The Democratic Safe House

I was wondering what my fellow Democrats thought of the Bernie Sanders 'Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward'

1. Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
2. Reversing Climate Change
3. Creating Worker Co-ops
4. Growing the Trade Union Movement
5. Raising the Minimum Wage
6. Pay Equity for Women Workers
7. Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
8. Making College Affordable for All
9. Taking on Wall Street
10. Health Care as a Right for All
11. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
12. Real Tax Reform

Agenda for America

I'm actually wondering how he intends to pay for all of this. I know how I'd like to see him do it, but just a an invitation to a casual conversation, what do you think of his agenda?

This 12 Step Agenda is fine. Obviously, the devil is in he details and in paying for the programs. For example, Sanders want much more than that health care is a right for all.

mark kennedy said:

I was wondering what my fellow Democrats thought of the Bernie Sanders 'Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward'

1. Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
2. Reversing Climate Change
3. Creating Worker Co-ops
4. Growing the Trade Union Movement
5. Raising the Minimum Wage
6. Pay Equity for Women Workers
7. Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
8. Making College Affordable for All
9. Taking on Wall Street
10. Health Care as a Right for All
11. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
12. Real Tax Reform

Agenda for America

I'm actually wondering how he intends to pay for all of this. I know how I'd like to see him do it, but just a an invitation to a casual conversation, what do you think of his agenda?

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What I think we could do is put the lock box back on Social Security and stop letting the Congress use it for their own pork belly piggy bank. Then you tie in health Care to Social Security and take the funds from Social Security and invest it in conservative money market accounts. The UK did it and it worked famously well. I think the laws should be changed that allow Medicaid and Insurance patients being charged three to four times what someone paying cash should stop. As anathema as it is in our political system, the health care system and pharmaceuticals need to be regulated just like Wall Street and the banks.

I don't know if I'll vote for Bernie again or not. I don't want to sound harsh or anything, but he is an old man. I would like to see a Democrat or even a strong Third Party who is much younger.

Shiloh Raven said:

I don't know if I'll vote for Bernie again or not. I don't want to sound harsh or anything, but he is an old man. I would like to see a Democrat or even a strong Third Party who is much younger.

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The much younger candidates don't share he and Warren's ideology. They might be old, but they've proved the consistency of their views, and haven't just swung like a weather vane with the prevailing winds. A Bernie/Liz ticket would give real change with insurance in case one of them passed away in office.

Or a Liz/Bernie ticket...

DaisyDay said:

Or a Liz/Bernie ticket...

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I'd be happy with either, I just think that as Bernie was the one who picked up the baton and carried the movement since 2015 when Liz wasn't willing to stand up and do it, he deserves the lead role.

Sanders has a solid chance to win the nomination, with almost no chance to win the general election.

Our party often moves far to the left after a defeat, and loses big.

A Trump re-election isn't my greatest fear, as bad as that would be. We could lose the House. It is not the leftists who brought us all the new seats in 2016. Many times it was Democratic moderates winning in conservative districts. Many of those seats would move back to the Republican side if a leftist is the nominee.

mark46 said:

Sanders has a solid chance to win the nomination, with almost no chance to win the general election.

Our party often moves far to the left after a defeat, and loses big.

A Trump re-election isn't my greatest fear, as bad as that would be. We could lose the House. It is not the leftists who brought us all the new seats in 2016. Many times it was Democratic moderates winning in conservative districts. Many of those seats would move back to the Republican side if a leftist is the nominee.

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He polls very well against Trump, and his policies are not radical left, they're just centre left by any reasonable estimate. Asking that people get paid fairly and everyone has access to healthcare isn't exactly the second coming of Comrade Stalin.

In the US, Sanders is NOT center-left. He isn't even a Democrat. He is far left on the continuum of US politicians.

Everyone, yes everyone, campaigns on the promise that everyone will have access to affordable healthcare. What Sanders promises is different for us. He promises an end to almost all private insurance (except perhaps some supplemental policies), and and end to insurance paid for by our employers. Also, his phase-in and financial plans are very fuzzy.

Getting paid "fairly" is just a number sticker slogan; that has little meaning unless there are actual proposals. Some want a much higher national minimum wage; some prefer to leave those decisions to the states. Our large states are larger than almost all countries. The people in Texas and California are not really keen to have their health decisions made in Washington.

Kentonio said:

He polls very well against Trump, and his policies are not radical left, they're just centre left by any reasonable estimate. Asking that people get paid fairly and everyone has access to healthcare isn't exactly the second coming of Comrade Stalin.

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mark46 said:

In the US, Sanders is NOT center-left. He isn't even a Democrat. He is far left on the continuum of US politicians.

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The Overton window has moved considerably to the right in the last 40 years. Even with that in mind, Sanders policies carry huge public support when polled. Either a majority of the US public are 'far left' or else he isn't. Which do you think is more likely?

mark46 said:

Everyone, yes everyone, campaigns on the promise that everyone will have access to affordable healthcare. What Sanders promises is different for us. He promises an end to almost all private insurance (except perhaps some supplemental policies), and and end to insurance paid for by our employers.

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So what? He's proposing common sense solutions that already work in numerous other first world countries. Why should your healthcare be tied to who you work for? That makes absolutely no logical sense whatsoever. But it should stay that way, because that's how a deeply broken system ended up as?

mark46 said:

Getting paid "fairly" is just a number sticker slogan; that has little meaning unless there are actual proposals. Some want a much higher national minimum wage; some prefer to leave those decisions to the states. Our large states are larger than almost all countries. The people in Texas and California are not really keen to have their health decisions made in Washington.

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The political establishment under massive insurance company and pharma industry lobbying have spent decades trying to talk the public away from universal healthcare. Despite that the number of people supporting it is growing year on year. It's also becoming very clear to increasing numbers of people that a system where you work a full time job and still have to rely on welfare isn't a system that works properly.

This place still here??? Wow, hi folks! Been a minute!

To me, Bernie is not even left of center. He's what center should be. In any European country he'd be a solid moderate. I support nearly everything he is proposing. Top of the order is healthcare - our system is terribly broken and needs to be fixed. He is on the right track by wanting to eliminate the private health insurance industry.

I can't see myself voting for any other Democrat other than Bernie or Tulsi. I flat out refuse to vote for any more "democrats" who take corporate money - they have absolutely no excuse whatsoever. None. Bernie has proven it's not necessary. The ones who do are doing so because that is who they want to serve - their donors, not me, not the people.

If Bernie is not the nominee then Trump will win. It will mean that the Democratic party did not learn the lesson they should have learned last time. And if Trump beats any of the corporatist Democrats I won't be too upset. I see little to no difference between Trump and these other slaves to big money - they are all the same.

Luckily, though, it seems that Bernie is easily the front runner and despite right-wing democrats wanting to put in a stooge of big pharma/oil/wall street/etc. there are more of us who want a Bernie presidency.

He's old, but I'm not an ageist so I wouldn't hold that against him any more than that he's Jewish. It's a shame our culture despises the elderly so much that we want to just throw people away at a certain age. In my culture, we don't do that. We honor our elders. I know many Asian cultures do that as well - the West would do well to learn from these cultures.

I'm looking forward to seeing the changes future President Sanders will bring to the nation to help the people of this nation. Bernie 2020!

Since this is a board regarding American politics, I don't see why this matters.

Since it seems important, I agree that in almost all European countries, Bernie would be considered a moderate.

ArmenianJohn said:

To me, Bernie is not even left of center. He's what center should be. In any European country he'd be a solid moderate. .

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RedDead1981 said:

This place still here??? Wow, hi folks! Been a minute!

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It's worse than before, but it still exists. Take note of rule changes.

mark46 said:

Sanders has a solid chance to win the nomination, with almost no chance to win the general election.

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Yeah, we were told back in 2004 that Kerry was the most electable - and he lost. We were assured that Clinton was the most qualified person to ever run for president - a shoe in! And she lost.
Buttigieg and Harris are the John Kerry and Hilary Clinton of this cycle - the only ones almost destined to lose to Trump(you can swap out Buttigieg for O'Rourke, or Harris for Klobachar/Gillibrand).

Howard Dean would have beaten Bush. And Sanders would have beaten Trump. Sanders is the Democrat's best option to beat Trump. American voters have consistently rejected Neoliberals - to the point they elected Donald Trump over the latest Neoliberal incarnation.

We do not need to run another corporate approved free trader running to the Right of Trump on war, jobs, and trade. We can beat them by offering an actual alternative - and that has to be from the Left.

I'd love to see Tulsi and Yang crest into viability, but for now Bernie is the only Neoliberal alternative.

Haramis said:

Yeah, we were told back in 2004 that Kerry was the most electable - and he lost. We were assured that Clinton was the most qualified person to ever run for president - a shoe in! And she lost.
Buttigieg and Harris are the John Kerry and Hilary Clinton of this cycle - the only ones almost destined to lose to Trump(you can swap out Buttigieg for O'Rourke, or Harris for Klobachar/Gillibrand).

Howard Dean would have beaten Bush. And Sanders would have beaten Trump. Sanders is the Democrat's best option to beat Trump. American voters have consistently rejected Neoliberals - to the point they elected Donald Trump over the latest Neoliberal incarnation.

We do not need to run another corporate approved free trader running to the Right of Trump on war, jobs, and trade. We can beat them by offering an actual alternative - and that has to be from the Left.

I'd love to see Tulsi and Yang crest into viability, but for now Bernie is the only Neoliberal alternative.

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Agreed, although Sanders or Warren are the two I can see bringing it home. Tulsi doesn't have the recognition or backing.

So why is it everybody keeps talking about the Democrats going far left (which isn't true for the most part) and how they can't win. Trump went far right and won.