Sanders: Time for Iowa to make history

[Omaha Steve]

Source: The Gazette

James Q. Lynch

CEDAR RAPIDS — She’s wrong about gun control, paid family medical leave and a host of other issues, and her proposals to rein in big banks and Wall Street don’t go far enough, but Bernie Sanders will concede Hillary Clinton is right about one thing: Electability matters.

“The question is,” he said in Cedar Rapids on Friday night, “who is the stronger candidate?”

When the crowd of 1,600, according to the Sanders campaign, began chanting his name, he replied: “Not me. Us.”

That’s because, the Vermont independent who is seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination said, his is a “people’s campaign of the people, by the people and for the people, and that’s why we’re going to win this election.”

FULL story at link.


Presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) campaigns at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids on Friday, January 8, 2016. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/sanders-time-for-iowa-to-make-history-20160108

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Donate to DU for Bernie at Act Blue here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

[FarPoint]

1. I appreciate Bernie Sanders...

But...he won't be our Democratic Nominee. I also appreciate the element of hope within the Democratic Party.

[padfun]

2. Hope that will..

unfortunately turn into more down ticket losses if Bernie isn't the Dem candidate,

[FarPoint]

3. The Democratic Party will unite when Hillary gets the Nomination in Philadelphia.

There is no need to feel anxious... Hillary supporters came in to support Obama after the 2008 Convention and the Dean supporters also united with Kerry after that Convention.... We do all detest the GOP/ Teabaggerish types...a common thread you see.

[padfun]

4. I agree but..

that's not the reason. Hillary will still win the general, but those young people, and they are many, will once again, not turn out. I don't like it any more than you but it is there. Sanders is a GOTV all by himself. And that is our only hope to change the House around. I think the Dems take the Senate regardless who is the candidate.

I am in my sixties and my daughter passed away. So I don't have much skin in the game anymore. I will still vote for Dems for the rest of my life, but I not longer have the enthusiasm I once did. And my retirement is decent so I shouldn't have to worry anymore unless a complete collapse happens. So I will help when I can, but I am no longer on the front lines.

[Zen Democrat]

5. The Democrats will unite WHOEVER is nominated.

But don't get ahead of yourself on Hillary. This just out today: Fox News Poll: Sanders up by 13 points in New Hampshire Bernie has 50% and Hillary has 37%. It's still an open contest and has many miles to go, because both camps are flush with money. That Fox poll has Bernie and The Don winning by a large margin in their respective primaries.

I'll vote for ANY Democrat ..... even a Yellow Dog.

[FarPoint]

13. I recognize your enthusiasm..

I just never take any credence with anything posted by Fox.

[redstateblues]

9. All the down ballot Socialists?

[ChiTownDenny]

16. How silly!

Bernie is doing zero, zilch, nada to assist with down ticket races while Hillary is raising tens of millions for down ticket races.

[JDPriestly]

17. This campaign will turn on the issues, not on how much money a candidate has.

The party lines are pretty clearly drawn on the issues already.

So it is going to be a question of which party gets its voters most excited about voting. Bernie is the candidate to do that.

Hillary has so many potential "scandals" -- a lot of them phony but nevertheless very damaging -- that nominating her is downright foolish.

The Republicans have been preparing for a Hillary run for almost eight years now. They have their rumor mills, their talk-show radio hosts all set to destroy a Hillary candidacy. No amount of money is going to be able to shut down the whispers and the innuendos.

Bernie on the other hand has strong stands on the issues, popular ones, and is less vulnerable to Republican campaign and character assassination techniques.

I think Bernie should be our candidate, that he can win and that he will win.

Bernie is a stronger, much stronger, candidate that Hillary.

Bernie beats Hillary on the emotional level as well as on the intellectual level. He's just the best candidate we have had for probably my lifetime -- and that is a long time.

[ChiTownDenny]

21. LOL!

I hope you feel better now, having gotten all that off your chest. Personally, I like to stick to facts. No offense intended.

[Agony]

22. a KICK and a REC for your post. Thanks for sticking to the facts of the matter!

it mirrors what I hear as I talk to Democrats out in the field.

[libdem4life]

25. No, it's not Silly. He is doing what no one else can do...reach out to the little $10 a month

donors like me. I've always voted Democratic, but many on all 3 sides have given up (R, D, and I)...just in case the number 3 might be questioned.

Guess who, under your plan, these down-ticket minions will Owe Same theme, same-old same-old. Ms. Gold Sacks donors and her donees ... she's got it down pat, I'd say.

And you're right, my $10 a month donation isn't much, but I have one thing other things to contribute...my enthusiasm about taking this country in a different direction and talking to others.

And don't think for one moment, even though I always vote Democratic, there aren't significant people who just gave up...for the reason I state in this paragraph.

Who the hell needs my hard-earned $10 a month when they have the financial behemoth referred to in the first paragraph, plus all the other wealthy eager beaver donors...for whatever the going price is, footing the bills.

Well, it's Bernie for me and mine and I think a surprising amount of "where the heck did these guys come from?" on behalf of the MSM and establishment politicos...and no, it's not silly or laughing matter.

It's dead serious...do we head further into Oligarchy, or begin the long hard chore of turning the USS We, the People around.

[trillion]

18. I wonder how many dems like me won't vote for hillary. I mean do we need someone

that's pro TPP and Wallstreet and who will support war?

I suspect I'm not the only one seriously considering staying home if it isn't Bernie.

[FarPoint]

20. I truly believe the Democratic voters will indeed vote for Hillary.

I've heard this same cry before with each Presidential Primary.... Essentially, that argument has no power or credence. Keeping it simple... We detest republicans.

[coyote]

27. I won't vote for her.

Why? I don't want somebody who I feel works actively against me. I will either stay home or write someone in.

[seafan]

6. Sanders, Cedar Rapids: People will look back and say, ‘It began in Iowa, the political revolution!’

The Gazette, January 9, 2016

.....

Sanders acknowledged that he was virtually unknown in Iowa when he began campaigning here and was not given much of a chance to compete for the nomination.

The professional political class, he joked, described him as a “nice guy, combs his hair very nicely, a GQ dresser,” but said he would never be president because he didn’t have a super PAC and big money behind them.

However, more than 450,000 people, including 35,000 in Iowa, have attended his campaign events and Sanders has received more contributions than any presidential candidate in history with the average contribution being $27.

That makes him confident he will win the Feb. 1 Iowa precinct caucuses.

“I think the word has gone out and people now understand that given the enormous problems facing this country, it is just too late for the same old, same old type of politics and economics,” he said.

So on Feb. 1 when the eyes of the nation and world are on Iowa, Sanders said the people of Iowa can play a historical role, “a role that people for years will look back on and say, ‘It began in Iowa, the political revolution.’

“Let’s make history,” Sanders said. “Let’s make a political revolution.”

The tide is turning, Omaha Steve!

[Omaha Steve]

7. Bernie and OS in Iowa together last June

I'm standing to his left in a yellow AFSCME shirt.

[seafan]

15. Great pic, Omaha Steve! Love the on-the-ground reporting. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

8. I loved this part.

When the crowd of 1,600, according to the Sanders campaign, began chanting his name, he replied: “Not me. Us.”

Thanks for the thread, Omaha Steve.

[jwirr]

10. And there is the key to changing America.

[Plucketeer]

12. I loved that comment too.

It would be nice if he could convince attendees to start chanting: "The People" or "My guy" or "Our Guy" or some such thing to TIE themselves TO Bernie. Bernie represents the last chance of my waning years to see this country snatched from the jaws of greed and ruin. Electing Bernie will constitute MUCH MORE of a "milestone" than seating a black or a female president EVER will. Not an illusion of change - a REVOLUTION.

[SoapBox]

11. Go Bernie Go!

Honest...consistent...authentic...common sense...mainstream...for the 99% of America.

Bernie 2016!

[mountain grammy]

14. Do it, Iowa Dems. Vote for Sanders!

[trillion]

19. I just donated but I really didn't like that site.

I mean demanding to know what we do and where we work.

Does anyone know if that site is actually legit?

[Agony]

23. Federal Election Commission regulations - so yes the site is legit

Under the Act and FEC regulations, political committees must report the name, address, occupation and employer of any individual who contributes more than $200 in a calendar year (or in an election cycle, in the case of an authorized committee) (11 CFR 104.3(a)(4)). Committees must make their “best efforts” to obtain and report this information.
To satisfy the "best efforts" requirement, a political committee must include a statement on its solicitations explaining that it is required to make its best efforts to obtain and report contributor information. This statement is referred to as the "best efforts" notification; two examples are listed below:
Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year, or
To comply with Federal law, we must use our best efforts to obtain, maintain, and submit the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 per calendar year.

You are not the only one who feels like this reporting is overreach…

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/04/some-campaign-donors-creatively/

Since 2002, more than 50 individuals — who combined to give more than $29,500 to federal candidates and political committees — echoed a refrain of “none of your business” when prompted to provide information about their employees and occupations, according to an analysis of campaign finance filings by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Cheers!

[trillion]

24. Wow, I wrote in "none of your f-ing business" but spelled out f-ing for them.

Only 50? What a sad state America is in.

[Faux pas]

26. Kickin'