Gallop: Americans Maintain a Positive View of Bernie Sanders

[CentralMass]

https://news.gallup.com/poll/243539/americans-maintain-positive-view-bernie-sanders.aspx
"Nearly four in five Democrats have a positive view of Sanders"
"Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, is most popular among Democrats (78%), as would be expected, but a majority of independents (54%) also view him favorably. Meanwhile, more than twice as many Republicans view him unfavorably (69%) as favorably (26%).

Sanders' ratings are mixed among whites, with nearly half viewing him favorably and half unfavorably. But, consistent with their more Democratic political orientation, nearly two in three nonwhites (64%) have a positive view of Sanders"

[RDANGELO]

1. Authenticity

That's why people like him.

[calimary]

2. Those who see it that way do indeed.

[BlueMTexpat]

11. I see what

you did there!

[Cha]

14. Ikr..

[arthritisR_US]

7. And where are his tax return?! He's so very authentic just like IQ45.

[Apollyonus]

56. +1000 nt

[George II]

27. Specifics?

[Adrahil]

41. Well, he is an authentic narcissist!

Most dangerous place to be is between Bernie and a TV camera!

[yewberry]

3. And he should continue to do what he does best

Being the Independent US Senator from Vermont. He is excellent at that and I applaud him for bringing good ideas to the table.

[David__77]

4. This makes sense to me.

...

[mr_liberal]

5. Until he was attacked in a general election

then his poll #s would tank and he'd lose in a landslide.

[Quixote1818]

6. Except most Americans agree with his stances.

Everyone said Trump would lose in a landslide too.

[George II]

26. trump lost by 3.5 million votes.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

77. More than 72 million people voted that they did not want Fat Donnie to be president.

Hillary got about 3 million more votes than the Orange One. Combined, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, and other third party candidates received more than 7 million votes. Wikipedia

[Cha]

8. BS just isn't the best candidate.. we

have excellent qualified Dems who are quite capable of uniting the Democratic Party.

[BlueMTexpat]

12. + a million or so! eom

[smirkymonkey]

19. +1000

[cwydro]

23. This.

+1000.

[Apollyonus]

60. +1000 very well put nt

[redstateblues]

80. Sorry to say it but Bernie is a divider

[Cha]

82. Most definitely.

[honest.abe]

9. Most see Sanders as a decent guy.. so what?

He wont be our nominee.

[ananda]

10. As they should.

Sanders speaks to a good, human agenda.

[James48]

13. Great candidate.

My Republican friend said he thought highly of Bernie, too.

I think Bernie has a real shot if he runs again.

[Takket]

15. Let's not misconstrue having a positive view

With supporting as a candidate. I have a positive view of Sanders but will not support him in the primary.

[Kentonio]

16. He has my full support.

He'll kick Trump's ass in 2020.

[Doodley]

17. IMO, he would split Democratic voters and let Trump win again.

[empedocles]

30. Split 'the essential middle' and let even trump win again?

[Stellar]

18. I love Bernie!

Everywhere I would read that Bernie could not get the minority vote, I'm glad to see that it's not true.

[Gothmog]

34. sanders will not be the party's nominee

Many real democrats know that sanders helped to elect trump. We have long memories. I saw how little sanders did for Clinton. For example in sanders’ so-called endorsement speech, sanders spent most of the time talking about himself. That was a horrible speech by sanders if his goal was to help Clinton.

I was a delegate to the TDemocratic convention in 2008. Hillary Clinton dropped our before the state convention and it was a great unifying event. Sanders played games and waited until long after the Texas Democratic convention to endorse Clinton in a speech where sanders mainly talked about himself. The Texas state convention was not unifying due to sanders stunt. The difference between the two conventions was amazing

Again, many Democrats know that sanders did little to help Clinton win and in fact took many actions designed to hurt the party and help trump. I doubt that sanders will comply with the new DNC rule. That would involve sanders caring about the Democratic Party and agreeing to stop taking actions designed to hurt the party. I doubt that sanders will do this

If sanders tries to comply with the rule he will be grilled in any debate about his past actions that were designed to hurt the party. Again, many Democrats have long memories and will not forget or forgive sanders past efforts to hurt the party

BTW, the John Lewis stunt will make a great TV ad and sanders already has little or no support in a key base of the party. I look forward to such ad.

[Apollyonus]

61. +1000 very well put nt

[radius777]

84. Agree, Sanders won't get the kid glove

treatment he got last time, which was mild compared to what the Hillary/Obama/Dem 'machine' could've hit him with.

Sure, he also could've hit her with the typical anti-Clinton stuff, but that would've backfired on him with the Dem base.

Last time Sanders basically came out of nowhere. He was a folk hero amongst the white left, many of whom resented 'identity politics' (as represented by Hillary/Obama), and who could project their hopes onto the blank slate Sanders represented.

This time that slate will be filled in thoroughly by tough (but fair and true) oppo research, and he has an entire field to contend with.

[Cha]

20. Barbara Lee endorsed Kamala!

Link to tweet

[SamKnause]

21. I love Bernie !!!

[Voltaire2]

22. Oddly I have repeatedly heard the opposite

that Sanders only has support from white male “bros”, and that people of color hate him.

[Squinch]

24. LOL! You guys are so cute. You're like The Little Engine That Could. You never give up.

I don't dislike Bernie. That's a far cry from wanting to elect him.

[CentralMass]

54. In Realclearpolitics latest tracking poll he is 2nd only to Biden

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html#polls

[Apollyonus]

62. lulz

[Squinch]

64. Gosh! That clinches it!

You think you can, you think you can!

[CentralMass]

65. I cited a tracking poll, you cite your opinion.

[Squinch]

66. You're right! It's inevitable! Totally!

[CentralMass]

69. Its envitable the attacks on Sanders will continue here and that I will watch the race as it happens

[Squinch]

73. You're always right! No question! He has already won! And I'm attacking him by saying that!

[George II]

25. That's a four month old poll, taken prior to any of our Democratic candidates.....

...announcing their runs.

[CentralMass]

57. He is traling only Biden in the latest Democratic primary tracking polls.

[Blue_true]

67. Can you post that poll. The last one I saw had him behind Biden and Harris. nt

[calguy]

28. I have a positive view of Bernie too

I just don't want to see him run for president. Love him as a Senator, hate him as a candidate.

[Johnny2X2X]

29. He will run as a Dem

If he wins the Dem nomination, will all the Dems here and elsewhere let bygones be bygones and unite around him?

I would. Bernie has fantastic ideas for this country and he can beat Trump.

[LongtimeAZDem]

32. The real question is: if he loses, will his supporters rally around the Democratic candidate?

[George II]

43. Bazinga!

[madville]

49. Depends how bad he is attacked probably

If the other Democrats or their surrogates rip him to shreds in the primary and he loses, it will probably run a significant portion of them off from the general election.

[LongtimeAZDem]

50. In other words, if they are too petulant for national politics, they will let Trump win for spite

because those are the options.

Sadly, I agree; that is why I think it's a bad idea for him to run.

[Blue_true]

70. The first debate is going to be informative.

If Bernie starts out attacking democrats on stage with him with the unspoken implication that they are corrupt, don't bet on him helping the party win once he loses the nomination.

[LongtimeAZDem]

75. I'm already certain he won't

[Blue_Tires]

31. I don't even have that big a beef against Sanders

it's his fanatical cult that has repeatedly gotten under my skin

[Gothmog]

33. sanders will have to join the party under the new rules

Under the old rules, there was never a requirement for sanders to join the party https://medium.com/@blairdurkee/scorched-earth-politics-bernie-sanders-and-the-dishonest-campaign-that-gave-us-trump-eb0bc82ab2c1

When rumors of his candidacy began to spread in early 2015, some discussion took place over whether Sanders could even run as a Democrat. As it turned out, there was no rule that required Democratic candidates to be registered with the party. He could run as a Democrat and maintain his affiliation as an Independent at the same time. But it wasn’t the rules that made his decision a curiosity. It was his long and well-documented history of spurning and castigating the Democratic Party. He had run against Democrats in his home state of Vermont and very openly expressed his disgust with the party, going so far as to call it “ideologically bankrupt.” He often affirmed his belief that “you don’t change the system from within the Democratic Party” and, in 1990, even declared that it would be “hypocritical” for him to run as a Democrat based on the things he had said.

The new DNC rules hopefully will fix this issue. The new DNC rule will force sanders to actually join the party and force sanders to campaign as a member of the party

Link to tweet

In addition, new ballot access laws will require sanders to release five or ten years of tax returns.

[Joe941]

35. Bernie is the clear front runner for 2020.

[FrankBooth]

68. No he's not

Biden is.

[Blue_true]

71. Biden and Harris are ahead of him.

Harris recently pushed him into third. The only person that has consistently been first is Biden.

[redstateblues]

81. Not in any polls

[ZeroSomeBrains]

36. Whether Bernie runs or not he is one of the most popular politicians in America

His support among POC are pretty high. If he runs I will give his candidacy a chance and hear him out. It's gonna be a huge stage if everyone stays in once the debates start.

[Paladin]

37. I might like Bernie better if he was an actual Democrat.....

....but probably not. We have a number of better Democratic candidates this time around. It would be stupid to give Bernie another chance---why do trump that kind of favor?

[Baltimike]

39. this. nt

[Baltimike]

38. I have a positive view of Bernie, but when did he become a Democrat again?

because he is not a Democrat right now, whether we like it or not

[PubliusEnigma]

40. Wait until Bernie hands Trump a second term and repoll.

[Historic NY]

42. I still want to see his tax returns too....

I Jane finally finishes them.

[Codeine]

44. Hey, I like him too,

I just don’t want him as our candidate. The pushback he gets here is due almost entirely to the behavior of his ‘bros in the last go-round.

[lapucelle]

45. That poll was conducted before the allegations of sexual violence and a culture of misogyny

within BS's campaign became public. It was also conducted before he missed the Russia sanctions vote.

[LongtimeAZDem]

46. +1

[George II]

47. It was conducted before the Sanders Institute Gathering in late November, which drew....

....strong criticism by Vermont AA groups because it didn't include any local AA representation. Plus, it was before any of the other candidates made their formal announcements.

Feeling "positive" about a candidate is one thing, being a preferred candidate is something much deeper.

[LongtimeAZDem]

48. Two months after that poll, 41% of Democrats said he shouldn't run, and only 36%

were "excited" by him, compared to 59% for Biden.

[CentralMass]

55. He is polling 2nd in the latest Democratic Primary polls.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html#polls

[Blue_true]

72. Harris has closed the gap on him. She is the mover. nt

[lynintenn]

51. I am not overly impressed by any of the candidates so far.

It's about who can win in 2020 not who is the most liked. I voted for Hilary over Obama in the primary in 2008 but loved and supported Obama after she lost. We need fresh young faces. People who can get young people excited.

[Gothmog]

52. Has sanders released his tax returns yet?

[Apollyonus]

63. No. I am waiting since 2016. nt

[Gothmog]

78. Will sanders skip Maryland?

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Apollyonus]

79. I don't think he will. n/t

[QC]

53. FAKE NEWS!11!!! FAKE NEWS!1!!1!111

[brooklynite]

58. Having a favorable view of someone says nothing as to whether you want them as President.

[Apollyonus]

59. A positive view

is extremely different from a vote.

I have a positive view of Martin O'Malley ... but I didn't vote for him.

[nini]

74. Vetting will be fun

Because he will be vetted this time.

[Gothmog]

76. I am look forward to vetting

[Trumpocalypse]

83. So PY Barnum was right

You can fool most of the people.

[peggysue2]

85. Ahhh . . .

An authentic spoiler.

This ain't 2016. But knock yourself out, Senator Sanders. We know who you are.