There seems to be a ground-swell of support for Sen. Sanders lately. I wonder if

[Cal33]

he may be persuaded to run for the presidency in 2012. If so, it may
may be the beginning of a THIRD MAJOR PARTY? In general I like the
idea of having three or more major parties in our country. I think it
would be much healthier for us.

But if the above were to happen in 2012, it would be at the expense
of the Democratic Party, I believe, and it would help the Repubs. to
win. And if the Repubs. should win in 2012, it's possible that
there would be no more future elections in this nation of ours.

The Repubs. under Bush tried to change our democracy into a plutocracy,
but didn't really succeed. The next time they might. Corporate America
would then be the winner -- and would be king! No other political
parties would be allowed. Period!

Timing is so important.

[ladjf]

1. I greatly admire Senator Sanders. But, I don't think that he or anyone

else could win in 2012 on a third party ticket. nt

[Cal33]

9. His winning would be nice, of course, but I was thinking more in terms of

the possibility of the beginnings of a viable third major party - even
if Sanders should lose his bid for the presidency. Perot tried, but the
movement died with him when he lost. He didn't have much to offer.

I think Sanders has a political philosophy that is more appealing, and
hence, more viable with a larger number of people. There is a better
chance for a viable third major party.

[ladjf]

16. It would be great if it could work out that way. Stay with your idea.

It might catch hold.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Not a chance.

Sanders probably couldn't have even been elected Senator anywhere other than Vermont, a small, politically quirky state. I like him, but there's no way he could be elected President (assuming he even wanted to do it), regardless of party affiliation. Also, the structure of our government, as set up in the Constitution, does not easily allow for viable third parties. The whole concept was that there would be two parties who would push against each other enough to keep some sort of balance. Right now, that does not seem to be working because the Republicans are intransigent and the Democrats are feckless. However, we would need a change to some sort of parliamentary system, as is common in Europe, for a third party to have any chance of success. I wish I knew what to do to fix the situation.

[Cal33]

10. It would take a very long time to change over to a parliamentary system,,

if it's possible at all. There is a thread right now showing that 19 DUers (or 63%)
would vote for a challenger in the primary, and would not vote for Obama in the
general elections! That's 2 out of 3 who would not vote for him. To me, this is
suicidal, considering that if the Repubs. win in 2012, we might have a United
Corporations of America instead of USA. It would be a dictatorship, and there will
be no more electoral voting at all.

I hope the above is just a reaction to the disappointing performance of the Obama
Administration of the past 2 years, and the rage at it. I hope the people will
regain their good senses in time. But I think Obama is not going to change, at least
not yet. So the rage at his administration will probably continue, if not grow.

To have a challenger to Obama would divide the Dem. Party, which would also be
helping the Repubs. We are in a fix, aren't we?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. It would not only take a long time, but a major constitutional amendment.

However, I think it's fair to say that, like it or not, DU does not accurately represent the Democratic Party as a whole, so I wouldn't worry too much about the results of a DU poll.

[Cal33]

15. Yes, a constitutional amendment would take a long time. And no,

the DU probably doesn't represent the Democratic Party as a whole. There are all
varieties of democrats.

[cali]

3. Nope. He would never, ever run

[OHdem10]

4. No, I love Bernie. But there are several reasons he will not

run.

He would never challenge the first African American President,
nor will any other Democrat.

Bernie did us the best favor in the world. For the first time
in at least 15 years has America heard what most Democrats
believe. How many times did dear Bernie say in his speech:
"We do not usually talk about these things." What are the
chances of getting a Centrist to say any one of the things
Bernie said. The Conservatives in our party rule. Just
the way it is.

Bernie would not want to be President. Just a good Senator
from Vermont who is an authentic human being and offers
inspiration to many of us.

[Obamanaut]

5. Simply the newest shiny object. The same thing was asked about

Alan Grayson and Al Franken - within the last few weeks.

Next week it will be someone shinier.

And there is this: He will be, in 2012, about the same age that John McCain was in 2008, and it was said that McCain was too old.

[SocialistLez]

7. The American people have a short memory span. NT

[fascisthunter]

6. kick and rec (nt)

[apocalypsehow]

8. Why, sure. Dennis could be his running mate. They'd sweep Cleveland & the Burlington metro. n/t.

[Cleita]

11. Bernie is too old, but we do have soon to be retired

Congressman Alan Grayson, who is also a DUer to consider for a run. Grayson and Sanders are very close in ideology.

[cali]

13. A one term Congressman who just lost his

race.

yep, that will work.

[Cleita]

14. He's not going away.

He lost in a district with Freeper flakes voting against their own best interests. If he gets himself up front on the lecture circuit and any media he can appear and talk on, he could be our Sarah Palin. She's not going away either, even though she helped lose the Presidential election and had to quit as Governor before she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She still could be running for President. There is no reason he can't.

Hey, I'll invite him to come and run in my congressional district here in California and he will win. Then by 2016 he will be ready for prime time.

[Cal33]

17. Please do invite him to run in your congressional district. I hope

he will win in 2016. It takes someone like him to shake out the conservatives and
reinvigorate the Democratic Party from within. It's high time someone did!

[demwing]

18. I don't thin Grayson is the right candidate

For President. VP? Sure thing. He is the attack dog every President needs.

[Cal33]

20. He has too little experience right now. That's true. But in the future?

[Recursion]

19. Where are all these liberals that would support them?

Are they hiding? Have they been dodging the voting booth and polling firms for decades? Have they been voting Republican out of a bizarre political calculus that tells them doing so will drive the Democratic party to the left?

The liberal fantasy that most of America is secretly liberal is as wrong as the conservative fantasy that most of America is secretly conservative.