Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders

[bruce]

I can't post the link, but from his wiki page


Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist, but because he does not belong to a formal political party he appears as an independent on the ballot. Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party and is counted as a Democrat for the purposes of committee assignments. He was the only independent member of the House during much of his service there and is one of two independent Senators in the 110th Congress, along with Joe Lieberman. Sanders is the first self-described democratic socialist to be elected to the U.S. Senate

Is there a consensus opinion among leftists toward Sen. Sanders? From briefly scanning his homepage for his general beliefs, he doesn't seem to be that much different from other democrats. But he gladly accepts the label of 'socialist' while all others do not.

Do leftists view his time in office as a positive or a negative? I know there isn't some objective view, just trying to get a feel for how he's perceived throughout different groups of left thought.

[Sugar Hill Kevis]

I think Sanders' election to the senate is a massive token to leftism in US; rather than being a stepping stone to social change, it shows that (at least in vermont) there is a small shift away from McCarthyist prejudices... insofar as that someone describing themselves as a socialist can be elected rather than blacklisted... Although, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for socialism to come to Vermont

Sanders' tends to hold up Finland as being a bastion of egalitarianism... I'd assume this reflects at some degree a cynicism Sanders holds against the US public in terms of what would be marketable to them. However, ultimately it puts Sanders at odds with even the reformists on this board...

Though, the brother's got balls to call himself a socialist in US politics

[ZeroNowhere]

He's not a socialist, as far as I can see. However, just because the word 'socialism' is now acceptable, it's not because people accept socialism, it's because they think that it refers to welfare capitalism or something.

[chegitz guevara]

The consensus among socialists seems to be the he isn't a socialist. The consensus among everyone else is that he is. As far as I'm concerned, he's not a bad Senator, but he's no socialist.

[KurtFF8]

He uses the word socialist just as many in the main steam use it today: "Social Democrat"

He certainly has sympathies towards socialism but is also ready to accept compromise and be reformist.

He's certainly probably the most leftist member of the US congress though.

[Revy]

He is effectively a Democrat. He probably was socialist decades ago, if I recall correctly. He drifted to the right as time passed. If you actually search his site with the word socialist, you'll see lots of news articles linked to about him, but nothing from him actually talking about being a socialist. I think it was Hillary Clinton in 2006 who said "He's really a liberal, not different from us" or something of that nature.

I started a blog about it, here (http://berniesanderssucks.wordpress.com).

[bruce]

So it seems he's more of a capitalist democrat than a socialist, but relative to his peers he tends more left. I guess that isn't surprising, just odd he would be singled out. As someone mentioned, it's probably something he was labeled with in the past and it stuck.

What would be your reaction towards an elected member of the state that shared more of your beliefs? Would it be a positive or negative if, for example, B.Sanders openly discussed various ideas of revolution amongst his peers and openly in public? Of course, assuming he had been elected, these ideas would already be considered somewhat relevant. My question is more concerning the effect of having leftist beliefs spread vertically rather than laterally, if that makes sense.:confused:

[Philosophical Materialist]

He's a social democrat, a position which is considered to be 'socialist' by the US media and US political commentators.