I'd Like To See Bernie Sanders Kick Off His Campaign In Baltimore....

[global1]

I think he has a message that would resonate there and be picked up all over the country.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. What do you think that message would be? n/t

[global1]

2. One Of The Economy, Jobs, Education And Civil Rights....

His agenda calls for free college tuition, a $1-trillion program to rebuild this countries infrastructure, higher taxes on the wealthy and publicly funded elections. He speaks to the needs of us 99%. Jobs, jobs, jobs.....

[darkangel218]

4. Damn.. he's awesome!!!

So glad he's running!!! Go Bernie!!!

[darkangel218]

3. I would love that.

His message should be: No more police brutality. No more abuse.

Go Bernie!

[bravenak]

5. What do you think he'd say that spoke directly to impoverished inner city black youth?

How would he be able to bring his message to them? How would he connect his message to their reality? They have heard big promises and awesome rhetoric before, so that won't cut it.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. Yeah, I don't think Baltimore would be

a good place to start. Better kick it off in Vermont. I honestly don't know how any of the current candidates could relate all that we'll to inner city black people and the problems they face. The only thing I would do if I were Bernie would be to listen to them speak about the issues and then explain how my ideas would help to solve or alleviate those problems. Bernie' s been in politics for a long time, so I think he's more well-versed on this issue than we might think.

[bravenak]

9. Sounds good to me.

I think it's worth a shot. I'd probably need to see where he's at on the drug war issue. Many of those kids lost fathers and uncles and brothers to the prison system, based off the drug war. I heard Hillary this morn, but I looked at her record and it seems she is a drug warrior . I should have looked him up, but I forgot.

[LuvNewcastle]

11. The War on Drugs is a big issue for me, too.

I want it to end. It's already done so much damage to so many communities that it will take many years for them to bounce back. It hasn't really been addressed much in past elections, but I hope that will change now.

[bravenak]

12. I'm with you.

This election I won't shut up about it. It's a national tragedy.

[cali]

8. bernie doesn't really do "awesome rhetoric" or big lofty promises

he does straight talk about specifics and he answers questions directly

I think he can, at least to some degree, relate to their reality. He grew up lower middle class in a tiny apt in NYC. And not that it would neccessarily mean much to them but he has a good record on civil rights dating back to his college days when he was an organizer with SNCC and marched on D.C. in 1963. (I know, that's the olden days to kids)

[bravenak]

10. Those are all good things.

Once I go check out his stance on the drug war and manditory minimums, I'll have a better idea of what to think. The drug war is the make or break thing for me.

[cali]

14. against the drug war- strongly so

and for reform of the justice and prisons. Against private prisons. It's not just rhetoric. It goes back to his days as Mayor of Burlington. He's introduced prison reform legislation in the Senate.


Voted YES on reinstating $1.15 billion funding for the COPS Program. (Mar 2007)
Voted YES on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on maintaining right of habeas corpus in Death Penalty Appeals. (Mar 1996)
Voted NO on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)
Voted YES on replacing death penalty with life imprisonment. (Apr 1994)
Rated 78% by CURE, indicating pro-rehabilitation crime votes. (Dec 2000)
More funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes. (Apr 2001)
Require DNA testing for all federal executions. (Mar 2001)
Increase funding for "COPS ON THE BEAT" program. (Jan 2007)
Reduce recidivism by giving offenders a Second Chance. (Mar 2007)


Voted NO on military border patrols to battle drugs & terrorism. (Sep 2001)
Voted NO on subjecting federal employees to random drug tests. (Sep 1998)
Legalize medical marijuana. (Jul 2001)
Exclude industrial hemp from definition of marijuana. (Aug 2012)
Exempt industrial hemp from marijuana laws. (Mar 2013)


Voted YES on additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects. (Oct 2007)
Voted YES on allowing Courts to decide on "God" in Pledge of Allegiance. (Jul 2006)
Voted YES on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted NO on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
Voted YES on requiring states to test students. (May 2001)
Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools. (Aug 1998)
Voted NO on vouchers for private & parochial schools. (Nov 1997)
Voted NO on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
Reduce class size to 18 children in grades 1 to 3. (Mar 2001)
Rated 83% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
$25B to renovate or repair elementary schools. (Sep 2011)
Sponsored extending subsidized federal student loan rates until 2015. (Apr 2013)
Make employee educational assistance tax-deductible. (Jan 1993)
Don't count combat pay against free school lunch. (Mar 2009)


Bush’s tracking citizens’ phone call patterns is illegal. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. (Feb 2013)
Voted NO on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
Voted NO on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted NO on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions. (May 1998)
Constitutional Amendment for equal rights by gender. (Mar 2001)
Rated 93% by the ACLU, indicating a pro-civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
Rated 100% by the HRC, indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)
Rated 97% by the NAACP, indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance. (Dec 2006)
Recognize Juneteenth as historical end of slavery. (Jun 2008)
ENDA: prohibit employment discrimination for gays. (Jun 2009)
Prohibit sexual-identity discrimination at schools. (Mar 2011)
Endorsed as "preferred" by The Feminist Majority indicating pro-women's rights. (Aug 2012)
Enforce against wage discrimination based on gender. (Jan 2013)
Enforce against anti-gay discrimination in public schools. (Jun 2013)
Re-introduce the Equal Rights Amendment. (Mar 2007)

<snip>

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/bernie_sanders.htm#Civil_Rights

[bravenak]

16. I might love him now.

Thank you. These are all good, strong positions that I favor.

[MineralMan]

6. When is the Maryland primary?

Primary races focus on timing of primary elections.

[Recursion]

13. April. They got spanked for moving it back in '08 and are pledging to stick with their date (nt)

[Recursion]

15. I don't know. Baltimore's an odd duck as US cities go

And MD is a fairly safe blue state in Presidential years.

Philly, nearby, might be a better choice if you're going mid-Atlantic, or some place way out in Appalachia.

[karynnj]

17. NO WAY - He has a GREAT story in Burlington Vermont

At least according to many people I have met in Burlington, it was during his administration that the two gorgeous waterfront downtown parks were made possible -- because of his insistence that that land front belonged to the people when he was mayor of Burlington.

Not to mention, Sanders won his first election it was essentially a fluke because 2 Democrats ran and he won by a handful of votes. In his last election for mayor, he won in a landslide - even though he had an opponent who ran on BOTH the Republican and Democratic lines.

He can run on the SAME message from a city that is great to live in -- and he gets credit for helping it be that way.