novenator at 'Kos- Sanders: the most electable candidate that will build a STRONGER Democratic Party [View all]

[Attorney in Texas]

Great analysis; here's an excerpt:

A Bernie Sanders nomination would be the best thing that could happen to the Democratic Party.
... Bernie Sanders has been elected to office 14 times. Bernie won his last Senate campaign with 70% of the vote, including 25% of the Republicans. He also won by 8% more than what opinion polls predicted because of the non-traditional voters that come out to support him. 78% of Bernie’s supporters are enthusiastic.

Lets start with how popular Bernie is with independent voters. Bernie Sanders is polling strongest with independents. The IVN poll of independents shows Bernie is at 45% to Trump 26%, Ben Carson 19%, Rand Paul 12%, and Clinton 9%. In a head to head matchup, Bernie cleans up with independents over Clinton 59-21%. Being an independent himself for so long certainly helps (Bernie is the longest serving independent in the history of Congress), but the greater appeal is with how direct Bernie is and how he has consistently fought for the same things for decades. People of all political persuasions appreciate those things, even if they disagree with some of his issue stances.