Bernie Sanders

[Frazzled Educator]

I absolutely love Bernie Sanders. This is a Congressman (and soon to be US Senator) that the Democratic Party should have all the time. . .however, he is an independent. Do you think maybe it's time for Bernie to ally with the Democrats since this time is so important. I know he's an independent and vote with the Democrats more than the Democrats vote with the Democrats. But you do you think that maybe, Bernie should realign to Democrat, so it will be a 54 - 46 majority, instead of a 53 - 46 - 1 majority?

The more Ds I see, the happier I am.

[KharmaTrain]

1. What's It Matter?

I love Bernie as well. He'll be a great Senator in the Wellstone mold. I don't know if he's calling himself a Socialist these days, but I appreciate his Independence and have no concerns on where his vote will be when things count. Also, he's replacing an Independent...Jeffords...who really had courage to bolt the Repugnicans and has been voting and caucusing with the Democrats ever since. Meanwhile, we still let Liebermann sit in the caucus...what's the deal with that? Might as well just let Rove sit there instead.

[Selatius]

2. Bernie will caucus with the Dems; it's irrelevant

One other advantage he gains is that if the Democratic Party caves in on an issue, he will be able to escape the blame, so the next time he does run for re-election, he is not automatically made to carry the baggage that comes with being a Democrat who "flip-flopped" or "stands for nothing" on the issues.

He will serve as the guidepost of leftism in the Senate. If the Democratic Party moves further to the right, then the best way to measure that will be to compare where the Party stands to where Sanders stands.

Personally, I think we need more independents in the system. The best way to allow that to happen is to institute a public financing mechanism. If you can qualify for federal funding and choose to forego all private contributions, then I believe you should be subsidized by taxpayer dollars as long as you abide by spending guidelines, and if you are outspent by your opponents, then you should be given more funds to make up the difference.