You have a point and it well taken.... but sorry, we don't have anybody better right now. lol. Do you know of any good Republican who can convert or we can loan for 8 years?

@St-Sinner well any of the current dems (except maybe bernie) would be equally legit as republicans. beto maybe?

@MarkiusMahamius Beto is good but voters don't see him as the one taking over as President. That is a big qualification too. There have been 3 weird exceptions of very bad VPs in my recent memory - Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence.

@St-Sinner a moderate republican (what was that governors name who ran in 2016?) could possibly swing it. but there are too many people who just believe that democrats are somehow more "on the peoples side" even if policy and performance shows otherwise.

@MarkiusMahamius

1. Are you talking about Martin O'Malley?
2. Yes, perceptions stick. People think Republicans are better for national defense which is not true.

The climate debate and issue is at the bottom of my list. People are dying today. children are starving of simple food and water today.

@St-Sinner Then you are an idiot.... Because unless major changes are made soon you the human race will be dead and buried and all the money you can print won't change that fact....

@Lizard_of_Ahaz
Absolutely No, climate is not the top issue. The world is fine today and will be fine tomorrow. I don't buy the hype sold to us.

1. The future of the planet is not in danger. The world will be ok and we will be here safe and sound
2. 'The world is ending' panic alarms have been sounded 7 times in the last 50 years, every time it was super super urgent. Al Gore predicted the world would freeze by 2014. The Sun is shining nicely outside today
3. Hundreds of dire predictions of the world calamity have been made in the last 50 years. Not one has been even close to reality
4. Every single time, various big name scientists were quoted
5. There is science, weird science and junk science. You can use science and scientists to justify about everything in the world. The Bible thumpers often quote the Bible as the proof that the Bible had had already predicted what science recently told us
6. Let's not forget what were sold in the name of science - plastics, DDT, harmful fertilizers, GMO, processed food, Opioids, exercise, paleo diet, vegan diet, avoid meat, Guatemala syphilis study, Tuskegee study, safe nuclear energy.... We all believed all and lived under all in some fashion. We now know most of them were harmful or not true.
7. Nobody denies that we should reduce environmental pollution such as air and water so that we can all breath clear air, drink clean water and be healthy
8. A lot has been accomplished since we knew about pollution - more alternative energies have been created, wind mills have started, electrical cars are made, ride share and public transportation are encourage and incentivized through logistical and tax planning. More is being done every day

There are many other dire day to day living issues that are killing human being every day.

About Bernie Sanders

1. There is no doubt that Bernie has a noble and passionate goal wanting something very good, fair for American people
2. However, when he declared himself socialist, he has self-destructed himself. Republicans have successfully defined him negatively. That has stuck and cannot be undone. America is a self declared capitalist country and Americans take pride in it.
3. I personally love his ideas, he has a good product but he has been a bad salesman who cannot make the sale
4. It gives me no pleasure but it is a fact. He looks old and hunchback. Nobody of the posture has been elected in the United States White House in the last 50 years. He did not even care to take a damn hair cut in the 3rd democratic Debate in Houston. He looked like a crazy uncle everyone wished did not speak at the wedding.
5. This is Bernie's second run and he has failed again to break out. Other candidates are running ahead of him. Candidates come from behind and overtake him. What does that tell about his candidacy?
6. Our nation is not as progressive as we want to be. Many democratic voters are moderates and independent count in elections. We are also a religious country. America will not elect a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Mormon, LGBT or a black president for another at least 40 years. Scores of polls have been conducted. There is no denying it. It is sad fact that we are not progressive and open minded like Sweden, Norway, Denmark etc. We have to work with what we have.
7. Do not forget a religious Mormon, a believer in Christ Mitt Romney was not elected. How will a Jewish candidate be elected?
8. Bernie's plan to fund all and everything free with taxes on the rich. It is an extreme idea. A normal good idea like infrastructure has not passed in Congress for the last 10 years. How will Bernie get his extreme ideas passed in Congress?
9. Bernie is calling for a revolution. A revolution happens when the people are ready and the situation is ripe. People are not ready for a revolution. We only have anger against Trump. That does not call for a revolution. Most people are happy with employer provided insurance according to polls. More over, people respond to a call for revolution by a charismatic leader. Do you think Bernie Sanders is a charismatic leader? I have seen the passion for Bernie only in his ultra progressive base. It is not translating to a wider, nationwide audience.

I am not against Bernie, not do I criticize him for the sake of rejecting him. If you are a passionate Bernie supporter, you are not going to like any of the negative points here but the concerns are valid. If I do not ask, someone else is asking..

@St-Sinner

Randall -

Just a short while ago, our campaign reached 1 million individual contributors — and we did it earlier than any campaign in history, including our own in 2016.

I am very proud of that fact. As one of those contributors, you should be too.

This is historic. We are also the only Democratic candidate with more individual contributions than Donald Trump, which shows we are the movement that can best defeat him.

Reaching this important milestone proves that one can run for president without racing all around the country begging millionaires and billionaires for campaign contributions at high-dollar fundraisers.

That number proves that when candidates for president speak honestly and authentically about the problems and the needs of working people and young people in this country, they will respond.

That is what we are doing on this campaign, and it is why we are going to win.

But winning this election will require more than just a record number of contributions — although that is certainly something we will need to continue to push for as we end this critical FEC fundraising quarter.

Winning this election will require people of all backgrounds and all communities talking to their friends and talking to strangers about the stakes in this election, and how our campaign is the one building a movement capable of not just defeating Donald Trump, but transforming our nation.

And all this week, supporters are joining Plan to Win events all across this country. So I am asking:

Can you attend a Plan to Win event in your area? Here’s the closest one to you:

Bernie 2020 Plan to Win Party!
Sunday, September 22
Event starts at 6:00 p.m.
1107 E Pennsylvania Ave
Redlands, CA 92374

@Lizard_of_Ahaz The message is good but the messenger is bad.

@St-Sinner The bad messenger here is you because you have religious faith that Warren can win... She can't possibly win until she stops selling out... Her one "success" was her "consumer protection agency" which has only managed to recover a small fraction of the money Wall Street has illegally stolen and fined a very few banks a small fraction of their profits for the frauds they commit. In short Wall Street considers it a "cost of doing business" and ignores it because they can take it off their taxes and nobody is being sent to prison....
She is basically a no issue candidate who has a "plan" for everything but those "plans" are basically business as usual which means to leave everything in the hands of the same people who have made a mess of not only the economy but our political system as well....

@Lizard_of_Ahaz
When we buy a product, we don't go into the salesman's history. We pay attention to the pitch. Bernie's pitch is now losing steam.

@St-Sinner I agree with some of these points. Most strongly point 9. "Most people are happy with employer provided insurance" This is what I see as one of the biggest problems. He wants to do away with it, right? That's TOO DRASTIC. We need an adjunct solution, not a completely new system.

Also point 2. Do not call yourself a socialist. It just won't fly. Rename the party. Democratic Socialism has a lot of the best ideas (not ALL); nomenclature doesn't work in the US.

@St-Sinner Calling bullshit on that because Warren is going for big money now just to stay in the race.... She has barely managed to stay in the debates just like Biden and as the number of required supporters goes up more candidates are forced to drop out. Either the upcoming debate will stop raising the limnit or the one after because those two and Harris would all be forced out of the running...

@Lizard_of_Ahaz
I want Warren to to win - with big money, with PAC money or with anything that is available. Because if you do not win, you take your principles to the grave., not to the White House.

U.S. politics, the Senate, House, White House and the whole game are not about principles. It is all about winning. The right leader can at least fight for us us once inside, although I am not sure. No current Washington insider who is running Bernie, Biden and Warren included have not spoken one word about these things that they all are so soaked in for decades.

Is Bernie talking about this?

1. Should Senators and Representatives have term limits? If yes, what are they going to do anything about it?
2. Should Senators, Representatives and White House staff have white glove health care coverage that American people are struggling to have?
3. When you do Government shutdown, why should you only stop government employees salaries and perks? Why not stop senators, representatives, their staff and White House staff's salaries and all perks too?
4. Is it time to change lifetime appointments of supreme court justices?
5. What are you going to do about stopping lobbying and the revolving door between public offices and lobbying?
6. Should these offices be independent of the President's control?
   a. CIA
   b. FBI
   c. SEC
   d. FCC
   e. FDA

@St-Sinner Distractions right?...
[opensecrets.org]

@Lizard_of_Ahaz
Evading, right?

@St-Sinner Yes you are evading.... Warren is losing traction because she has backtracked going full Hillary on many of the programs she first claimed to support. She has backed off on Medicare for All, Breaking up the big banks, the Green New Deal, Raising taxes on the 1% and several other programs Left leaning voters want. Her social media footprint is less than half what Sanders is even with the bot accounts she bought.
[qz.com]

@Lizard_of_Ahaz Warren, BIden or Bernie, I do not have passions for anybody. I am reading the news and analyzing it. Let us see who makes to the finish line. Let they be whatever they are. I was telling what my analysis of the development was. I see Bernie going down for the second time and in all likelihood Trump is getting reelected in 2020.

Sanders continuously talks about, has been talking about Universal Healthcare and has made it a signature issue of his candidacy. Since he is a candidate, he answers questions on other issues But have not seen his input on any other issues in his long years in the house or Senate. If you ask 10 people in the street and ask them what Bernie Sanders stands for?... Most will say Universal Health Care or Socialism.

@St-Sinner Ok, thank you. I somehow thing the socialist thing encompasses a lot though.

@Jolanta That too. Republicans have already managed to give a bad name to and taken away possible votes with their Socialist tag on democrats. The damage is done.

@St-Sinner That is a pity because if they actually knew what being a social democrat means they would soon change their tune.

@Jolanta Sanders could have said everything he said without agreeing..... Yes, it is socialism and Yes, I am a socialist. He could have said... No, it is called justice, equity and fairness.

@St-Sinner True, however I think he needs you to help him out there.

@Jolanta I would love to see the Utopian world Sanders is describing, I want to live in it now but America cannot digest it. We cannot get religion out of our system, cannot give equal rights to women... how can we give universal health care when the rich and privileged control our politics? Sanders is calling for a revolution but he cannot rise people to their feet. More than even half of the democratic voters (let alone the nation) do not give him enough poll numbers. He only has his base. Leaders who lead a society to a revolution are not like Sanders, they are much better.

@St-Sinner Well you know, free eduction and health care are in Social Democratic countries and even in Israel where US give so much money to instead of spending it on their own population.

@Jolanta I have no doubt that Sanders has a genuine and passionate concern. I don't think anybody disagrees with what he is trying to give. The product is good but the salesman is not making the sale.

@St-Sinner Yes but I don’t think it is completely his fault. The 1% would rather have anyone else but him in the driving seat.

@permanwilson Right on, you tell them. I am with you.

@permanwilson I am not the once who needs convincing. I am only repeating what the people and media are saying. Bernie is not making the sale even in the second time around. Maybe someone like Obama or Bill Clinton can sell his ideas in the future and we will name the Big Healthcare Bill in Bernie Sander's memory. We'll call it "Bernie Care."

@permanwilson
What am I going to do with this video? Bernie fans are crazy about him. I get it. But they do not understand he cannot be elected in the general.

@permanwilson
It applied to Mandela but it does not to Bernie. Bernie's election in the general is impossible and his defeat would be catastrophic not just to the Democratic party but to the cause of Democrats and progressives.

If Bernie believes in his cause and he and the followers feel so confident in his victory, why does he not run as an independent?

@jorj I would not vote on the basis of who anyone married.

Her sincerity, honesty, and "brains" are a refreshing oasis in a vast sea of mediocrity. Being married to a former president would be a hindrance