It's simple-he's not able to build the kind of coalitions to form a party or to govern. Even Ralph Nader and he failed to have a love connection.
He isn't exactly the kind of guy who sets up coalitions
"Sanders’s congressional career did not get off to a promising start. As an Independent, he had a hard time landing committee assignments. Garrison Nelson recalls, “Bernie shows up in Washington in 1991, there’s still a chunk of Southerners in the Democratic caucus, and they do not want Bernie in the caucus.” Sanders didn’t help matters by giving more than one interview denouncing Congress. “This place is not working,” he told the Associated Press. “It is failing. Change is not going to take place until many hundreds of these people are thrown out of their offices.” He went on, “Congress does not have the courage to stand up to the powerful interests. I have the freedom to speak my mind.”
"Some of his colleagues returned the favor. Joe Moakley, a Massachusetts Democrat who was the chairman of the influential House Rules Committee, told the A.P. reporter, “He screams and hollers, but he is all alone.” Another Democrat from the Massachusetts delegation, Barney Frank, was even more blunt. “Bernie alienates his natural allies,” he said. “His holier-than-thou attitude—saying, in a very loud voice, he is smarter than everyone else and purer than everyone else—really undercuts his effectiveness.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-populist-prophet
He has done better over time. But he certainly hasn't been prolific in passing legislation as Hillary was in her time in the Senate.
Yes, Bernie won Burington Mayor and later became a Vermont Rep-actually the Rep as Vermont has just one Rep. He got in the House, however, in part thanks to the blessing of the NRA.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-nra-helped-bernie-get-elected-to.html
He won a Senate seat in 2006. But the one thing the people of Vermont never quite trusted him for was as Governor of the state. That was a bridge too far for them.
"At home, Sanders became a symbol of Vermont’s cussed uniqueness, as affectionately regarded as a scoop of Chunky Monkey. He was reëlected to the House seven times. And his ascent to the Senate, in 2006, was stunning: he trounced the Republican candidate, Richard Tarrant, one of the wealthiest men in the state, by thirty-three percentage points. But when Sanders has run for the Vermont governorship he hasn’t done well. Jim Condon, the state legislator and former reporter, notes, “That’s telling. People here like him making a lot of noise in Washington for a little state—they’re happy to send a human hand grenade down there.” But they don’t necessarily want Sanders running the state."
But if a relatively very small state can't trust him, how can we trust him to run the country?
Bernie has his strengths certainly. He has often done a good job as a foot soldier on Team Democrat despite the way he used to insult the party. But what is notable is that he is not a guy that can build coalitions.
He has made a career for himself as a niche guy in Vermont and in Congress and the Senate. But he has had no coattails. This is what's striking to me. He says if he were elected he'd have a coalition. How? He has shown no aptitude for this at all. His temperament of a self-righteous profit is hardly engendering of building a coalition which is often diverse and makes compromises.
"After speeches, Sanders spars about issues with voters or reporters. Garrison Nelson, a political scientist at the University of Vermont, who has known him for decades, says that if Sanders is walking down the street in Burlington “and somebody yells at him Bernie will talk to him—‘What’s the matter? Whadd’ya mean?’ ” He also understands the necessity of the selfie dance, maneuvering quickly into place and smiling briefly. Sanders does not excel, however, at the middle ground of casual, friendly conversation. He has no gift for anecdote. When talking to voters, Hillary Clinton has perfected the head-cocked semblance of keen interest; it’s clear when Sanders becomes bored. Nelson told me, “Bernie’s the last person you’d want to be stuck on a desert island with. Two weeks of lectures about health care, and you’d look for a shark and dive in.” Nelson has voted for him many times."
"Paula Routly, who is the publisher of Seven Days, a popular weekly in Burlington, told me a story that captured the counterintuitive Sanders charm. In 2012, she hosted a gathering of alternative-newspaper publishers, and tried to show them Vermont at its most distinctive. One evening, Jerry, of Ben & Jerry’s, scooped ice cream; on another, Senator Sanders stopped by a group dinner. As Routly recalls, “There were no niceties or glad-handing before he launched into a brief but impassioned rant, tailored specifically for our group. He told us we were doing a great job of covering the arts but a lousy one reporting on economic issues. Message delivered—he didn’t want to meet anyone or eat anything or answer any questions. He was out of there.” Everyone loved it. “He only talks to people in one register, but it’s a very effective one,” Routly said.
To build a coalition you need more than that one register.
Even Ralph Nader-not exactly the favorite person for many of us after he seemed to quite gleefully kneecap Al Gore in 2000-has pointed out that Bernie has no coattails or coalition.
"Ralph Nader is offering some advice for Sen. Bernie Sanders as he weighs a presidential bid: Stop going it alone."
I"n an unusual Wednesday letter, former long-shot presidential candidate Nader urged potential future long-shot presidential candidate Sanders to change the way he does business in the Senate and fulfill his “unfulfilled potential.”
"You are a Lone Ranger, unable even to form a core progressive force within the Senate,” Nader wrote the Vermont independent. “Without internal and external networking, there are no strategies to deploy, beyond speechifying, putting forward amendments that go nowhere and an occasional hearing where you incisively question witnesses.”
"A Nader aide confirmed the veracity of the letter, which was sent to the senator as he informed The Nation that he is “prepared to run for president of the United States” in the form of a “very unconventional campaign.” An independent to the left of most Senate Democrats that he caucuses with, Sanders said he’s wary of running for president as an independent because it could help Republicans. In fact, he called it “the Nader dilemma.”
It sounds like Nader, a former Green Party and independent candidate for president, would like to discuss that very issue with Sanders but has been unable to reach him despite years of trying. So Nader wrote Sanders to get his attention and warn him that in Nader’s view, Sanders can have greater impact in the Senate — and perhaps beyond.
“Consider the unfilled potential of a Senator with broad ranging corporate reform and enforcement proposals that need an ongoing constituency with chapters and supporters through the country,” Nader wrote. “They might help you get a sponsor or two for your single-payer, full Medicare for all legislation.”
"A Sanders spokesman said the senator is proud of the work he’s done on issues like Social Security, financial regulations and veterans affairs and that while Nader once played an “important role” in protecting consumers’ interests, his influence has waned."
“It is sad that many decades later he’s shadowboxing with someone that’s one of the leading progressive voices today. The personal attack on Bernie is unfortunately how he operates and why he no longer has much influence on Capitol Hill,” the spokesman said of Nader.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/ralph-nader-bernie-sanders-letter-104376#ixzz3xE44suRa
It's true, that deservedly so, Nader doesn't have too much standing-he's been tainted since helping to elect Bush. But his criticism is legitimate. Bernie is not going to lead a revolution even if he were elected.
By the way I've had some fun shocking my best reader Tom Brown about in the event that Bernie did win the primary, maybe I'd look at Trump in the general.
But in all seriousness I do think that it's far from clear that Bernie would beat Trump. Yes, I understand about the current general election polls but those are meaningless in January of primary season.
Bernie has until the last few days from Hil gotten very little criticism. He hasn't handled it well, accusing her of being Karl Rove.
You think Trump would take no shots at him?
Again, good man, good Senator-though not the most prolific. I agree with him on the issue of economic inequality-as does Hillshire Farms. But at the end of the day, he doesn't have the right temperament to be President.
He isn't exactly the kind of guy who sets up coalitions
"Sanders’s congressional career did not get off to a promising start. As an Independent, he had a hard time landing committee assignments. Garrison Nelson recalls, “Bernie shows up in Washington in 1991, there’s still a chunk of Southerners in the Democratic caucus, and they do not want Bernie in the caucus.” Sanders didn’t help matters by giving more than one interview denouncing Congress. “This place is not working,” he told the Associated Press. “It is failing. Change is not going to take place until many hundreds of these people are thrown out of their offices.” He went on, “Congress does not have the courage to stand up to the powerful interests. I have the freedom to speak my mind.”
"Some of his colleagues returned the favor. Joe Moakley, a Massachusetts Democrat who was the chairman of the influential House Rules Committee, told the A.P. reporter, “He screams and hollers, but he is all alone.” Another Democrat from the Massachusetts delegation, Barney Frank, was even more blunt. “Bernie alienates his natural allies,” he said. “His holier-than-thou attitude—saying, in a very loud voice, he is smarter than everyone else and purer than everyone else—really undercuts his effectiveness.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-populist-prophet
He has done better over time. But he certainly hasn't been prolific in passing legislation as Hillary was in her time in the Senate.
Yes, Bernie won Burington Mayor and later became a Vermont Rep-actually the Rep as Vermont has just one Rep. He got in the House, however, in part thanks to the blessing of the NRA.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-nra-helped-bernie-get-elected-to.html
He won a Senate seat in 2006. But the one thing the people of Vermont never quite trusted him for was as Governor of the state. That was a bridge too far for them.
"At home, Sanders became a symbol of Vermont’s cussed uniqueness, as affectionately regarded as a scoop of Chunky Monkey. He was reëlected to the House seven times. And his ascent to the Senate, in 2006, was stunning: he trounced the Republican candidate, Richard Tarrant, one of the wealthiest men in the state, by thirty-three percentage points. But when Sanders has run for the Vermont governorship he hasn’t done well. Jim Condon, the state legislator and former reporter, notes, “That’s telling. People here like him making a lot of noise in Washington for a little state—they’re happy to send a human hand grenade down there.” But they don’t necessarily want Sanders running the state."
But if a relatively very small state can't trust him, how can we trust him to run the country?
Bernie has his strengths certainly. He has often done a good job as a foot soldier on Team Democrat despite the way he used to insult the party. But what is notable is that he is not a guy that can build coalitions.
He has made a career for himself as a niche guy in Vermont and in Congress and the Senate. But he has had no coattails. This is what's striking to me. He says if he were elected he'd have a coalition. How? He has shown no aptitude for this at all. His temperament of a self-righteous profit is hardly engendering of building a coalition which is often diverse and makes compromises.
"After speeches, Sanders spars about issues with voters or reporters. Garrison Nelson, a political scientist at the University of Vermont, who has known him for decades, says that if Sanders is walking down the street in Burlington “and somebody yells at him Bernie will talk to him—‘What’s the matter? Whadd’ya mean?’ ” He also understands the necessity of the selfie dance, maneuvering quickly into place and smiling briefly. Sanders does not excel, however, at the middle ground of casual, friendly conversation. He has no gift for anecdote. When talking to voters, Hillary Clinton has perfected the head-cocked semblance of keen interest; it’s clear when Sanders becomes bored. Nelson told me, “Bernie’s the last person you’d want to be stuck on a desert island with. Two weeks of lectures about health care, and you’d look for a shark and dive in.” Nelson has voted for him many times."
"Paula Routly, who is the publisher of Seven Days, a popular weekly in Burlington, told me a story that captured the counterintuitive Sanders charm. In 2012, she hosted a gathering of alternative-newspaper publishers, and tried to show them Vermont at its most distinctive. One evening, Jerry, of Ben & Jerry’s, scooped ice cream; on another, Senator Sanders stopped by a group dinner. As Routly recalls, “There were no niceties or glad-handing before he launched into a brief but impassioned rant, tailored specifically for our group. He told us we were doing a great job of covering the arts but a lousy one reporting on economic issues. Message delivered—he didn’t want to meet anyone or eat anything or answer any questions. He was out of there.” Everyone loved it. “He only talks to people in one register, but it’s a very effective one,” Routly said.
To build a coalition you need more than that one register.
Even Ralph Nader-not exactly the favorite person for many of us after he seemed to quite gleefully kneecap Al Gore in 2000-has pointed out that Bernie has no coattails or coalition.
"Ralph Nader is offering some advice for Sen. Bernie Sanders as he weighs a presidential bid: Stop going it alone."
I"n an unusual Wednesday letter, former long-shot presidential candidate Nader urged potential future long-shot presidential candidate Sanders to change the way he does business in the Senate and fulfill his “unfulfilled potential.”
"You are a Lone Ranger, unable even to form a core progressive force within the Senate,” Nader wrote the Vermont independent. “Without internal and external networking, there are no strategies to deploy, beyond speechifying, putting forward amendments that go nowhere and an occasional hearing where you incisively question witnesses.”
"A Nader aide confirmed the veracity of the letter, which was sent to the senator as he informed The Nation that he is “prepared to run for president of the United States” in the form of a “very unconventional campaign.” An independent to the left of most Senate Democrats that he caucuses with, Sanders said he’s wary of running for president as an independent because it could help Republicans. In fact, he called it “the Nader dilemma.”
It sounds like Nader, a former Green Party and independent candidate for president, would like to discuss that very issue with Sanders but has been unable to reach him despite years of trying. So Nader wrote Sanders to get his attention and warn him that in Nader’s view, Sanders can have greater impact in the Senate — and perhaps beyond.
“Consider the unfilled potential of a Senator with broad ranging corporate reform and enforcement proposals that need an ongoing constituency with chapters and supporters through the country,” Nader wrote. “They might help you get a sponsor or two for your single-payer, full Medicare for all legislation.”
"A Sanders spokesman said the senator is proud of the work he’s done on issues like Social Security, financial regulations and veterans affairs and that while Nader once played an “important role” in protecting consumers’ interests, his influence has waned."
“It is sad that many decades later he’s shadowboxing with someone that’s one of the leading progressive voices today. The personal attack on Bernie is unfortunately how he operates and why he no longer has much influence on Capitol Hill,” the spokesman said of Nader.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/ralph-nader-bernie-sanders-letter-104376#ixzz3xE44suRa
It's true, that deservedly so, Nader doesn't have too much standing-he's been tainted since helping to elect Bush. But his criticism is legitimate. Bernie is not going to lead a revolution even if he were elected.
By the way I've had some fun shocking my best reader Tom Brown about in the event that Bernie did win the primary, maybe I'd look at Trump in the general.
But in all seriousness I do think that it's far from clear that Bernie would beat Trump. Yes, I understand about the current general election polls but those are meaningless in January of primary season.
Bernie has until the last few days from Hil gotten very little criticism. He hasn't handled it well, accusing her of being Karl Rove.
You think Trump would take no shots at him?
Again, good man, good Senator-though not the most prolific. I agree with him on the issue of economic inequality-as does Hillshire Farms. But at the end of the day, he doesn't have the right temperament to be President.
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