At 83 years old, Sanders is not running for president again. But the stooped and silver-haired democratic socialist has emerged as a leader of the resistance to Donald Trump’s second presidency. In tearing into Trump’s seizure of power and warning about the consequences of firing tens of thousands of government workers, Sanders is bucking the wishes of those who want Democrats to focus on the price of eggs or “roll over and play dead.”

  • anon6789
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    176 hours ago

    Sanders, who was just elected to his fourth Senate term from Vermont, conceded that this is not the role he expected to play at this stage of his career.

    n fact, his team intentionally waited in the early weeks of the Trump presidency to launch what they are now calling his “stop oligarchy tour” to see if a high-profile Democrat would fill the leadership void. Instead, Sanders — who is not a Democrat himself despite allying with Senate Democrats and running twice for the party’s presidential nomination — has people wondering if he’s considering another White House bid.

    “This is like presidential campaign rallies, isn’t it? But I’m not running for president, and this is not a campaign,” Sanders told The Associated Press. “You gotta do what you gotta do. The country’s in trouble and I want to play my role.”

    We don’t deserve you Bernie, but I’m glad you are so stubborn in your faith in us still. So depressing seeing almost no one younger mirroring your efforts in office.

    The truth is that few, if any, Democratic leaders have the capacity to draw such crowds on short notice or organize the related logistics on a national scale. The party’s nascent class of 2028 presidential prospects, a group that includes California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, have limited national profiles and they have been reluctant to step too far into the national spotlight so far.

    These are the best we’ve got? Given these choices, I’m going to hold out to see what Walz decides to do in the next few months…

    (Dem senator Chris) Murphy acknowledged that Sanders still has plenty of detractors within the Democratic Party who view him and his progressive policy ideas — replacing private and job-based health insurance with a government-funded “Medicare for All” plan, free public college, and the “Green New Deal” on climate policy — as too radical.

    Anyone center to left seems to acknowledge that healthcare and the environment are seriously huge problems bordering on the catastrophic. But nobody is willing to entertain the idea that maybe what we’re doing, ignoring better action that has been called for like for a century now and publicly funding these things? How many decades do we need to watch reform efforts fail before we’re willing to take control and give up on a rigged market economy? Some things like health and the environment need to be fixed, even if it isn’t immediately profitable. That is also ignoring things like healthcare savings and green energy money being immediately profitable anyway…

    Last month, veteran political strategist James Carville penned an opinion piece calling for Democrats to “roll over and play dead,” betting that Trump and his party would ultimately suffer a political backlash from voters for going too far.

    You sir, need a job far away from liberal politics…

    • @glimse
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      64 hours ago

      Where the fuck is AOC on that list of possible 2028 nominees, you shitbags? She’s not perfect but she is THE BEST candidate right now (in my opinion).

      I really hope Bernie pushes for her. I don’t want another geriatric president and it’s not like the Democrats would give him a chance anyway. But AOC is a Democrat for some reason

      • @SoftestSapphic
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        12 hours ago

        So why is she not doing this?

        I like her too but her posting on Bluesky isn’t helpful

        • anon6789
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          31 hour ago

          From the article:

          “You look around — who else is doing it? No one,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said of Sanders’ efforts. “My hope is that the dam will break in terms of Democrats going on the offense … We need to take the argument directly to the people.”

          Ocasio-Cortez, a longtime Sanders ally, said she would join him on the road in the coming weeks. She’s also planning solo appearances in Republican-held congressional districts in Pennsylvania and New York — and perhaps others in places where Republicans have declined to hold in-person town halls where they might face protests.

          “It’s not about whether Bernie should or shouldn’t be doing this. It’s about that we all should,” she said. “But he is unique in this country, and so long as we are blessed to have that capacity on our side, I think we should be thankful for it.”

      • anon6789
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        54 hours ago

        Two of my best friends are a gay couple. They tend to fall in the territory of third way through enlightened centrists, and they hate AOC and I can never pin down why. The Tlaib dislike is strong too, yet they like Sanders. I’m not sure why the squad members get flack that Sanders doesn’t. Most other people outside of the new/politics subs I never hear mention AOC or the other further left folk. Mainstream Dem suppression of the further left seems much more effective than that against the Republicans. 😒

        • @Seleni
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          111 minutes ago

          Because she’s a woman. And one with skin tone darker than printer paper, no less. Can’t have that! Why, who knows what such an emotional, dramatic, childish creature in the White House might do?

          Sadly even today most people think of women as a more emotional, less rational and intelligent subspecies. The republicans are just the only ones saying it out loud (so far) is all.

        • @glimse
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          33 hours ago

          If I had to guess, it’s that they’re both devout - and Muslim to boot. Personally I have trouble really warming up to a candidate when they wear their religion on their sleeve (or their head like in Omar’s case) and I imagine I’m not alone.

          The other part is definitely messaging. AOC speaks both to politicians AND the public. It seems like the rest of the squad focuses on politicians. I was kind of disappointed with Tlaib during the ineffective “undecided” protests. From the outside we all know it wouldn’t do anything so it just kind of felt like posturing.

          I wouldn’t be too upset if AOC ran with one of them as VP but I’d really like to see a different pick. It feels gross to say but I hope it’s a man - not that I care about the gender of any politician but unfortunately a lot of other voters do.

          • anon6789
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            32 hours ago

            I do like the way AOC is assertive in making sure she is heard. I feel it’s the sane equivalent of what MTG tries to accomplish. I don’t know much about AOC’s district, but I hear from her more than I hear from any of my local reps most of the time, and I feel she’s working for people like me better than my local people too. Like Sanders, I don’t know how much she technically achieves, but I’m always glad to know she’s there and should have a long career ahead of her. After seeing all the presidents in my lifetime (Reagan onward), I don’t worry about her “qualifications” to be president after seeing how unpresidential most of these typically experienced candidates were. Even something like perhaps a Walz/Cortez thing to ease everyone into the idea I could pleasantly accept.

            I don’t personally really know anything about Islam, but I can’t see it being much more offensive than any other organized religion. My lifelong experience with US Christians hasn’t won me over to that, but it doesn’t bother me if people are religious or not, especially for public office. I just care about their character and how they use the power given to them by us to serve us. Something like race, religion, or sexuality, etc shouldn’t have any bearing on anything they do. Elected people should maximize benefits for all the citizens they represent.

            That is what I hate about this current R talk about mandates. I was always taught we have a representative democracy, not a direct democracy, for the principal that it should be able to prevent a large group of people from tyrany of the majority. I feel much of that has been surrendered these last few decades as powers have been consolidated, mainly in the Executive. Just because the biggest group of voters wants something does not make that a just cause. All citizens should be guaranteed equal protections and to feel represented.

            • @glimse
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              22 hours ago

              Great comparison to MTG, by the way! Never thought I’d put her in the same camp as AOC but you’re right - they both demand to be heard.

              • anon6789
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                11 hour ago

                Hey, you don’t have to be doing good to be good at your job. 😜

                I’ve always admired Mitch McConnell’s ability to rally his people and to achieve his goals. He’s a huge POS for using that for evil and gloating about it, but was he ever effective at it. If the progressives had someone like that, it would be something to see. I sometimes fear the 2 things are mutually exclusive like the old “the best people for the job would never take the job” saying.

            • @glimse
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              22 hours ago

              Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-Islam. I just don’t care for organized religion period so when it’s a significant part of a candidate’s life, it’s usually worse than neutral for me. I want religion far away from government no matter what kind it is.

              • anon6789
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                11 hour ago

                I mean, mysticism aside, I think most people agree with most actual principles of major religions. Much of it boils down to “be nice to people.”

                The real gripe for most seems to be the hypocrisy of a large swath of supposed religious people. In ideal circumstance, religion has probably always seemed like a form of therapy before psychology was a thing. I feel it’s good for that. It’s community involvement. It lets you look at social and personal issues. It can be like a guidance counselor for making decisions. It can help resolve conflict. There is much potential for good from something like church and religion.

                It’s as fallible as any other institution though, and much like we’re seeing with government, the groups pushing forgiveness, compromise, and egality tend to get steamrolled by those who just don’t give a damn.

                So while I don’t hold any personal beliefs, I find a person’s overall character doesn’t vary if they’re religious or not. For the bad people, religion is just another means to an end, and it won’t be the only avenue they’re trying to exploit.

          • lost_faith
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            fedilink
            12 hours ago

            when they wear their religion on their sleeve (or their head like in Omar’s case)

            Or neck ✝️

            • @glimse
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              12 hours ago

              I’m talking about Tlaib and Omar

                • @glimse
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                  150 minutes ago

                  I see now that I misread a sentence in the comment I replied to. I thought OC was asking why the rest of the squad (as in “besides AOC”) are dismissed