who doesn't love Bernie?
If nothing else he is really going to bring a whole ton of heat down on Clinton, and force her to discuss some things that I am sure she would rather not have to address during the the primaries.
Personally I feel that she probably worries more about Bernie than she does any of her GOP rivals. Essentially because he has the support of the base of Democrats that she desperately needs to win over in order to gain the nomination.
Wow, a real live Socialist. This ought to be fun!
Where is wise guy? He could run for prez.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ready4bernie.com/
ReplyDeleteIf you are ready to beat the Kochs, sign up on Bernie's website.
I'd vote for him over Hillary ANY day!
ReplyDeleteBut you know who I'm waiting to announce.
Come on out, coward, the water's fine.
Arranged marriage on May 23rd,
SPC channel videos, desperate $$ begging.
Let's see what you've got, darlin.'
Here kitty, kitty, kitty......
Here kitty, kitty, kitty........
Run, Scaredycat, run!!!!
DeleteLove him was my first thought.
ReplyDeleteLOVE me some Bernie, the Brooklyn boy! He won't be nominated, doesn't expect it, but he DOES expect to push the conversation (and Hillary) more to the Left. He wants his voice to be heard, and his name to be recognizable. Bernie's doing a fabulous job for the people of Vermont and defending the middle class--he has all my support!
ReplyDeleteI'll write his name in, just because he put himself out there. It gives us another option, even if he doesn't win the primary we can still write him in and show our support!
Delete"but he DOES expect to push the conversation (and Hillary) more to the Left"
DeleteYes. This ^
Ok! NOW I am excited! Yay!
ReplyDeleteGlad he is in now. Should be an interesting battle. :-)
ReplyDeleteBernie can't take the nomination, but he CAN force Clinton to modify her support of everything Wall street. Neither he not Warren should take the VP slot - both are much more needed in the Senate.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he can either, but there's a man who isn't afraid to speak out on the atrocities instead of the usual talking points.
DeleteI don't think Bernie is going to run for re-election when his term is up.
DeleteI'm fine with him as Hillary's VP.
So happy! We thoughtful reasonable independents need someone like him to make us feel good about voting. Kudos Bernie and we wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best news I've heard in a long time.
ReplyDeleteHe will be the first REAL Democrat I've voted for since McGovern.
Hillary simply is not believable when she talks about inequality. Bernie is the real deal, and he comes across as real. I'M READY FOR BERNIE!
Hilary is believable. She has done a great deal to promote the middle class. It's the source of her foundation money that is troubling and will bite her in her ass.
Delete"Hillary is believable" hahaha. Thanks for the laugh 6:13!
DeleteI love Bernie. I love Lizzie Warren. What a ticket that would be. A progressive's dream. Sadly I will hold my nose and vote for Hillary. After all, we did go to the same high school together.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter who I vote for in Alaska because our electoral always goes Republican so I will proudly write in Bernie, unless he actually grabs the nomination from Billary. I've never voted for the candidate always a write in and it makes me feel good, even though I know how the state will go (RED).
Delete6:11
DeleteIt's that apathy that ensures that Alaska will go Republican.
6:11 PM:
DeleteReminder- Alaska now has a Dem. Governor. ;-)
Good for you 6:11.
DeleteI don't know how that moron at 7:44 considers voting, and making a conscious choice, to be apathy. You are a true American and not a sheep like 7:44.
Let's face it, national elections in the USA have now devolved into not much more than a shallow vapid version of American Idol.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I'd like to see Bernie as President, he has zero chance in a general election.
Bernie's from a deep blue state (Vermont) , and the Southerners would hate him just for that.
The evangelicals, the Teaparty, and even many moderates would never vote for him, so the election would default to whatever Christian pandering Koch worshiping Republican was left standing.
Electoral College choose the POTUS, not the general vote. You can vote for yourself and it won't matter because if your state is red then your electoral vote will follow.
DeleteYou're right...he has no chance of winning the nomination, no less the election. However, he is a strong voice for the middle class that refuses to be silenced.
DeleteAs such, he will force Clinton to take a stand on issues she might have otherwise avoided. She will have to publicly state her support of the middle class American people over corporations, and that's not an insignificant thing for his candidacy to accomplish.
To be perfectly honest, with all the gerrymandering, money, Diebold machines, etc., I wonder if President Obama will be the last the people actually voted for.
DeleteTWICE.
I agree completely with 6:16
Delete6:16 what does publicly stating anything mean to a career politico like Clinton? She is a career bullshitter. So what if she is forced to say something on the campaign trail that she would backtrack on once in office? It wouldn't phase her one bit.
Delete10:16 Sarah Palin has made a career out of Bullshitting. Who else has been 'campaigning' and begging for money since 2009 with no political office in sight? Signed hockey stick? Bibi T-shirts? I need $10,000 by midnight?
Delete"Essentially because he has the support of the base of Democrats that she desperately needs to win over in order to gain the nomination. "
ReplyDeleteSeriously? She has the nomination. I love Bernie Sanders too, but honestly, he is just too old. So far, Hilary has no one to fear in seeking the Democratic party nomination. She will be their candidate.
But Bernie Sanders running is going to be good for America. It'll be good for Hillary, too.
DeleteBernie is not too old. He is 73 now, 75 in 2016. McCain was 74 when he ran in 2008 and has had bouts with cancer, no one seemed to care. Hillary will be 67 in 2016 so not much difference in age. Bernie just looks older with the wild hair. Wonder if he starts the day all combed and as the day goes on he starts pulling his hair at the Republican antics.
DeleteCorrection. Hillary will be 69 in 2016.
Delete7:01
DeleteNo one seemed to care except for all the people who didn't vote for him because of just that and the vermin who would take his place if he died.
Bernie looks like a dignified intellectual European prime minister. And unlike Sarah Palin, Bernie's hair is his own.
DeleteState Rep. Randy Boehning, a North Dakota lawmaker who voted against bills protecting gay people from discrimination, was caught exchanging photos of his junk to another man on Grindr,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/anti-gay-gop-lawmaker-outed-after-sending-explicit-photo-another-man
Glenn Beck Says The President Could Get Away With Murder
ReplyDeletehttp://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/316501_Glenn_Beck_Says_The_President_
So has Sarah.
Delete6:32
DeleteI read "Glenn Beck..." and moved on. Did you have a point?
Anyone who listens to the snake oil salesman Glenn Beck is just as crazy as he is.
DeleteBernie has my complete and absolute support. Clinton would have had mine only with big doubts, and only because she is a Dem.
ReplyDeleteI agree! So happy that we have another choice as Independent/Dem.
DeleteBravo. If anyone can push some practical ideas, it's Sanders.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love Bernie,common sense tells me that anyone with actual Socialist next to their name will not get elected,because the right have no idea what that is,will call him Fascist and Communist as well.So you saying things like "If nothing else he is really going to bring a whole ton of heat down on Clinton, and force her to discuss some things that I am sure she would rather not have to address during the the primaries." means you will be happy if Bernie running causes Hillary to lose?
ReplyDeleteAt some point you have to understand that you have to take the bad with the good.Hillary already has to overcome those who won't vote for a women.Let's not make it so that she must spend her time fighting her own party and giving the GOP lots of time and ammunition to sink her and elect a Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz.
So you effectively want or wish to shut out any discussion, or other choices just to get Hillary in office? Screw you. I will never vote for Hillary, and honestly every democrat and independent I know, will not vote for that *** either. And half the reason is because of annoying dumb people like yourself that support her so blindly.
Delete10:12 PM You don't know many people, do ya? You do know dumb though.
Delete10:12 PM
DeleteGo back to Sea of Pee,with the rest of the annoying dumb people who can't see that this is discussion about the choices.
Awe 7:18, upset that Hillary is so widely despised are you?
DeleteI like berney. I wish he would get more respect and attention from the people. Could be the accent? Anyway, Him, Allison grime, eliz warren, couple others could do it. But NO old worn out clowns from either party please. Lets us VOTE for OUR FUTURE. we are at least 25 years behind or more now. Time to stop the money spin in politics. NO zit united. All candidates get the same soapbox and airtime. And? ELECTION DAY IS A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. no excuse. vote.
ReplyDeleteThe guy is just great. With one big problem...
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see him on TV, I bite my fingernails with worry that I'll be watching him have a coronary on camera.
We all can relate to why he is that angry, of course. But unfortunately it does NOT look "Presidential."
We may never see a President with the cool demeanor of Barack Obama...but someone has to be able to sound more "in control."
I'm not sure if its Hillary Clinton...she can get perturbed when fools push her, too.
But I have a message for women:
This is probably the only chance of your seeing a woman in the role of President of the United States, in your lifetime.
You may have your feelings about her hair, and her pantsuits, but try to wear big girl panties and get past such petty thoughts.
If someone says they cannot agree with her "policies" I call BULLSHIT: she hasn't even had a chance to tell us what they ARE as yet.
Hillary just looks like an old lady with an anger problem to me so I understand how you feel about Bernie. Hillary is so cold and so distant that I find it hard to relate to her. Different people resonate differently with different candidates. Hillary works for you, Sanders works for me. I for one am glad that we have another option and not just a shoe in for the candidacy. I've been an independent voter since I first registered in 1984 and I am so happy to finally have someone in a prominent position that shares my views. I've never voted for a "mainline" candidate before, always for a third party so if Sanders could be the Dem candidate I would go Democratic with my vote.
DeleteReally, after 40 years in and around the higher end of the political scene, nobody knows what her policies are? Well jebus when is she gonna let people know?
DeleteShe is just starting to reveal her policies. Try to have some freaking patience.
DeleteI don't feel the same way I did, years ago, about much of anything...so lets see what she has to say, NOW.
Sanders is great, but has the same chance as Jon Huntsman did.
If Martin O' Malley runs and he might that would be who Hillary would be afraid of.
ReplyDeleteWHO???
DeleteIf Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, then I would support him. But, he is not a Democrat at this point. He has pretty far to go to show that he is really a Democrat. I like what he says and what he does but why has he been so afraid of calling himself a Democrat? I, for one, am proud to do so.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
The Clinton Foundation make Sarah Pac look like Mother Teresa.
ReplyDelete(Hate to say it, but ....)
http://www.blacklistednews.com/The_Clinton_Foundation_in_one_graph/43681/0/38/38/Y/M.html
I doubt you hate to say it...
Deletefalling down falling down...must be the money
DeleteHE HAS MY VOTE!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness. Hillary is significantly to the right of Obama. We need someone to continue what the president has started, not roll back his reforms. The D primary should not be a coronation just so Hillary can move to the right in the general election.
ReplyDeletedoG I love Bernie.
ReplyDeleteIf he's on my ballot I'll vote for him.
But if Hillary wins I'm fine with that too.
Unlike the Republican ticket, so far either of the two Democratic candidates would make fine presidents.
I'll vote for Hillary and I think she will win but she is too close to wall street and although she says all the right things, I think she's really a Repug at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI love Bernie. My heart is with him. I've sent him money in the past and will happily do so again. This country needs to move to the left.
That's why it will be essential to know who she will choose as a VP.
DeleteIt better not be John Kerry. He will be an anchor dragging her down.
I can hear them now. He's too old, look how he dresses, he's frumpy looking. All joking aside, I think competition is a GOOD thing. As others have mentioned, I'd love to know their picks for running mates.
ReplyDelete