Jacksonville for Bernie Sanders

[UNFurbanist]

There was a great meeting today at the Zodiac bar and grill in downtown to kick off the presidential campaign for Bernie Sanders here in Jax! There were well over 100 very excited people that want to start building the grassroots movement. If you are interested in getting involved or just want to keep up with info and events follow the Facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/jaxforbernie?fref=ts
UNF students follow here: https://www.facebook.com/ospreysforbernie?fref=ts


The next event will be on the 29th back at Zodiac to catch a live stream of Bernie who will be sending a message out to all of his local campaigns across the country in a call to action and kick off party. Hope to see some new faces out there! #JaxisBerning

PS: For those just interested in learning more about Bernie Sanders check out his site. https://berniesanders.com

[UNFurbanist]

Here and there. I'll probably be more involved with the UNF club getting college kids to the polls, at least to begin with. Either way, I'll definitely be at rallies and such.

[urbanlibertarian]

Looks like Bernie has a lot in common with mountain time zone Democrats when it comes to gun control.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/05/bernie_sanders_on_guns_vermont_independent_voted_against_gun_control_for.html

[Adam White]

^sounds like he's pro-gun. If that's the case, his support of PLCAA is not surprising.

From Wikipedia:

He voted against a 2005 law to allow gun violence victims the right to sue gun manufacturers. Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union", Sanders said, "If somebody has a gun and it falls into the hands of a murderer and the murderer kills somebody with a gun, do you hold the gun manufacturer responsible? Not any more than you would hold a hammer company responsible if somebody beats somebody over the head with a hammer." Sanders has said, "we have millions of people who are gun owners in this country -- 99.9% of those people obey the law. I want to see real, serious debate and action on guns, but it is not going to take place if we simply have extreme positions on both sides. I think I can bring us to the middle."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Bernie_Sanders

Aside from that - anyone who considers Sanders a "far-left socialist" hasn't the slightest clue what a "far-left socialist" looks like or stands for. Sanders is a social democrat.

[The_Choose_1]

If you want to waste your Vote please do vote for the people that don't have a chance in Hell in winning. Look I don't care for Hilliary but she will get my vote. In November 2016 "stephendare I forgot to add my date earlier I was busy" I don't see any Republican's at this time getting my vote. But then again this could change? But it won't be Mr Bridge Gate, Mr Bad Hair, and the other Assclown's that have stepped up to the plate.

[The_Choose_1]

If you want to waste your Vote please do vote for the people that don't have a chance in Hell in winning. Look I don't care for Hilliary but she will get my vote. I don't see any republican's at this time getting my vote. But then again this could change? But it won't be Mr Bridge Gate, Mr Bad Hair, and the other Assclown's that have stepped up to the plate.

um.  not sure if you realize this, but that is exactly what the primary season is designed for.

vote for whoever you like.

If you want to waste your Vote please do vote for the people that don't have a chance in Hell in winning. Look I don't care for Hilliary but she will get my vote. In November 2016 "stephendare I forgot to add my date earlier I was busy" I don't see any Republican's at this time getting my vote. But then again this could change? But it won't be Mr Bridge Gate, Mr Bad Hair, and the other Assclown's that have stepped up to the plate. Here you go Stephendare i added this just for you.

[coredumped]

I hate the "throwing your vote away" argument. Like there's a prize for saying "hey, the guy I voted for won, look at me!"
Vote for whomever you like, as Stephen said.

I don't agree with much of what Bernie stands for, and I don't think he has a great shot. I think of him as the dems Ron Paul. Lots of hype, but no where near the money of his competition.

[Adam White]

I hate the "throwing your vote away" argument. Like there's a prize for saying "hey, the guy I voted for won, look at me!"
Vote for whomever you like, as Stephen said.

I don't agree with much of what Bernie stands for, and I don't think he has a great shot. I think of him as the dems Ron Paul. Lots of hype, but no where near the money of his competition.

I think Sanders is this year's Howard Dean. He's the option for the centre-left and will likely fall early in the primary season. Of course, I could be wrong.

[spuwho]

There has never been such a thing as "a wasted vote" in the history of the United States.

The "waste" if it exists, is not voting at all.

[The_Choose_1]

There has never been such a thing as "a wasted vote" in the history of the United States.

The "waste" if it exists, is not voting at all.

This is very true I have voted and have NEVER missed a vote since 1980 when I turned 18 years old. I have voted in every election for City, State and Federal elections. 

[Adam White]

There has never been such a thing as "a wasted vote" in the history of the United States.

The "waste" if it exists, is not voting at all.

I completely disagree. Choosing between Bush and Gore, Bush and Kerry, McCain and Obama, Obama and Romney, etc is a waste of a vote - or at the very least a waste of time. You can go out and vote for one of the so-called "third party" candidates, but it won't make any difference. And most of them are idiots anyway.

[Tacachale]

There has never been such a thing as "a wasted vote" in the history of the United States.

The "waste" if it exists, is not voting at all.

I completely disagree. Choosing between Bush and Gore, Bush and Kerry, McCain and Obama, Obama and Romney, etc is a waste of a vote - or at the very least a waste of time. You can go out and vote for one of the so-called "third party" candidates, but it won't make any difference. And most of them are idiots anyway.

It's silly to think that Gore would have governed the same way as Bush, or that McCain or Romney would have governed the same way as Obama. And while it's somewhat controversial, it seems clear on the face of it that third-party candidates have swung a number of elections (usually to the detriment of the candidate closest to them). Without Nader in the 2000 race, it seems likely Gore would have won (he did win the popular vote). Same thing with Perot in 1992 - without him there, would Clinton have gotten over GHW Bush?

And of course in local and state elections it matters even more. Lenny Curry just won the Jax mayoral election by only 5k votes. Four years ago, Alvin Brown won by less than *2k* votes. In last year's governor's race, the main 3rd-party candidate received more than twice as many votes as Rick Scott won by.

[Adam White]

There has never been such a thing as "a wasted vote" in the history of the United States.

The "waste" if it exists, is not voting at all.

I completely disagree. Choosing between Bush and Gore, Bush and Kerry, McCain and Obama, Obama and Romney, etc is a waste of a vote - or at the very least a waste of time. You can go out and vote for one of the so-called "third party" candidates, but it won't make any difference. And most of them are idiots anyway.

It's silly to think that Gore would have governed the same way as Bush, or that McCain or Romney would have governed the same way as Obama. And while it's somewhat controversial, it seems clear on the face of it that third-party candidates have swung a number of elections (usually to the detriment of the candidate closest to them). Without Nader in the 2000 race, it seems likely Gore would have won (he did win the popular vote). Same thing with Perot in 1992 - without him there, would Clinton have gotten over GHW Bush?

And of course in local and state elections it matters even more. Lenny Curry just won the Jax mayoral election by only 5k votes. Four years ago, Alvin Brown won by less than *2k* votes. In last year's governor's race, the main 3rd-party candidate received more than twice as many votes as Rick Scott won by.

Sorry - on re-reading my post, I think I should've perhaps been a bit clearer. I agree that Obama hasn't governed the same way that McCain or Romney likely would've - and I think he's done quite a bit in certain areas, to say the least.

But I do think that if one were, say, a socialist, he might not see much difference between the two (or three). They're all candidates representing capitalist parties and follow the same general neoliberal policies. The two main parties tend to define themselves on wedge issues while remaining functionally similar on overall philosophy. It's more an issue of degree.

In such cases, it's basically an issue of choosing between a terrible candidate and a slightly less terrible candidate. And that's not really a worthwhile choice. Similarly, if you were a civil libertarian or stridently anti-war, you'd get no real choice.

Yes, you can vote for a third party. But as a former member of the Socialist Party USA, I can attest to the fact that a vote for the SPUSA won't make a difference one way or another. And that's assuming you actually like the candidate they put forward - which isn't always the case.

I'm not arguing that voting never makes a difference - but I am arguing with the sentiment that there has never been a wasted vote. And I speak from personal experience - I feel I've wasted a few.

[Crabernacle]

For me the biggest concern is the Supreme Court. Gore might have been viewed as centrist, but you can damn well bet the current makeup of the court would be far different if he had won. Imagine what the country might look without the right-wing reactionaries such as Roberts and Alito legislating from the bench. How much different would things be if the 5-4 split fell the other way?

It's why I'll most likely support Hillary over Sanders. While I agree with many of Bernie's positions, I truly do not believe he is electable on the national level. I want him to stay in the race to pull Hillary further to the left, but I cannot support a candidate as weak as Sanders. Once the general election rolls around, Citizens United has guaranteed that it will be a blood bath. And even with the current crop of underwhelming Republican presidential hopefuls, the election will be far closer than it should. Another Republican in the White House with Republicans holding congress would be disaster. Terrible foreign and domestic policy is one thing, but above all I worry about a vacancy appearing on the court. I truly believe a conservative, corporatist majority on the Supreme Court that actively pushes back on our hard won progress will set America back for at least another generation. 

[The_Choose_1]

hmm.  maybe you should crack open a civics book, and lay off the daytime television.

Stephendare your not a person I look up to. And I don't need civic lessons from you. But Thanks