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Line 1: − + − {{for|the Canadian hockey player|Bernie Saunders}}+ − {{redirect|Senator Sanders}}+ − {{pp-vand|small=yes}}+ − {{use American English|date=August 2018}}+ − {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}+ − {{Infobox officeholder + − + − + − + − | caption = Sanders in March 2020+ − | jr/sr = United States Senator+ − | state = [[Vermont]]+ − + − | term_start = January 3, 2007+ − | term_end = + − | predecessor = [[Jim Jeffords]]+ − | successor = + − | office1 = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]]+ − + − | term_end1 =+ − + − − − − | term_end2 = February 3, 2021 − − | successor2 = [[Lindsey Graham]] − | office3 = Chair of the [[Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]] − − − | predecessor3 = [[Patty Murray]] − | successor3 = [[Johnny Isakson]] − − − − | term_end4 = January 3, 2007 − − − − | term_start5 = April 6, 1981 − | term_end5 = April 4, 1989 − | predecessor5 = [[Gordon Paquette]] − | successor5 = [[Peter Clavelle]] − | birth_name = Bernard Sanders − | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|9|8}} − | birth_place = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City]], U.S. − | party = [[Independent politician|Independent]]{{efn|Congressional affiliation}} (1978–present)<br>[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (2015–2016, 2019–2020)<br>[[Liberty Union Party|Liberty Union]] (1970–1977) − | otherparty = [[Vermont Progressive Party|Vermont Progressive]]{{efn|Affiliated non-member}} (1981–present) − | spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Deborah Shiling|1964|1966|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Jane Sanders|Jane O'Meara]]<br>|1988}}}} − | children = 1 − | relatives = [[Larry Sanders (politician)|Larry Sanders]] (brother) − | education = [[University of Chicago]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) − | occupation = {{hlist|Politician|activist|author}} − | website = {{plainlist| − * {{URL|sanders.senate.gov|Senate website}} − * {{URL|berniesanders.com|Campaign website}} − }} − | signature = Bernie Sanders signature.svg − | signature_alt = Official signature of Bernie Sanders − | module = {{Listen − |embed = yes − |title = Bernie Sanders's voice − |filename = Senator Bernie Sanders's Campaign Speech at UNC-Chapel Hill.wav − |description = Speech recorded September 19, 2019, at UNC-Chapel Hill's Bell Tower Amphitheater}} − {{Bernie Sanders series}} − '''Bernard <!--Please see: [[WP:QUOTENAME]] before placing "Bernie" here--> Sanders''' (born September{{nbsp}}8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who has served as the [[Seniority in the United States Senate|junior]] [[United States Senate|United States senator]]<!--lower case per MOS:JOBTITLE--> from [[Vermont]] since 2007 and as [[U.S. Representative]] for the state's [[Vermont's at-large congressional district|at-large congressional district]] from 1991 to 2007. He is the longest-serving [[independent politician|independent]] in U.S. congressional history, although he has a close relationship with the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], having [[Congressional caucus|caucused]] with [[House Democratic Caucus|House]] and [[Senate Democratic Caucus|Senate Democrats]] for most of his congressional career.<ref name="wapo"/> Sanders unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for [[president of the United States]] in [[Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign|2016]] and [[Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign|2020]], finishing in second place in both campaigns. Before his election to Congress, [[Mayoralty of Bernie Sanders|he was mayor]] of [[Burlington, Vermont]]. − Often considered one of the most popular politicians in America, Sanders self-identifies as a [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] and has been credited with influencing a leftward shift in the Democratic Party since his 2016 presidential campaign. An advocate of [[Social democracy|social democratic]] and [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] policies, he is known for his opposition to [[economic inequality]] and [[neoliberalism]]. On domestic policy, he supports [[Labour movement|labor rights]], [[Universal healthcare|universal]] and [[single-payer healthcare]], paid [[parental leave]], tuition-free [[tertiary education]], and an ambitious [[Green New Deal]] to create jobs addressing [[climate change]]. On foreign policy, he supports reducing [[United States military spending|military spending]], pursuing more [[diplomacy]] and [[international cooperation]], and putting greater emphasis on [[labor rights]] and environmental concerns when negotiating international trade agreements. Sanders supports [[workplace democracy]], and has praised elements of the [[Nordic model]]. Some{{who|date=June 2021}} commentators have described his politics as aligned with the [[New Deal]] policies of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[left-wing populism]].+ + + + + + + + + − Born into a working-class [[Jewish]] family and raised in the [[Brooklyn]] borough of [[New York City]], Sanders attended [[Brooklyn College]] before graduating from the [[University of Chicago]] in 1964. While a student, he was a protest organizer for the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] and the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] during the [[civil rights movement]]. After settling in [[Vermont]] in 1968, he ran unsuccessful [[Third party (United States)|third-party]] political campaigns in the early to mid-1970s. He was [[1981 Burlington mayoral election|elected]] [[List of mayors of Burlington, Vermont|mayor of Burlington]] in 1981 as an independent and was reelected three times. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in [[1990 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont|1990]], representing Vermont's at-large congressional district, later co-founding the [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]]. He served as a U.S. Representative for 16 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in [[2006 United States Senate election in Vermont|2006]]. Sanders was reelected to the Senate in [[2012 United States Senate election in Vermont|2012]] and [[2018 United States Senate election in Vermont|2018]]. He chaired the [[Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]] from 2013 to 2015. In January 2021, Sanders became chair of the [[Senate Budget Committee]].+ − + + + − ==Early life==+ − − Bernard Sanders was born on September 8, 1941, in the [[Brooklyn]] borough of [[New York City]].<ref name="Birth">+ − *{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/us/politics/bernie-sanderss-100-brooklyn-roots-show-beyond-his-accent.html|access-date=February 18, 2016|title=Bernie Sanders's '100% Brooklyn' Roots Are as Unshakable as His Accent|first=Jason|last=Horowitz|date=July 24, 2015|work=The New York Times}}+ − *{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Sanders.html|access-date=February 18, 2016|title=Bernie Sanders|website=Jewish Virtual Library|publisher=American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise}}+ − *{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/political-figure/bernie-sanders |access-date=February 18, 2016|title=Bernie Sanders Biography|website=Biography.com|publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC}} − *{{cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=s000033 |access-date=February 18, 2016|title=Sanders, Bernard (1941 – )|website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|publisher=Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives' Office of History and Preservation and the Office of the Historian of the United States Senate}} − </ref> His father, Elias Ben Yehuda Sanders,<ref name=fndr1>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/episode-1-the-impression-t9e1xe/ |work=[[Finding Your Roots]] |date=October 3, 2017 |title=Season 4, Episode 1: The Impression |access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref> was born in [[Słopnice]], [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]], in [[Austria-Hungary]] (now part of Poland),<ref name="jtaancestraltown">{{cite news |title=Bernie Sanders' ancestral town in Poland kvells over his Iowa performance |url=https://www.jta.org/2016/02/02/news-opinion/united-states/bernie-sanders-ancestral-town-in-poland-kvells-over-his-iowa-performance |access-date=February 3, 2016 |work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |date=February 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Geni.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Elias-Sander/6000000027756093071 |title=Eli Sanders |publisher=[[Geni.com]] |access-date=January 23, 2016}}</ref> to a Jewish [[Working class in the United States|working-class]] family. In 1921, Elias immigrated to the United States, where he became a paint salesman.<ref name="jtaancestraltown"/><ref name="immigrationrecord">New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957 immigration record: Eliasz Gitman, sailing from Antwerp, mother Jetti Gutman, citizenship in 1927 as Elias Sanders.</ref><ref name=Chana>{{cite news |last1=Chana |first1=Jas |title=Straight Outta Brooklyn, by Way of Vermont: The Bernie Sanders Story |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/192931/bernie-sanders-story |access-date=January 20, 2016 |work=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] |date=August 20, 2015|quote=Soltys told them that at the time the Nazis invaded Poland, Romek was the leader of Slopnice's Jewish community. "Which of course," Larry said, "meant he was one of the first to be killed."}}</ref> Bernard's mother, Dorothy Sanders ({{née|Glassberg}}), was born in New York City<ref name=gaudiano>{{cite web|last=Gaudiano |first=Nicole |date=April 28, 2015 |title=OnPolitics: 6 things to know about Bernie Sanders |website=USA Today |url=http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/04/28/6-things-to-know-about-bernie-sanders/ |access-date=July 19, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727170730/http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/04/28/6-things-to-know-about-bernie-sanders/ |archive-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Shoah"/> to Jewish immigrant parents from [[Radzyń Podlaski]], in modern-day eastern Poland, and with roots in Russia.<ref name="Geni.com4">{{cite web |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Bessie-Glassberg/6000000003916154223 |title=Bessie Glassberg (Goldberg) |publisher=[[Geni.com]] |access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Geni.com3">{{cite web |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Benjamin-Glassberg/6000000027757230396 |title=Benjamin Glassberg |publisher=[[Geni.com]] |access-date=January 27, 2016 |quote=Birthplace: [[Radzyn Podlaski]], [[Radzyń Podlaski County]], [[Lublin Voivodeship]], Poland}}</ref> − + − *{{cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/107170-bernie-sanders-quote-about-hitler-winning-an-election-is-powerful-its-also-misleading |title=Bernie Sanders' Quote About Hitler Winning An Election Is Powerful. It's Also Misleading |website=Bustle |date=August 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://timetravel.mementoweb.org/memento/20160121053327/www.bustle.com/articles/107170-bernie-sanders-quote-about-hitler-winning-an-election-is-powerful-its-also-misleading |archive-date=January 21, 2016 |url-status=live |first=Madhuri |last=Sathish}} − *{{cite web |last=Feldmann |first=Linda |date=June 11, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders: 'I'm Proud to be Jewish' |website=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |quote='I'm proud to be Jewish,' the Independent from Vermont – and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination – responded Thursday at a press breakfast hosted by the Monitor. Though, he added, 'I'm not particularly religious.' As a child, Sanders said, being Jewish taught him 'in a very deep way what politics is about. A guy named Adolf Hitler won an election in 1932,' the senator said. 'He won an election, and 50 million people died as a result of that election in World War II, including 6 million Jews. So what I learned as a little kid is that politics is, in fact, very important.' |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2015/0611/Bernie-Sanders-I-m-proud-to-be-Jewish |access-date=June 13, 2015}} − *{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/454051697/sanders-could-be-the-first-jewish-president-but-doesnt-like-to-talk-about-it |access-date=February 9, 2020 |first=Tamara |last=Keith |title=Sanders Could Be The First Jewish President, But He Doesn't Like To Talk About It |date=November 2, 2015 |work=[[NPR]] }}</ref> In the 1940s, many of his relatives in German-occupied Poland were murdered in the [[Holocaust]].<ref name=fndr1/><ref name="Shoah"> − *{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/magazine/21Sanders.t.html |title=The Socialist Senator |last=Leibovich |first=Mark |date=January 21, 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 18, 2015 |author-link=Mark Leibovich}} − *{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Amita |date=April 29, 2015 |title=5 Things You Should Know About Bernie Sanders |website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/04/29/399818581/5-things-you-should-know-about-bernie-sanders |access-date=July 19, 2015}} − *{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/bernie-sanders-hitler-jewish-220350 |title=Sanders: 'My father's family was wiped out by Hitler'|last= McCaskill|first=Nolan D |date= March 6, 2016|website=Politico |access-date=April 15, 2017}}</ref><ref name="stone_p483"/> − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + + + + − {{anchor|Civil Rights Movement}}Sanders studied at [[Brooklyn College]] for a year in 1959–1960<ref name=cnnfastfacts1>{{cite news |title=Bernie Sanders Fast Facts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/27/us/bernie-sanders-fast-facts/index.html |access-date=October 13, 2015 |publisher=CNN |date=August 20, 2015}}</ref> before transferring to the [[University of Chicago]] and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1964.<ref name=cnnfastfacts1/> He has described himself as a mediocre college student because the classroom was "boring and irrelevant," while the community was more important to his education.<ref name="The Populist Prophet">{{cite news |access-date=February 9, 2020 |last=Talbot |first=Margaret |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-populist-prophet |title=The Populist Prophet |work=[[The New Yorker]] |date=October 12, 2015 }}</ref>+ − + − ===Political activism===+ − {{main|University of Chicago sit-ins}} − Sanders later described his time in Chicago as "the major period of intellectual ferment in my life."<ref name=chicago>{{cite magazine|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2019/03/bernie-sanders-chicago-speech-university-activism-core-ypsl |title=What Chicago Taught Bernie |last=Kampf-Lassin |first=Miles |date=March 3, 2019 |magazine=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref> While there, he joined the [[Young People's Socialist League (1907)|Young People's Socialist League]] (the youth affiliate of the [[Socialist Party of America]])<ref name=Politico>{{cite web |last=Kruse |first=Michael |date=July 9, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Has a Secret: Vermont, his son and the hungry early years that made him the surging socialist he is today |website=[[Politico]] |quote=After he graduated from James Madison High School in 1959, he went to Brooklyn College for a year before transferring to the University of Chicago, where he joined the Congress of Racial Equality, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Student Peace Union, and the Young People's Socialist League. |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-119927_full.html |access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> and was active in the [[civil rights movement]] as a student for the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] (CORE) and the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] (SNCC).<ref name="Shoah"/><ref name="Nichols">{{cite magazine |last=Nichols |first=John |author-link=John Nichols (journalist) |date=July 6, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Speaks |magazine=[[The Nation]] |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-speaks/ |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> Under his chairmanship, the university chapter of CORE merged with the university chapter of the SNCC.<ref name="Mother Jones activism history">{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016/02/bernie-sanders-core-university-chicago|title=Here's What Bernie Sanders Actually Did in the Civil Rights Movement |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=February 11, 2016 |access-date=February 11, 2016|last=Murphy|first=Tim}}</ref> In January 1962, he went to a rally at the [[University of Chicago]] administration building to protest university president [[George Wells Beadle]]'s [[Housing segregation in the United States|segregated campus housing policy]]. At the protest, Sanders said, "We feel it is an intolerable situation when Negro and white students of the university cannot live together in university-owned apartments". He and 32 other students then entered the building and camped outside the president's office.<ref name=Frizell/><ref>{{cite news |last=Perlstein |first=Rick |date=January 2015 |title=A political education |magazine=The University of Chicago Magazine |url=https://mag.uchicago.edu/law-policy-society/political-education |access-date=September 10, 2015}}</ref> After weeks of sit-ins, Beadle and the university formed a commission to investigate discrimination.<ref name="Craven2015">{{cite news|last=Craven |first=Jasper |date=August 26, 2015 |title=Can Sanders' civil rights experience at U. of C. translate on campaign trail? |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-bernie-sanders-university-of-chicago-met-20150826-story.html |access-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108182818/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bernie-sanders-university-of-chicago-met-20150826-story.html |url-status=live |issn=1085-6706}}</ref> After further protests, the University of Chicago ended racial segregation in private university housing in the summer of 1963.<ref name=chicago />+ − [[Joan Mahoney]], a member of the University of Chicago CORE chapter at the time and a fellow participant in the sit-ins, described Sanders in a 2016 interview as "a swell guy, a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn, but he wasn't terribly charismatic. One of his strengths, though, was his ability to work with a wide group of people, even those he didn't agree with."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/16/bernie-sanders-civil-rights-protest-chicago-1962-photography |title='He wasn't terribly charismatic': Bernie Sanders leads a civil rights protest in 1962 |last1=Booth |first1=Hannah |date=September 16, 2016 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> He once spent a day putting up fliers protesting [[police brutality]], only to notice later that Chicago police had shadowed him and taken them all down.<ref name=Frizell/> He attended the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]], where [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] gave the "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech.<ref name="Shoah"/><ref name =Frizell>{{cite news |last=Frizell |first=Sam |url=https://time.com/3896500/bernie-sanders-vermont-campaign-radical/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |title=The Radical Education of Bernie Sanders |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=May 26, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=release>{{cite web |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |title=News August 25 |website=Senate.gov |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/newswatch/082513 |date=August 25, 2013 |access-date=June 17, 2015}}</ref> That summer, Sanders was fined $25 ({{Inflation|US|25|1963|fmt=eq}}) for resisting arrest during a demonstration in [[Englewood, Chicago|Englewood]] against [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] in Chicago's public schools.<ref name=chicago /><ref name="Skiba">{{cite news |last=Skiba|first=Katherine|date=February 22, 2016|title=Arrest photo of young activist Bernie Sanders emerges from Tribune archives |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bernie-sanders-1963-chicago-arrest-20160219-story.html |access-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Tim |date=August 26, 2015 |title=Read 21-Year-Old Bernie Sanders' Manifesto on Sexual Freedom |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/bernie-sanders-university-of-chicago-free-love |access-date=September 10, 2015}}</ref>+ + − In addition to his civil rights activism during the 1960s and 1970s,<ref name="Mother Jones activism history"/> Sanders was active in several [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|peace and antiwar movements]] while attending the University of Chicago, becoming a member of the [[Student Peace Union]]. He applied for [[conscientious objector]] status during the Vietnam War; his application was eventually turned down, by which point he was too old to be [[Conscription in the United States|drafted]]. Although he opposed the war, Sanders never criticized those who fought in it, and he has long been a strong supporter of [[veterans' benefits]].<ref name="Washington Post Veterans">{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-on-frontline-for-veterans/2013/04/14/d97c9830-9e04-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html |title=Bernie Sanders on frontline for veterans |website=The Washington Post |date=April 14, 2013 |access-date=September 30, 2015 |author=Vogel, Steve}}</ref><ref name="ABC News">{{cite web |last=Parks |first=Mary Alice |date=August 31, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Applied for 'Conscientious Objector' Status During Vietnam, Campaign Confirms |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-applied-conscientious-objector-status-vietnam-campaign/story?id=33434041 |access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref> He also was briefly an organizer with the [[United Packinghouse Workers of America]] while in Chicago.<ref name=chicago /> He also worked on the reelection campaign of [[Leon Despres]], a prominent Chicago alderman who was opposed to mayor [[Richard J. Daley]]'s [[Cook County Democratic Party|Democratic Party machine]]. Throughout his student years, Sanders read the works of many political authors, from [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Abraham Lincoln]], and [[John Dewey]] to [[Karl Marx]] and [[Erich Fromm]].<ref name=wapo>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/02/05/his-most-radical-move/ |title=His Most Radical Move |last=McCrummen |first=Stephanie |date=February 5, 2016 |website=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 21, 2017}}</ref>+ − + − After graduating from college, Sanders returned to New York City, where he worked various jobs, including Head Start teacher, [[psychiatrist|psychiatric]] aide, and carpenter.<ref name="The Populist Prophet"/> In 1968, he moved to [[Stannard, Vermont]], a town small in both area and population (88 residents at the [[1970 census]]) within Vermont's rural [[Northeast Kingdom]] region, because he had been "captivated by rural life." While there, he worked as a carpenter,<ref name=Politico/> filmmaker, and writer<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/04/30/bernie-sanders-from-hippie-migrant-to-would-be-president/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders: From hippie migrant to would-be president |work=The Washington Post |date=April 30, 2015 |first=Hunter |last=Schwarz }}</ref> who created and sold "radical film strips" and other educational materials to schools.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/the-25-best-things-we-learned-bernie-sanders-book |title=The 25 best things we learned from Bernie Sanders' book |work=MSNBC |date=May 28, 2015 |access-date=February 9, 2020 |first=Alex |last=Seitz-Wald }}</ref> He also wrote several articles for the alternative publication ''The Vermont Freeman''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sanders|first=Bernard|date=March 29, 1969|title=Cuba: the Other Side of the Story|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2725548/Sanders-Freeman-Writings.pdf#page=5|journal=Vermont Freeman|access-date=March 10, 2016|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310215744/https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2725548/Sanders-Freeman-Writings.pdf#page=5|archive-date=March 10, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> He lived in the area for several years before moving to the more populous [[Chittenden County, Vermont|Chittenden County]] in the mid-1970s. During his [[2018 United States Senate election in Vermont|2018]] reelection campaign, he returned to the town to hold an event with voters and other candidates.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=BernieSanders |number=1058922975737593856 |access-date=December 17, 2019 |title=I moved to Stannard when I first came to Vermont. I've visited 13 states in the last 3 weeks but coming home to Stannard was very special to me. pic.twitter.com/muk1Ps4mzh|first=Bernie|last=Sanders|date=November 3, 2018}}</ref>+ − + − Sanders began his electoral political career in 1971 as a member of the [[Liberty Union Party]], which originated in the [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war]] movement and the [[People's Party (United States, 1971)|People's Party]]. He ran as the Liberty Union candidate for governor of Vermont in 1972 and 1976 and as a candidate in the special election for U.S. senator in 1972 and in the general election in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.cq.com/members/509 |title=Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) |work=[[Roll Call]] |access-date=August 19, 2015 }}</ref> In the 1974 senatorial race, he finished third (5,901 votes; 4%), behind 33-year-old [[Chittenden County, Vermont|Chittenden County]] state's attorney [[Patrick Leahy]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]; 70,629 votes; 49%) and two-term incumbent U.S. Representative [[Dick Mallary]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]; 66,223 votes; 46%).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/elections/election-results/election-results-search.aspx?primaryFilterId=12449&secondaryFolderName=1974+Election+Results |title=Election Results Search: 1974 Election Results |work=sec.state.vt.us |quote=Citation for votes (total for Leahy and percentages calculated from spreadsheet) |access-date=May 2, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Garrison |url=https://vtdigger.org/2014/09/14/garrison-nelson-jim-jeffords-reluctant-rebel-appreciation/ |title=Jim Jeffords: Reluctant Rebel. Section: 1974: Changing the Congressional Guard |work=[[VTDigger]] |date=September 14, 2014 |access-date=May 2, 2015 }}</ref>+ + − The 1976 campaign was the zenith of the Liberty Union's influence, with Sanders collecting 11,317 votes for governor and the party. His strong performance forced the down-ballot races for lieutenant governor and secretary of state to be decided by the state legislature when its vote total prevented either the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] or [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate for those offices from garnering a majority of votes.<ref name = Guma/> The campaign drained the finances and energy of the Liberty Union, however, and in October 1977, less than a year after the 1976 campaign concluded, he and the Liberty Union candidate for attorney general, Nancy Kaufman, announced their retirement from the party.<ref name = Guma/><ref name=vgp>{{cite news|last1=Siegel|first1=Lou|title=Vermont's Third Party: No Longer Just a Fan Club|url=http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermonts-third-party-no-longer-just-a-fan-club/Content?oid=2434161|access-date=March 1, 2016|work=Vanguard Press|date=June 27, 1978|via=Seven Days}}</ref> During the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]] Sanders served as one of three electors for the [[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers Party]] in Vermont.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1980 |title=Socialists Launch Campaign to Get Candidates on Ballot |page=9 |work=[[Rutland Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64274411/rutland-daily-herald/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.vn/f4NUk |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ + + − After his resignation from the Liberty Union Party in 1977, Sanders worked as a writer and as the director of the nonprofit American People's Historical Society (APHS).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/sen_bernie_sanders.html |url-status=dead |title=Arena Profile: Sen. Bernie Sanders |work=Politico |access-date=August 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723105127/http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/sen_bernie_sanders.html |archive-date=July 23, 2016 }}</ref> While with the APHS, he produced a 30-minute documentary about American labor leader [[Eugene V. Debs]], who ran for president five times as the Socialist Party candidate.<ref name=Politico/><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Bernard Sanders |date=1979 |title=Eugene V. Debs: Trade Unionist, Socialist, Revolutionary, 1855–1926 – Introduction |medium=Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka7qoXPliwQ |access-date=July 13, 2015 }}</ref>+ − ==Mayor of Burlington, Vermont (1981–1989)==+ − {{Main article|Mayoralty of Bernie Sanders}} − {{See also|Electoral history of Bernie Sanders}} − − ===Campaigns===+ − On November 8, 1980, Sanders announced his candidacy for mayor. He formally announced his campaign on December 16 at a City Hall press conference.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 9, 1980 |title=Liberty Unionite to Run For Mayor of Burlington |page=19 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64275859/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201129230427/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64275859/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1980 |title=UVM Pair to Work for Independent Coalition |page=3 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64276236/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201129230834/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64276236/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Sanders selected Linda Niedweske as his campaign manager.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 18, 1981 |title=Sanders Opens Campaign Office |page=14 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64331883/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130194700/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64331883/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The [[Citizens Party (United States)|Citizens Party]] attempted to nominate Greg Guma for mayor, but Guma declined, saying it would be "difficult to run against another progressive candidate".<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 1981 |title=Citizens Party Fails To Nominate Candidate |page=2 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64330793/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130193422/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64330793/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Sanders had been convinced to run for the mayoralty by [[Richard Sugarman]], an Orthodox Jewish scholar at the [[University of Vermont]], who had shown him a ward-by-ward breakdown of the [[1976 Vermont gubernatorial election]], in which Sanders had run, that showed him receiving 12% of the vote in Burlington despite only getting 6% statewide.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 13, 2019 |title=Bernie's Red Vermont |work=[[The New Republic]] |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/154086/bernies-red-vermont |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.vn/HT149 |archive-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref>+ + + + − Sanders initially won the mayoral election by 22 votes against Paquette, Bove, and McGrath, but the margin was later reduced to 10 votes. Paquette did not contest the results of the recount.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 10, 1981 |title=Board to Conduct Mayoral Recount Friday |page=11 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64504803/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203043453/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64504803/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ − Paquette's loss was attributed to his own shortcomings, as he did not campaign or promote his candidacy since both Sanders and Independent candidate Richard Bove were not seen as a serious challengers, as Sanders had not previously won an election.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2, 1982 |title=IT'S NEW POLITICS VS. OLD IN VERMONT AS MAYOR STRIVES TO OUST ALDERMAN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/28/us/it-s-new-politics-vs-old-in-vermont-as-mayor-strives-to-oust-alderman.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709123428/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/28/us/it-s-new-politics-vs-old-in-vermont-as-mayor-strives-to-oust-alderman.html |archive-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref> Paquette was also considered to have lost because he proposed an unpopular $0.65 per $100 raise in taxes that Sanders opposed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Margolis |first=Jon |date=March 15, 1983 |title=Bernie of Burlington |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/122285/bernie-burlington |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902151917/https://newrepublic.com/article/122285/bernie-burlington |archive-date=September 2, 2019 |website=[[The New Republic]]}}</ref> Sanders spent around $4,000 on his campaign.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1983 |title=Gilson Rejects Campaign Fund Limit |page=17 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64643579/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205074550/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64643579/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ − + + + + + + + + + − Sanders formed a coalition between independents and the Citizens Party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 3, 1982 |title=Sanders will make it official |page=16 |work=[[Bennington Banner]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644027/bennington-banner/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205081405/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644027/bennington-banner/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> On December 3, 1982, he announced that he would seek reelection.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 3, 1982 |title=Sanders Announces He's Running Again |page=1 |work=[[Barre Montpelier Times Argus]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644044/the-times-argus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205081755/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644044/the-times-argus/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> On January 22, 1983, the Citizens Party voted unanimously to endorse Sanders, although Sanders ran as an independent.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 23, 1983 |title=Citizens Party Endorses Sanders |page=14 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644113/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205081929/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64644113/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He was reelected, defeating Judith Stephany and James Gilson.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1983 |title=Massive Turnout Keeps Mayor Sanders in Office |page=3 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64643449/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205073738/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64643449/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ + + − Sanders initially considered not seeking a third term, but announced on December 5, 1984, that he would run.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 7, 1984|title=Mayor Sanders to run again|page=2|work=[[Brattleboro Reformer]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64672822/the-brattleboro-reformer/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205201107/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64672822/the-brattleboro-reformer/|archive-date=December 5, 2020|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He formally launched his campaign on December 7, and was reelected.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 8, 1984|title=Sanders Makes It Official|page=6|work=[[Rutland Herald]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64672843/rutland-daily-herald/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205201220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64672843/rutland-daily-herald/|archive-date=December 5, 2020|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=March 6, 1985|title=City Elections At-a-glance|page=2|work=[[The Burlington Free Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64665647/the-burlington-free-press/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205190233/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64665647/the-burlington-free-press/|archive-date=December 5, 2020|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> On December 1, 1986, Sanders, who had finished third in the [[1986 Vermont gubernatorial election]], announced that he would seek reelection to a fourth term as mayor of Burlington, despite close associates stating that he was tired of being mayor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 2, 1986 |title=Sanders Announces for Fourth Term, Says He Has 'Energy and Enthusiasm' |page=1 |work=[[Rutland Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64685742/rutland-daily-herald/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205224934/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64685742/rutland-daily-herald/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Sanders defeated Democratic nominee Paul Lafayette in the election.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1985 |title=1987 election results |page=11 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64684487/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201205223507/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64684487/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> He said he would not seek another mayoral term after the 1987 election: "eight years is enough and I think it is time for new leadership, which does exist within the coalition, to come up".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 7, 1987 |title=Sanders Proclaims '87 Race Will Be His Last Mayoral Bid |page=21 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64868171/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.vn/l3WMd |archive-date=December 8, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ + − Sanders did not run for a fifth term as mayor. He went on to lecture in political science at [[Harvard University]]'s [[Kennedy School of Government]] that year and at [[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]] in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |title=WSJ Sanders Profile |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/bernie-sanders--VT-S |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307214225/http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/bernie-sanders--VT-S |archive-date=March 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref>+ − + − During his mayoralty, Sanders called himself a [[socialist]] and was so described in the press.<ref name="Banks">{{cite news |last=Banks |first=Russell |author-link=Russell Banks |date=October 5, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders, the Socialist Mayor |work=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-mayor/407413/ |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="SelfStyledSocialist">{{cite news |date=April 7, 1981 |title=Self-Styled Socialist Takes Oath as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[Boston Globe]]}}</ref> During his first term, his supporters, including the first [[Citizens Party (United States)|Citizens Party]] city councilor [[Terry Bouricius]], formed the Progressive Coalition, the forerunner of the [[Vermont Progressive Party]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Senator Bernie Sanders |website=Vermont Progressive Party |url=https://progressiveparty.org/2009/07/senator-bernie-sanders/ |first=Morgan |last=Daybell |date=July 1, 2009 |access-date=June 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407223525/https://progressiveparty.org/2009/07/senator-bernie-sanders/ |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Progressives never held more than six seats on the 13-member city council, but they had enough to keep the council from overriding Sanders's vetoes. Under his leadership, Burlington balanced its city budget; attracted a minor league baseball team, the [[Vermont Reds]], then the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] affiliate of the [[Cincinnati Reds]];<ref name="Shoah"/> became the first U.S. city to fund [[community land trust|community-trust housing]];<ref name="Dreier2015">{{cite web |last1=Dreier |first1=Peter |last2=Clavel |first2=Pierre |title=Bernie's Burlington: What Kind of Mayor Was Bernie Sanders? |website=[[Huffington Post]] |date=June 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403083551/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernies-burlington-what-k_b_7510704 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernies-burlington-what-k_b_7510704 |url-status=live |access-date=August 6, 2015}}</ref> and successfully sued the local [[Cable television in the United States|cable television]] franchise, thereby winning reduced rates for customers.<ref name="Shoah"/>+ − As mayor, Sanders also led extensive [[urban renewal|downtown revitalization]] projects. One of his primary achievements was improving Burlington's [[Lake Champlain]] waterfront.<ref name="Shoah"/> In 1981, he campaigned against the unpopular plans by Burlington developer Tony Pomerleau to convert the then-industrial<ref name="Gram2015b">{{cite news |url=https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/article22907835.html |title=Bernie Sanders kicks off 2016 bid from Clinton's left |work=[[The Bellingham Herald]] |date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160208054520/http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/article22907835.html |archive-date=February 8, 2016 |url-status=live |last1=Gram |first1=Dave |last2=Thomas |first2=Ken |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=December 9, 2015 }}</ref> waterfront property owned by the [[Central Vermont Railway]] into expensive condominiums, hotels, and offices.<ref name="Reynolds">{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=David |date=1997 |title=Democracy Unbound: Progressive Challenges to the Two Party System |publisher=South End Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/democracyunbound00davi/page/162 162] |url=https://archive.org/details/democracyunbound00davi |url-access=registration |isbn=9780896085633}}</ref> He ran under the slogan "Burlington is not for sale" and successfully supported a plan that redeveloped the waterfront area into a [[mixed-use]] district featuring housing, parks, and public spaces.<ref name="Reynolds"/>+ − + + − Sanders hosted and produced a [[public-access television]] program, ''Bernie Speaks with the Community'', from 1986 to 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/series/bernie-speaks-community|title=Bernie Speaks with the Community|website=[[Center for Media and Democracy]]|access-date=February 10, 2016|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Tim|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/bernie-sanders-cable-access-show-clips|title=I Can't Stop Watching These Old Clips of Bernie Sanders' Cable-Access Show|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=November 10, 2015|access-date=February 10, 2016}}</ref> He collaborated with 30 Vermont musicians to record a folk album, ''[[We Shall Overcome (Bernie Sanders album)|We Shall Overcome]]'', in 1987.<ref>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Mark|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2014/09/17/bernie-sanders-recorded-a-folk-album-no-punchline-required |title=Bernie Sanders Recorded a Folk Album. No Punchline Required|work=[[Seven Days (newspaper)|Seven Days]]|date=September 17, 2014|access-date=February 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kaczynski|first=Andrew|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/watch-this-1980s-bernie-sanders-public-access-show-on-record|title=Watch This 1980s Bernie Sanders Public Access Show On Recording His Folk Album|website=[[BuzzFeed]]|date=June 25, 2015|access-date=February 10, 2016}}</ref> That same year, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranked Sanders one of America's best mayors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1989/04/01/bernie-sanders-socialism/71a77c33-1573-4bb0-b59b-265e4c409ebc/|title=BERNIE SANDERS' SOCIALISM|first=Colman|last=McCarthy|date=April 1, 1989|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/press-release-hes-rock|title=Press Release - 'He's a Rock' {{!}} The American Presidency Project|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=February 18, 2020}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, Burlington was regarded as one of the most livable cities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Great Places to Live, 2013 |publisher=kiplinger.com |date=July 25, 2013 |url=https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/real-estate/T006-S003-10-great-places-to-live-2013/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cillizza |first=Chris |date=August 20, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders: The 'Uncola' of American politics |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/20/bernie-sanders-is-the-uncola-of-american-politics/}}</ref>+ + − When Sanders left office in 1989, Bouricius, a member of the Burlington city council, said that Sanders had "changed the entire nature of politics in Burlington and also in the state of Vermont".<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 4, 1989 |title=Friends honor Sanders as he says goodbye |page=1 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64758086/the-burlington-free-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201206221002/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64758086/the-burlington-free-press/ |archive-date=December 6, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>+ − ==U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2007)==+ − [[File:Bernie Sanders 104th Congress.jpg|thumb|upright|Representative Sanders in 1991]] − [[File:Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders 1993 (1).jpg|thumb|right|Sanders meeting in 1993 with Hillary Clinton to discuss [[Clinton health care plan of 1993|her plan]] to reform the healthcare system]] − {{See also|Electoral history of Bernie Sanders}} − ===Elections===+ − − Sanders was the first independent elected to the U.S. House of Representatives since [[Frazier Reams]] of [[Ohio]] won his second term in 1952,<ref name=Pertman>{{cite news |last=Pertman |first=Adam |date=November 11, 1990 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112214456/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294560914.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov%2011,%201990&author=Adam%20Pertman,%20Globe%20Staff&pub=Boston%20Globe%20(pre-1997%20Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=&desc=%27THE%20TIMES%20CAUGHT%20UP%27%20TO%20VERMONT%20SOCIALIST |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title='The Times Caught Up' To Vermont Socialist |work=[[Boston Globe]] |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294560914.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov%2011,%201990&author=Adam%20Pertman,%20Globe%20Staff&pub=Boston%20Globe%20(pre-1997%20Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=&desc=%27THE%20TIMES%20CAUGHT%20UP%27%20TO%20VERMONT%20SOCIALIST |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 12, 2013 }}</ref> as well as the first socialist elected to the House since [[Vito Marcantonio]], from the [[American Labor Party]], who won his last term in 1948.<ref name=Daly>{{cite news |last=Daly |first=Christopher B. |date=November 11, 1990 |title=For Vermont's Sanders, Victory Followed Long Path; First Socialist Elected to House in Decades Gets Attention With Frank Talk of Class Conflict |work=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/11/for-vermonts-sanders-victory-followed-long-path/36a3036c-d738-4039-a728-891ae9aba9f5/ |access-date=March 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name=Pertman/> Sanders served as a representative from 1991 until he became a senator in 2007, winning reelection by large margins except during the 1994 [[Republican Revolution]], when he won by 3%, with 50% of the vote.<ref name="Carle1995">{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994/94Stat.htm#45 |title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994 |date=May 12, 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114171645/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994/94Stat.htm |archive-date=November 14, 2015 |url-status=live |editor-last=Carle |editor-first=Robin H.}}</ref>+ − ===Legislation===+ − [[File:Bernie Sanders at Milton High School - Milton, Vermont.jpg|thumb|Sanders meeting with students at Milton High School in Milton, Vermont, 2004]] − During his first year in the House, Sanders often alienated allies and colleagues with his criticism of both political parties as [[Corporatocracy|working primarily on behalf of the wealthy]]. In 1991, he co-founded the [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]], a group of mostly liberal Democrats that he chaired for its first eight years,<ref name="Shoah"/> while still refusing to join the Democratic Party or caucus.<ref name=":17">{{cite news|title=Is Bernie Sanders a Democrat?|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/feb/23/bernie-sanders-democrat/|access-date=October 17, 2016|work= [[PolitiFact]] |first=Linda |last=Qiu |date=February 23, 2016 }}</ref>+ − + − ====Banking reform====+ − In 1999, Sanders voted and advocated against rolling back the [[Glass–Steagall legislation]] provisions that kept [[investment banks]] and commercial banks separate entities.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reformer.com/stories/who-should-pay,37444 |title=Who should pay? |work=Brattleboro Reformer |date=September 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529131100/http://www.reformer.com/reformereditorials/ci_10535992 |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was a vocal critic of [[Chair of the Federal Reserve|Federal Reserve Chair]] [[Alan Greenspan]]; in June 2003, during a question-and-answer discussion, Sanders told him he was concerned that Greenspan was "way out of touch" and "that you see your major function in your position as the need to represent the wealthy and large corporations."<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement of Congressman Sanders on 7/16/2003 regarding: Congressman Sanders' Questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan |via=Web.archive.org |url=http://bernie.house.gov/statements/20030716135257.asp |access-date=August 29, 2010 |date=July 16, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926023514/http://bernie.house.gov/statements/20030716135257.asp |archive-date=September 26, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Bernie Sanders, Alan Greenspan |date=July 15, 2003 |title=Monetary Policy Report |medium=Motion Picture |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?177412-1/monetary-policy-report&start=5352 |access-date=December 18, 2019 |time=1:29:12 |location=House Financial Services Committee |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Edmund L. |last=Andrews |work=The New York Times |date=October 23, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/business/economy/24panel.html |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation }}</ref><ref name="NPR">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96070766 |title=Greenspan Admits Free Market Ideology Flawed |publisher=NPR |date=October 24, 2008 |access-date=January 18, 2016 |author=Naylor, Brian}}</ref> − + − Concerned by high breast cancer rates in Vermont, on February 7, 1992, Sanders sponsored the Cancer Registries Amendment Act to establish [[cancer registry|cancer registries]] to collect data on cancer.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reynolds |first1=Tom |title=Cancer Data Bases Expanding |journal=Journal of the National Cancer Institute |date=May 6, 1992 |volume=84 |issue=9 |pages=839–841 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XkrRkNM16cC&pg=PA841 |access-date=January 22, 2020|doi=10.1093/jnci/84.11.839 |pmid=1593651 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Search Results |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/house-bill/4206|access-date = January 22, 2020|date = February 28, 1992}}</ref> Senator Patrick Leahy introduced a companion bill in the Senate on October 2, 1992. The Senate bill was passed by the House on October 6 and signed into law by President [[George H. W. Bush]] on October 24, 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results|url = https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/3312/actions |access-date = January 22, 2020|date = October 24, 1992}}</ref>+ − ====Firearms and criminal justice====+ − In 1993, Sanders voted against the [[Brady Bill]], which mandated federal background checks when buying guns and imposed a waiting period on firearm purchasers in the United States; the bill passed by a vote of 238–187.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times">{{cite web |last=Qiu |first=Linda |date=July 10, 2015 |title=Did Bernie Sanders vote against background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases? |website=[[PolitiFact]] |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/10/generation-forward-pac/did-bernie-sanders-vote-against-background-checks-/ |access-date=August 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 614 |website=US House of Representatives |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1993/roll614.xml |access-date=November 17, 2014}}</ref> He voted against the bill four more times in the 1990s, explaining his Vermont constituents saw waiting-period mandates as more appropriately a state than federal matter.<ref>{{cite web|last=Qiu|first=Linda|date=July 10, 2015|url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/jul/10/generation-forward-pac/did-bernie-sanders-vote-against-background-checks-/|title=Did Bernie Sanders vote against background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases?|website=PolitiFact|access-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref>+ + − + − + − In 2005, Sanders voted for the [[Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 534 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll534.xml |access-date=July 18, 2007}}</ref> The purpose of the act was to prevent firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for negligence when crimes have been committed with their products.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bradner |first=Eric |date=July 5, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders wants to 'bring us to the middle' on guns |website=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/05/politics/bernie-sanders-gun-control/ |access-date=July 6, 2015}}</ref> {{as of|2016}}, he said that he has since changed his position and would vote for legislation to defeat this bill.<ref name=":11" />+ − ====Opposition to the Patriot Act====+ − Sanders was a consistent critic of the [[Patriot Act]].<ref name="blogs.wsj.com">{{cite web |last=Tau |first=Byron |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Rand Paul, Bernie Sanders Revel in NSA Ruling |website=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/05/07/rand-paul-bernie-sanders-revel-in-nsa-ruling/ |access-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> As a member of Congress, he voted against the original Patriot Act legislation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 398 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll398.xml |access-date=May 19, 2015}}</ref> After its 357–66 passage in the House, he sponsored and voted for several subsequent amendments and acts attempting to curtail its effects<ref>{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=David L., Jr. |date=May 25, 2004 |title=Patriot Act |website=Libraries and First Amendment |publisher=First Amendment Center |url=https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/libraries-first-amendment-overview/patriot-act/ |access-date=May 19, 2015}}</ref> and voted against each reauthorization.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders: It's Time To End Orwellian Surveillance of Every American |work=Time |url=https://time.com/3850839/bernie-sanders-usa-patriot-act/ |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> In June 2005, he proposed an amendment to limit Patriot Act provisions that allow the government to obtain individuals' library and book-buying records. The amendment passed the House by a bipartisan majority, but was removed on November{{nbsp}}4 of that year in House–Senate negotiations and never became law.<ref>{{cite journal |date=November 4, 2005 |title=Sanders' Freedom to Read Language Dropped from Spending Bill |journal=American Library Association Washington Office Newsline |volume=14 |number=107 |url=http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/2005ab/107nov04.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060604000337/http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/2005ab/107nov04.htm |archive-date=June 4, 2006}}</ref> − ====Opposition to the War in Iraq====+ − Sanders voted against the [[Iraq Resolution|resolutions]] authorizing the use of force against Iraq in 1991 and 2002, and he opposed the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. He voted for the 2001 [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Vote Results for Roll Call 342 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2001/roll342.xml |access-date=October 13, 2014}}</ref> that has been cited as the legal justification for controversial military actions since the September 11 attacks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnsen |first=Gregory D. |date=January 16, 2014 |title=60 Words And A War Without End: The Untold Story Of The Most Dangerous Sentence In U.S. History |publisher=Buzzfeed |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/gregorydjohnsen/60-words-and-a-war-without-end-the-untold-story-of-the-most |access-date=October 13, 2014}}</ref> He voted for a [[non-binding resolution]] expressing support for troops at the outset of the invasion of Iraq, but gave a floor speech criticizing the partisan nature of the vote and the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]]'s actions in the run-up to the war. Regarding the leak of CIA agent [[Valerie Plame]]'s identity by a State Department official, he stated: "The revelation that the President authorized the release of classified information in order to discredit an Iraq war critic should tell every member of Congress that the time is now for a serious investigation of how we got into the war in Iraq and why Congress can no longer act as a rubber stamp for the President."<ref name="Yost2006">{{cite news |last=Yost |first=Pete |date=April 7, 2006 |title=Libby: Bush, Cheney OK'd leak campaign |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_3683110 |archive-date=December 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209220920/http://www.benningtonbanner.com/headlines/ci_3683110 |work=Bennington Banner |url-status=dead }}</ref> − ====Trade policy====+ − In February 2005, Sanders introduced a bill that would have withdrawn the [[permanent normal trade relations]] (PNTR) status that had been extended to China in October 2000. He said to the House, "Anyone who takes an objective look at our trade policy with China must conclude that it is an absolute failure and needs to be fundamentally overhauled", citing the American jobs being lost to overseas competitors. His bill received 71 co-sponsors but was not sent to the floor for a vote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kusumi|first=John|title=Monster Versus Monster: the Democratic Race|year=2008|publisher=Nolanchart}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=H.R.728 - To withdraw normal trade relations treatment from the products of the People's Republic of China. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/728?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22bernie+sanders%22%5D%7D&s=10&r=466 |website=congress.gov |access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref> − ==U.S. Senate (2007–present)==+ − − ===Elections===+ − {{Main|2006 United States Senate election in Vermont|2012 United States Senate election in Vermont|2018 United States Senate election in Vermont}} − Sanders entered the race for the U.S. Senate on April 21, 2005, after Senator [[Jim Jeffords]] announced that he would not seek a fourth term. [[Chuck Schumer]], chairman of the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]], endorsed Sanders, a critical move as it meant that no Democrat running against him could expect to receive financial help from the party. He was also endorsed by [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Minority Leader]] [[Harry Reid]] and [[Democratic National Committee]] chairman and former Vermont governor [[Howard Dean]]. Dean said in May 2005 that he considered Sanders an ally who "votes with the Democrats 98% of the time."<ref>{{cite web |date=May 22, 2005 |title=Transcript for May 22: Guest: Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party |publisher= [[NBC News]] |work=[[Meet the Press]] |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7924139 |access-date=August 1, 2011}}</ref> Then-Senator [[Barack Obama]] also campaigned for him in Vermont in March 2006.<ref>{{cite web |last=Krieg |first=Gregory |date=July 9, 2015 |title=Watch Young Senator Barack Obama Campaign for Bernie Sanders in 2006 |publisher=mic.com |quote=Back in March 2006, the future president traveled to Vermont to headline a rally and fundraiser for then-Rep. Bernie Sanders, an independent running for Senate, and Pete Welch, a Democrat seeking election to Sanders's House seat. |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/122011/watch-young-senator-barack-obama-campaign-for-bernie-sanders-in-2006 |access-date=July 20, 2015}}</ref> Sanders entered into an agreement with the Democratic Party, much as he had as a congressman, to be listed in their primary but to decline the nomination should he win, which he did.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Jessica |date=June 24, 2015 |title=This Quirky New Hampshire Law Might Keep Bernie Sanders Off The Ballot |publisher=NPR |quote=He did appear on the Democratic primary ballot in Vermont for the Senate in both 2006 and 2012, winning their primary, but he declined the nomination both times so he could run as an independent. |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/24/416929786/this-quirky-new-hampshire-law-might-keep-sanders-off-the-ballot |access-date=July 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Nichols |first=John |author-link=John Nichols (journalist) |date=May 26, 2015 |title='Don't Underestimate Me': Bernie Sanders Knows a Thing or Two About Winning |work=The Nation |quote=When Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords, a Republican who turned independent in his last term, announced that he was stepping down in 2006, Sanders jumped into a race that a number of Democrats would have liked to run. He won the Democratic primary and then declined the nomination, mounting an audacious independent run that was not supposed to be easy. |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/why-bernie-sanders-says-dont-underestimate-me/ |access-date=July 20, 2015}}</ref>+ + + + − [[File:Bernie Sanders January 2013.jpg|thumb|Sanders being sworn-in for his second term in 2013 by Joe Biden]]+ − − ===Legislation===+ − While a member of Congress, Sanders sponsored 15 concurrent resolutions and 15 Senate resolutions.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results|url = https://www.congress.gov/member/bernard-sanders/S000033?s=6&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22bernie+sanders%22%5D%2C%22type%22%3A%22resolutions%22%2C%22sponsorship%22%3A%22sponsored%22%7D|access-date = January 21, 2020}}</ref> Of those he co-sponsored, 218 became law.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results|url = https://www.congress.gov/member/bernard-sanders/S000033?s=6&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22bernie+sanders%22%5D%2C%22sponsorship%22%3A%22cosponsored%22%2C%22bill-status%22%3A%22law%22%7D|access-date = January 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results|url = https://www.congress.gov/member/bernard-sanders/S000033?s=6&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22bernie+sanders%22%5D%2C%22bill-status%22%3A%22law%22%2C%22sponsorship%22%3A%22sponsored%22%7D|access-date = January 21, 2020}}</ref> While he has consistently advocated for progressive causes, ''[[Politico]]'' wrote that he has "rarely forged actual legislation or left a significant imprint on it."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernies-record-220508 |first=Edward-Isaac |last=Dovere |title=Sanders had big ideas but little impact on Capitol Hill|work=[[Politico]] |date=March 12, 2016 |access-date=June 4, 2018 }}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', "Big legislation largely eludes Mr. Sanders because his ideas are usually far to the left of the majority of the Senate… Mr. Sanders has largely found ways to press his agenda through appending small provisions to the larger bills of others."<ref>{{Cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Steinhauer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/us/politics/bernie-sanders-amendments.html|title=Via Legislative Side Doors, Bernie Sanders Won Modest Victories|date=March 14, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 4, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> During his time in the Senate, he had lower legislative effectiveness than the average senator, as measured by the number of sponsored bills that passed and successful amendments made.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/07/hillary-clinton-was-a-more-effective-lawmaker-than-bernie-sanders/|title=Hillary Clinton was a more effective lawmaker than Bernie Sanders|last=Lazarus|first=Jeffrey|date=April 7, 2016|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 4, 2018 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Nevertheless, he has sponsored over 500 amendments to bills,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results|url = https://www.congress.gov/member/bernard-sanders/S000033?s=6&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22bernie+sanders%22%5D%2C%22type%22%3A%22amendments%22%2C%22sponsorship%22%3A%22sponsored%22%7D|access-date = January 22, 2020}}</ref> many of which became law. The results of these amendments include a ban on imported goods made by child labor; $100 million in funding for community health centers; $10 million for an outreach program for servicemembers suffering from [[posttraumatic stress disorder]], traumatic brain injury, depression, panic attacks, and other mental disorders; a public database of senior [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] officials seeking employment with defense contractors; and including autism treatment in the [[Tricare|military healthcare program]].<ref name=Levitz/> − ====Finance and monetary policy====+ − In 2008 and 2009, Sanders voted against the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]] (TARP), a program to purchase toxic banking assets and provide loans to banks that were in free-fall.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Eugene |last=Kiely |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2016/03/clinton-sanders-bailout-brawl/|title=Clinton-Sanders Bailout Brawl - FactCheck.org|date=March 7, 2016|work=FactCheck.org|access-date=June 4, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/07/hillary-clinton/michigan-hillary-clinton-says-bernie-sanders-was-a/ |title=In Michigan, Hillary Clinton says Bernie Sanders 'was against the auto bailout'|work=[[PolitiFact]] |access-date=June 4, 2018 |first=Lauren |last=Carroll |date=March 7, 2016 }}</ref> On February 4, 2009, he sponsored an amendment to ensure that TARP funds would not displace U.S. workers. The amendment passed and was added to the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]].<ref name=Levitz>{{cite news |last1=Levitz |first1=Eric |title=Hillary Clinton Won't Commit to Endorsing Sanders If He Wins Nomination |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-attack-hollywood-reporter-fact-check.html |access-date=January 22, 2020 |work=New York |publisher=Vox Media |date=January 21, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Legislative Search Results |url=https://www.congress.gov/amendment/111th-congress/senate-amendment/306|access-date = January 22, 2020|date=February 6, 2009}}</ref> Among his proposed financial reforms is [[Federal Reserve Transparency Act|auditing the Federal Reserve]], which would reduce its independence in monetary policy deliberations; Federal Reserve officials say that "Audit the Fed" legislation would expose the Federal Reserve to undue political pressure from lawmakers who do not like its decisions.<ref name="Robb">{{Cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/audit-the-fed-bill-fails-despite-support-from-paul-sanders-2016-01-12 |date=January 12, 2016 |title='Audit the Fed' bill fails despite support from Paul, Sanders|last=Robb|first=Greg|work=MarketWatch|access-date=December 16, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="usnews.com">{{cite web |title=Democrats Kill Rand Paul's Audit the Fed Bill, Though Sanders Votes Yes |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-01-12/democrats-kill-rand-pauls-audit-the-fed-bill-though-sanders-votes-yes |last=Nelson |first=Steven |date=January 12, 2016|website=U.S. News & World Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112230625/http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-01-12/democrats-kill-rand-pauls-audit-the-fed-bill-though-sanders-votes-yes|archive-date=January 12, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Schroeder">{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/265556-sanders-to-back-audit-the-fed-bill |title=Sanders to vote for Paul's 'Audit the Fed' bill|last=Schroeder|first=Peter|date=January 12, 2016|work=TheHill|access-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref> − + − On December 10, 2010, Sanders delivered an {{frac|8|1|2}}–hour speech against the [[Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010]],{{efn|A long speech such as this is commonly known as a [[filibuster]], but because it did not block action, it was not technically a filibuster under Senate rules.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 10, 2010 |title=Senator Sanders Filibuster |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?297021-5/senator-sanders-filibuster |access-date=June 1, 2015}}</ref>}} which proposed extending the [[Bush-era tax rates]]. He argued that the legislation would favor the wealthiest Americans. "Enough is enough!… How many homes can you own?" he asked.<ref name="Filibuster">{{cite news |date=December 10, 2010 |last=Memoli |first=Michael A. |title=Sen. Bernie Sanders ends filibuster |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-10-la-pn-sanders-filibuster-20101211-story.html |access-date=August 1, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Burleigh |first=Nina |date=October 25, 2011 |title=Bernie Sanders' war on the banks |website=Salon |url=https://www.salon.com/2011/10/25/bernie_sanders_war_on_the_banks/ |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-holds-old-school-filibuster-against-obama-gop-tax-cut-deal/|title=Bernie Sanders Holds Old-School Filibuster Against Obama-GOP Tax Cut Deal|last=Condon|first=Stephanie|date=December 10, 2010|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref> Nevertheless, the bill passed the Senate with a strong majority and was signed into law a week later.<ref name="tpmdc-vote">{{cite news|author=Beutler, Brian | date=December 16, 2010|url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/house-passes-tax-cut-plan-obama-to-sign.php |title=House Passes Tax Cut Plan, Obama To Sign | |work=[[Talking Points Memo]] |access-date=December 17, 2010}}</ref> In February 2011, [[Nation Books]] published the speech as ''[[The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class]]'', with authorial proceeds going to Vermont [[nonprofit organization|nonprofit charitable organizations]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/03/15/sanders-85-hour-tax-cut-filibuster-gets-a-book|title=Sanders's 8.5 Hour Tax Cut Filibuster Gets a Book|first=Paul|last=Bedard|magazine=US News|date=March 15, 2011|access-date=May 15, 2016}}</ref>+ + − + − ====Foreign policy====+ − On June 12, 2017, U.S. senators agreed to legislation imposing [[Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act|new sanctions]] on [[Russia]] and [[Iran]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bernie's Vote On Sanctions Was About Protecting The Iran Deal From Trump |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernies-vote-on-sanctions-was-about-protecting-the-iran-deal-from-trump_b_597df7f8e4b0da64e879b55e |first=Ida |last=Adibi |work=HuffPost |date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> The bill was opposed only by Sanders and Republican [[Rand Paul]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/us-bill-on-russia-sanctions-prompts-german-austrian-outcry/a-39270624 |title=US bill on Russia sanctions prompts German, Austrian outcry |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=June 15, 2017 }}</ref> He supported the sanctions on Russia, but voted against the bill because he believed the sanctions could endanger the [[Iran nuclear deal]].<ref>{{cite press release |last= Sanders|first= Bernie|date= June 15, 2017|title= Sanders Statement on Iran and Russia Sanctions|url= https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-iran-and-russia-sanctions|location= [[Washington, D.C.]]|publisher= [[United States Senate]]|access-date= August 27, 2019}}</ref> − + − + − + − In mid-December 2009, Sanders successfully added a provision to the [[Affordable Care Act]] to fund $11 billion to [[community health centers]], especially those in [[Medical deserts in the United States|rural areas]]. The provision brought together Democrats on the left with Democrats from conservative, rural areas, helping to secure the 60 votes needed for passage.<ref name=Levitz/> On May 4, 2017, in response to the House vote to [[Efforts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act|repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act]], he predicted "thousands of Americans would die" from no longer having access to health care.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/bernie-sanders-republican-health-care-bill-anderson-cooper-cnntv/ |title=Thousands will die if House bill becomes law, Bernie Sanders says|first=Leinz|last=Vales|publisher=CNN|date=May 4, 2017}}</ref> [[PolitiFact]] rated his statement "mostly true."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jun/27/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-projection-thousands-added-deaths-g/ |title=Bernie Sanders' projection of 'thousands' of deaths from lost health coverage is well-supported|last=Jacobson |first=Louis|date=June 27, 2017|website=[[PolitiFact]]|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref> − In September 2017, Sanders along with 15 Senate co-sponsors submitted the Medicare for All bill, a [[single-payer healthcare]] plan. The bill covers vision and dental care, unlike Medicare. Some Republicans have called the bill "Berniecare" and "the latest Democratic push for socialized medicine and higher taxes." He responded that the Republican Party has no credibility on the issue of health care after voting for legislation that would take health insurance away from 32 million Americans under the [[Affordable Care Act]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kurtzleben|first1=Danielle|title=Here's What's In Bernie Sanders' 'Medicare For All' Bill |date=September 14, 2017 |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/14/550768280/heres-whats-in-bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-bill |work=NPR |access-date=September 17, 2017}}</ref>+ + − As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, Sanders has introduced legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the [[Older Americans Act]], which supports [[Meals on Wheels]] and other programs for seniors.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 23, 2015 |title=Older Americans Act |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/2013/05/23/older-americans-act |website=Sanders.Senate.gov |access-date=July 4, 2015}}</ref>+ + − + − In 2007, Sanders helped kill a bill introducing comprehensive immigration reform, arguing that its guest-worker program would depress wages for American workers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |first=Seung Min |last=Kim |date=June 19, 2015 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/bernie-sanders-and-immigration-its-complicated-119190|title=Sanders and immigration? It's complicated|work=Politico|access-date=June 4, 2018|language=en}}</ref> In 2010, he supported the [[DREAM Act]], which would have provided a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who had been brought to the United States as minors.<ref name=":13" /> In 2013, he supported the [[Gang of Eight (immigration)|Gang of Eight]]'s comprehensive immigration reform bill after securing a $1.5 billion youth jobs program provision, which he argued would offset the harm of labor market competition with immigrants.<ref name=":13" />+ − ====Income and wealth distribution====+ − [[File:Sanders Introduces $15 Minimum Wage.jpg|thumb|Sanders introduced legislation to [[Fight for $15|raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour]], April 2017]] − In April 2017, Sanders introduced a bill that would raise the [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum wage]] for federal contract workers to $15 an hour, an increase over an earlier Democratic $12 an hour proposal.<ref name = Lachman >{{cite news |first=Samantha |last=Lachman |date=July 22, 2015 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-minimum-wage-bill_n_55afbbd1e4b0a9b9485332eb |title=Bernie Sanders Introduces $15 Minimum Wage Bill As Federal Contract Workers Strike |work=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=August 18, 2015 }}</ref> On May 9, 2018, he introduced the [[Workplace Democracy Act]], a bill that would expand labor rights by making it easier for workers to join a union, ban right-to-work laws and some anti-union provisions of the [[Taft–Hartley Act]], and outlaw some union-busting tactics. Announcing the legislation, he said, "If we are serious about reducing income and wealth inequality and rebuilding the middle class, we have got to substantially increase the number of union jobs in this country."<ref>{{cite news |last= Kampf-Lassin |first=Miles |date= May 9, 2018 |title=Bernie Sanders Has a Sweeping Plan to Expand Union Rights and Workplace Democracy |url=http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/21130/bernie_sanders_labor_unions_workplace_democracy_elizabeth_warren |work=[[In These Times]] |access-date=May 12, 2018}}</ref>+ + − Sanders opposed the [[2018 United States federal budget]] proposed by the [[Presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]], calling it "a budget for the billionaire class, for Wall Street, for corporate CEOs, and for the wealthiest people in this country… nothing less than a massive transfer of wealth from working families, the elderly, children, the sick and the poor to the top 1%."<ref>{{cite news |date=May 24, 2017 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/24/opinions/trump-budget-is-immoral-sanders-opinion/ |title=Bernie Sanders: Trump's budget is immoral|last1=Sanders|first1=Bernie|publisher=CNN|access-date=October 25, 2017}}</ref>+ − After the November 2017 revelations from the [[Paradise Papers]] and a recent report from the [[Institute for Policy Studies]] which says just three people ([[Jeff Bezos]], [[Bill Gates]], and [[Warren Buffett]]) own more [[Distribution of wealth|wealth]] than the bottom half of the U.S. population, Sanders stated that "we must end global [[oligarchy]]" and that "we need, in the United States and throughout the world, a tax system which is fair, progressive and transparent."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/13/opinions/oligarchy-paradise-papers-bernie-sanders-opinion/index.html |title=Bernie Sanders: We must end global oligarchy|last=Sanders|first=Bernie|date=November 13, 2017|access-date=November 13, 2017|publisher=CNN}}</ref>+ + − On September 5, 2018, Sanders partnered with [[Ro Khanna]] to introduce the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop [[Jeff Bezos|BEZOS]]) Act, which would require large corporations to pay for the food stamps and Medicaid benefits that their employees receive, relieving the burden on taxpayers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/5/17822810/bernie-sanders-bill-bezos-amazon-ro-khanna|title=Bernie Sanders's BEZOS bill takes aim at how Amazon pays workers|first=Emily|last=Stewart|publisher=Vox|date=September 5, 2018|access-date=September 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Santus |first=Rex |date=October 2, 2018 |title=Jeff Bezos just caved to activists and Bernie Sanders and raised Amazon's minimum wage to $15|url=https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/yw4n7j/jeff-bezos-just-caved-to-activists-and-bernie-sanders-and-raised-amazons-minimum-wage-to-dollar15|work=Vice |access-date=October 4, 2018|quote=What Mr. Bezos today has done is not only enormously important for Amazon's hundreds of thousands of employees. It could well be, and I think it will be, a shot heard around the world.}}</ref>+ + − + − [[File:Bernie Sanders talking to soldiers.jpg|thumb|Sanders speaking to members of the [[Vermont Army National Guard]] sent to [[Washington, D.C.]] as [[security preparations for the inauguration of Joe Biden]] in 2021]]+ − On June 9, 2014, Sanders sponsored the [[Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014]] to reform the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs|Department of Veterans Affairs]] in the wake of the [[Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014]]. He worked with Senator [[John McCain]], who co-sponsored the bill.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Herb |first1=Jeramy |title=Sanders, McCain strike VA deal |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/bernie-sanders-john-mccain-va-deal-107491|access-date=January 22, 2020|work=Politico|date=June 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Legislative Search Results|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2450/all-actions|website= Congress of the United States|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> His bill was incorporated into the House version of the bill, which passed both chambers on July 31, 2014, and was signed into law by President Obama on August 7, 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Legislative Search Results|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3230/actions|website=Congress of the United States|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> − + − On March 17, 2016, Sanders said he would support [[Merrick Garland]]'s nomination to the Supreme Court, though he added, "there are some more progressive judges out there."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernie-sanders-convention-220954 |title=Sanders: I wouldn't have picked Garland for Supreme Court|first1=Hanna|last1=Trudo|first2=Nick|last2=Gass|work=Politico|date=March 17, 2016}}</ref> He opposed [[Neil Gorsuch]]'s nomination to the Court, saying that Gorsuch had "refused to answer legitimate questions."<ref name = "hill"/> He also objected to Senate Republicans using the [[nuclear option]] to "choke off debate and ram the nomination through the Senate."<ref name = "hill">{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/325453-sanders-to-oppose-gorsuchs-nomination |title=Sanders to oppose Gorsuch's nomination|first=Jordain|last=Carney|newspaper=The Hill|date=March 23, 2017}}</ref> He voted against Gorsuch's confirmation as an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justice]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/07/us/politics/gorsuch-confirmation-vote.html|title=How Senators Voted on the Gorsuch Confirmation|last=Carlsen|first=Audrey|date=April 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 14, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>+ − ===Committee assignments===+ − As an independent, Sanders worked out a deal with the Senate Democratic leadership in which he agreed to vote with the Democrats on all procedural matters unless the Democratic [[Assistant Majority Leader|whip]], [[Dick Durbin]], agreed that he need not (a request rarely made or granted). In return he was allowed to keep his seniority and received the committee seats that would have been available to him as a Democrat; in 2013–14 he was chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs]] (during the [[Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014|Veterans Health Administration scandal]]).<ref name=vet>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/10/15/bernie-sanders-veterans-affairs-griffin-dnt-ac.cnn |title=Bernie Sanders criticized for leadership in VA committee |work=[[Anderson Cooper 360°]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |first=Anderson |last=Cooper |date=October 15, 2015 |access-date=December 18, 2019 }}</ref><ref name=hillcommittee>{{cite web |last=Needham |first=Vicki |date=December 12, 2014 |title=Senate Democrats lock in key committee memberships |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/policy/finance/227000-senate-democrats-set-key-committee-memberships |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref> − Sanders became the [[Ranking member|ranking minority member]] on the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]] in 2015 and the chair in 2021; he previously chaired the [[Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]] for two years. Since 2017, he has been chair of the [[United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee|Senate Democratic Outreach Committee]].<ref name=hillcommittee/> He appointed economics professor [[Stephanie Kelton]], a [[modern monetary theory]] scholar, as the chief economic adviser for the committee's Democratic minority and presented a report about helping "rebuild the disappearing middle class" that included proposals to raise the minimum wage, boost [[Infrastructure-based development|infrastructure spending]], and increase [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] payments.<ref>{{cite web |last=Resnikoff |first=Ned |date=February 19, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders, mulling presidential run, adopts novel stance on deficit |work=[[Al Jazeera]] |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/19/bernie-sanders-mulling-2016-bid-adopts-a-novel-stance-on-the-deficit.html |access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>+ + − {{As of|2021}}, Sanders's committee assignments are as follows:<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.sanders.senate.gov/about-bernie/committee-assignments/| title = Committee Assignments| last = Staff| website = sanders.senate.gov| publisher = US Senate| access-date = February 11, 2021}}</ref>+ − * '''[[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]]''' (Chairman) − * '''[[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Committee on Environment and Public Works]]''' − ** [[United States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety|Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety]] − ** [[United States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy|Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy]] − ** [[United States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure|Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure]] − * '''[[United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources|Committee on Energy and Natural Resources]]''' − ** [[United States Senate Energy Subcommittee on Energy|Subcommittee on Energy]] − ** [[United States Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks|Subcommittee on National Parks]] − ** [[United States Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water and Power|Subcommittee on Water and Power]] − * '''[[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions]]''' − ** [[United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families|Subcommittee on Children and Families]] − ** [[United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging|Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging]] − * '''[[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Committee on Veterans' Affairs]]''' (former Chair) − + − + − * [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Caucus Members|url=https://progressives.house.gov/caucus-members|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Congressional Progressive Caucus|language=en}}</ref>+ − * [[Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate]]+ − * [[Afterschool Caucuses|United States Senate Afterschool Caucus]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Members|url=http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyCongressionalCaucuses.cfm |publisher=Afterschool Alliance|access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref>+ − ===Approval ratings===+ − Polling conducted in August 2011 by [[Public Policy Polling]] found that Sanders's approval rating was 67% and his disapproval rating 28%, making him then the third-most popular U.S. senator.<ref name="Easley"/> Both the [[NAACP]] (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and the [[National Hispanic Leadership Agenda|NHLA]] (National Hispanic Leadership Agenda) have given him 100% voting scores during his tenure in the Senate.<ref name="Ackerman2015">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/06/sanders-race-primary-president-civil-rights/ |title=Give the People What They Want: Bernie Sanders' signature issues aren't 'white' issues |magazine=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |date=June 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721162037/http://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/06/sanders-race-primary-president-civil-rights/ |archive-date=July 21, 2015 |url-status=live |last=Ackerman |first=Seth |issn=2158-2602}}</ref> In 2015, he was named one of the Top{{nbsp}}5 of ''[[The Forward]]'' 50.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 11, 2015 |url=https://forward.com/series/forward-50/2015/ |title=Forward 50 2015 |newspaper=[[The Forward]] |access-date=November 11, 2015}}</ref> In a November 2015 [[Morning Consult]] poll, he reached an 83% approval rating among his constituents, making him the most popular U.S. senator.<ref name="newsweek.com"/> [[Fox News]] found him to have the highest net favorability at +28 points of any prominent politician included in its March 2017 poll.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/17/everyone-loves-bernie-sanders-except-democratic-party |first=Trevor |last=Timm |access-date=December 18, 2019 |title=Everyone loves Bernie Sanders. Except, it seems, the Democratic party |work=The Guardian |date=March 17, 2017 }}</ref> He ranked third in 2014 and first in both 2015 and 2016.<ref name="newsweek.com">{{cite news |first=Taylor |last=Wofford |access-date=December 18, 2019 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-most-popular-senator-397853 |title=Bernie Sanders Is America's Most Popular Senator, New Survey Says |work=Newsweek |date=November 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Easley">{{cite web |last=Easley |first=Jason |date=August 2, 2011 |title=Americans Love Socialism: Bernie Sanders Is The 3rd Most Popular US Senator |website=Politics USA |url=http://archives.politicususa.com/2011/08/02/socialism-bernie-sanders.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229152746/http://archives.politicususa.com/2011/08/02/socialism-bernie-sanders.html |archive-date=December 29, 2014 |access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Newsweek">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-most-popular-senator-453479 |title=Bernie Sanders is America's Most Popular Senator, Mitch McConnell its Least |website=Newsweek |date=April 28, 2016 |access-date=September 17, 2016 |author=Wofford, Taylor}}</ref>+ + − In April 2017, a nationwide Harvard-Harris Poll found that Sanders had the highest favorability rating among the political figures included in the poll,<ref name="thehill.com" /> a standing confirmed by subsequent polling.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/347811-poll-mcconnell-the-countrys-least-popular-politician|title=Poll: McConnell the country's least popular politician|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=August 24, 2017|first=Jonathan|last=Easley}}</ref>+ + + + + − ==2016 presidential campaign==+ − {{main|Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign|2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}+ − + − + + + + + − During the [[2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2012 Democratic presidential primaries]], Sanders—dissatisfied with President Obama's "attempts to trade [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] cuts for tax hikes"—reportedly considered running against him in the primaries. Sanders had previously suggested in 2011 that it was "a good idea" for someone to challenge Obama, and "got so close to running a primary challenge… that Senator [[Harry Reid]] had to intervene to stop him."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levitz |first1=Eric |title=Sanders Considered Primarying Obama in 2012: Report |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/bernie-sanders-primary-obama-2012-social-security.html |website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=February 23, 2020 |date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> In November 2013, Sanders suggested that Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]] could be president and that she might earn his backing if she ran. He added that if no progressive candidate ran, he might feel compelled to do so himself.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Joseph |first1=Cameron |title=Bernie Sanders won't rule out presidential bid, touts Elizabeth Warren |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/190544-bernie-sanders-wont-rule-out-presidential-bid-touts |access-date=January 25, 2020 |work=The Hill |publisher=News Communications |date=November 18, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Eidelson |first1=Josh |title=Bernie Sanders: Why I might run in 2016 |url=https://www.salon.com/2013/11/27/bernie_sanders_why_i_might_run_in_2016/ |access-date=January 25, 2020 |work=Salon |date=November 27, 2013}}</ref> In December 2014, Warren said she was not running.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Inskeep |first1=Steve |title='Warning Shot': Sen. Warren On Fighting Banks, And Her Political Future |url=https://www.wbur.org/npr/370817279/sen-warren-warns-that-spending-bill-sets-dangerous-precedent |access-date=January 25, 2020 |work=90.9 WBUR News |agency=NPR |date=December 15, 2014}}</ref>+ + − Sanders announced his intention to seek the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s nomination for president on April 30, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/back-bernie-sanders-campaign-year/story?id=38763976|title=A Look Back at Bernie Sanders' Campaign One Year Later|website=ABC News}}</ref><ref name="kane2015">{{cite web |last1=Kane |first1=Paul |last2=Rucker |first2=Philip |date=April 30, 2015 |title=An unlikely contender, Sanders takes on 'billionaire class' in 2016 bid |website=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-takes-on-billionaire-class-in-launching-2016-bid-against-clinton/2015/04/30/4849fe32-ef3a-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9_story.html |access-date=April 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20150429">{{cite news |last=Rappeport |first=Alan |date=April 29, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Announces He Is Running for President |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign-for-president.html |access-date=April 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Cogan">{{cite web |last=Cogan |first=Marin |date=April 30, 2015 |title=Daily Intelligencer: Bernie Sanders Is Officially Running for President – That Doesn't Mean You Can Ask Him About Hillary Clinton |website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/04/sanders-is-running-just-dont-say-hillary.html |access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> [[Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016|His campaign]] was officially launched on May 26 in Burlington.<ref name="NYT-20150429"/> In his announcement Sanders said, "I don't believe that the men and women who defended American democracy fought to create a situation where billionaires own the political process," and made this a central idea throughout his campaign.<ref name=kane2015/><ref name="NYT-20150429"/>+ + + − Warren welcomed Sanders's entry into the race, saying, "I'm glad to see him get out there and give his version of what leadership in this country should be," but never endorsed him.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pointdujour |first=Prisca |date=May 2, 2015 |title=Elizabeth Warren praises Bernie Sanders prez bid |work=[[Boston Herald]] |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2015/05/elizabeth_warren_praises_bernie_sanders_prez_bid |access-date=May 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kamisar |first=Ben |date=June 19, 2015 |title=Ready for Warren Endorses Sanders |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/245541-ready-for-warren-endorses-sanders |access-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref>+ − Initially considered a long shot, Sanders won 23 [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016|primaries and caucuses]] and around 46% of pledged delegates to [[Hillary Clinton]]'s 54%. His campaign was noted for its supporters' enthusiasm, as well as for rejecting large donations from corporations, the financial industry, and any associated [[Super PAC]]. Some of the [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) emails leaked to the public in June and July 2016 showed that the committee leadership had favored Clinton over him and had worked to help Clinton win the nomination.<ref name=Here_are_the_latest>{{cite web |first=Aaron |last=Blake |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/24/here-are-the-latest-most-damaging-things-in-the-dncs-leaked-emails/ |title=Here are the latest, most damaging things in the DNC's leaked emails|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 24, 2016}}</ref>+ − On July 12, 2016, Sanders formally endorsed Clinton [[Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016|in her unsuccessful general election campaign]] against [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Donald Trump]], while urging his supporters to continue the "political revolution" his campaign had begun.<ref name="Endorsement2016">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/11/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/ |title=Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton |first1=MJ |last1=Lee |first2=Dan |last2=Merica |first3=Jeff |last3=Zeleny |author3-link=Jeff Zeleny |work=CNN |access-date=May 15, 2018 |date=July 12, 2016}}</ref>+ − ===Campaign methods===+ − Unlike the other major candidates, Sanders did not pursue funding through a [[Super PAC]] or by wealthy donors, instead focusing on small-dollar donations.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Bradner |first=Eric |date=April 30, 2015 |title=Sanders doesn't want billionaires' backing |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/30/politics/bernie-sanders-presidential-run-first-interview/ |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref> His presidential campaign raised $1.5 million within 24 hours of his official announcement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Ken |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Sanders raises $1.5M after announcing presidential bid |agency=[[Associated Press]] |website=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/sanders-raises-1-5m-announcing-presidential-bid-194439911--election.html |access-date=July 19, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722043633/http://news.yahoo.com/sanders-raises-1-5m-announcing-presidential-bid-194439911--election.html |archive-date=July 22, 2015 }}</ref> At the end of the year, the campaign had raised a total of $73 million from more than one million people, making 2.5 million donations, with an average donation of $27.16.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 2, 2016 |title=Sanders raises $33M in final quarter, $73M total for 2015 |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/sanders-fundraising-final-quarter-2015-217288 |access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> The campaign reached 3.25 million donations by the end of January 2016, raising $20 million in that month alone.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-fundraising_n_56ae4f7ee4b0010e80ea7bdb |title=Bernie Sanders' Small Donor Fundraising Continues To Set Records |work=HuffPost |date=January 31, 2015 |first=Paul |last=Blumenthal }}</ref> − Sanders used social media to help his campaign gain momentum,<ref>{{cite news |last=Corasaniti |first=Nick |date=May 18, 2015 |title=Seeking the Presidency, Bernie Sanders Becomes Facebook Royalty Through Quirky Sharing |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/us/politics/bernie-sanders-wants-to-be-president-but-hes-already-facebook-royalty.html |access-date=May 21, 2015}}</ref> posting content to online platforms such as [[Twitter]] and [[Facebook]] and answering questions on [[Reddit]]. He gained a large grassroots organizational following online. A July 29, 2015, meetup organized online brought 100,000 supporters to more than 3,500 simultaneous events nationwide.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lisa |last=Lerer |date=July 30, 2015 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-draws-more-than-100000-2015-7 |title=More than 100,000 people participated in a mega-grassroots Bernie Sanders event |work=Business Insider |access-date=August 19, 2015 }}</ref>+ + + + − To his surprise, Sanders's June 2015 campaign events drew overflow crowds across the country.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |first=Sofia |last=Tesfaye |date=June 16, 2015 |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/06/16/america_is_feeling_the_bern_bernie_sanders_draws_overflow_crowds_and_surges_in_the_polls/ |title=America is feeling the Bern: Bernie Sanders draws overflow crowds{{snd}}and surges in the polls |work=[[Salon.com]] |access-date=June 16, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Wagner |date=June 15, 2015 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/15/meet-the-people-coming-to-see-bernie-sanders-in-iowa/ |title=Meet the people coming to see Bernie Sanders in Iowa |work=The Washington Post |access-date=June 16, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Keith">{{cite news |first=Tamara |last=Keith |date=June 15, 2015 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/15/414689799/bernie-sanders-stunned-by-large-crowds-showing-up-for-him |title=Bernie Sanders 'Stunned' By Large Crowds Showing Up For Him |work=NPR |access-date=June 16, 2015 }}</ref> When Clinton and Sanders made public appearances within days of each other in [[Des Moines, Iowa]], he drew larger crowds, even though he had already made many stops around the state and Clinton's visit was her first in 2015.<ref name=GuardianSandersVsClinton>{{cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Ben |date=June 25, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders closes on Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire Democrats poll |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/25/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-new-hampshire-democrats-poll |website=The Guardian |access-date=July 2, 2015}}</ref> On July 1, 2015, his campaign stop in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], drew the largest crowd of any 2016 presidential candidate to that date, with an estimated turnout of 10,000.<ref name="MSNBCMadisonBiggestCrowd">{{cite web |last=Seitz-Wald |first=Alex |date=July 1, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders draws biggest crowd of any 2016 candidate yet |publisher=MSNBC |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bernie-sanders-draws-biggest-crowd-any-2016-candidate-yet |access-date=July 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name="HuffPo10K">{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Mollie |date=July 1, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Draws His Biggest Crowd Yet In Progressive Stronghold |website=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-madison_n_7709966 |access-date=July 2, 2015}}</ref> Over the following weeks, he drew even larger crowds: 11,000 in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]];<ref name="Washington Post AZ crowd">{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=John |date=July 19, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders draws his biggest crowd yet – in Arizona of all places |website=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/19/bernie-sanders-draws-his-biggest-crowd-yet-in-arizona-of-all-places/ |access-date=July 21, 2015}}</ref> 15,000 in [[Seattle]];<ref>{{cite web |last=Connelly |first=Joel |date=August 8, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders draws 15,000 people at UW, state's biggest political crowd since 2010 Obama visit |website=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |url=https://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2015/08/08/bernie-sanders-draws-15000-people-at-uw-states-biggest-political-crowd-since-2010-obama-visit/ |access-date=August 9, 2015}}</ref> and 28,000 in [[Portland, Oregon]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Cillizza |date=August 10, 2015 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/10/this-bernie-sanders-crowd-shot-should-make-hillary-clinton-a-little-jittery/ |title=This Bernie Sanders crowd shot should make Hillary Clinton a little jittery |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 10, 2015 }}</ref>+ − ===Presidential debates===+ − {{main|2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums}} − The [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) announced in May 2015 that there would be six debates. Critics alleged that the small number of debates and the schedule, with half of the debates on Saturday or Sunday nights, were part of the DNC's deliberate attempt to protect Clinton, who was perceived as the front-runner.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Politics-Voices/2015/1222/How-Saturday-debates-protect-Hillary-Clinton |title=How Saturday debates protect Hillary Clinton |first=Doug |last=Mataconis |date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |work=The Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> In February 2016, both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns agreed in principle to holding four more debates for a total of ten.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sargent |first=Greg |title=It's on: Looks like we're getting four more Democratic debates |website=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/02/03/its-on-looks-like-were-getting-four-more-democratic-debates/ |date=February 3, 2016 |access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref> Clinton dropped out of the tenth debate, scheduled to take place just before the [[2016 California Democratic primary|California primary]], citing a need to devote her time to making direct contact with California voters and preparing for the general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/712e888ed1b442dfbb44e29ba8ec2561 |first=Hope |last=Yen |date=June 7, 2016 |title=Delegate math: Clinton wins, and how AP counts delegates|work=Associated Press |access-date=June 4, 2018 }}</ref> Sanders expressed disappointment that Clinton canceled the debate before what he believed would be "the largest and most important primary in the presidential nominating process."<ref name=":12">{{cite web|title=Clinton declines to debate Sanders in California|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/23/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-fox-debate-california/ |last1 = Merica|first1 = Dan|last2 = Stelter|first2 = Brian|date = May 24, 2016|publisher=CNN|access-date =November 16, 2016}}</ref>+ + + + + + + + + + + + + − ===Polls and news coverage===+ − {{see also|Media coverage of Bernie Sanders}}+ + + + + + + + + + + + − Some supporters raised concerns that publications such as ''[[The New York Times]]'' minimized coverage of the Sanders campaign in favor of other candidates, especially Trump and Clinton. The ''Times''{{'}} [[ombudsman]] reviewed her paper's coverage of the Sanders campaign and found that {{as of|2015|September|lc=y}} the ''Times'' "hasn't always taken it very seriously. The tone of some stories is regrettably dismissive, even mocking at times. Some of that is focused on the candidate's age, appearance and style, rather than what he has to say." She also found that the ''Times'''s coverage of Sanders's campaign was much scanter than its coverage of Trump's, though Trump's was also initially considered a long shot at that time, with 63 articles covering the Trump campaign and 14 covering Sanders's.<ref name="Sullivan2015">{{cite web|url=https://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/has-the-times-dismissed-bernie-sanders/|title=Public Editor's Journal: Has The Times Dismissed Bernie Sanders?|last=Sullivan|first=Margaret|date=September 9, 2015|website=The New York Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923132816/http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/has-the-times-dismissed-bernie-sanders/|archive-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Debenedetti2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/qpoll-iowa-213462|title=Bernie Sanders overtakes Hillary Clinton in Iowa|last1=Debenedetti|first1=Gabriel|last2=Gass|first2=Nick|date=September 10, 2015|website=Politico|access-date=September 11, 2015}}</ref> A December 2015 report found that the three major networks—[[CBS]], [[NBC]], and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]—had spent 234 minutes reporting on Trump and 10 minutes on Sanders, despite their similar polling results. The report noted that ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' had spent 81 minutes on Trump and less than one minute on Sanders during 2015.<ref name="Democracy Now">{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/15/headlines/report_top_news_shows_give_trump_234_minutes_sanders_10_minutes|title=Report: Top News Shows Give Trump 234 Minutes, Sanders 10 Minutes|date=December 15, 2015|publisher=Democracy Now|at=6:06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216021357/http://www.democracynow.org/2015/12/15/headlines/report_top_news_shows_give_trump_234_minutes_sanders_10_minutes|archive-date=December 16, 2015|access-date=December 15, 2015}}</ref>+ + − A study of media coverage in the 2016 election concluded that while Sanders received less coverage than his rival Hillary Clinton, the amount of coverage of Sanders during the election was largely consistent with his polling performance, except during 2015 when Sanders received coverage that far exceeded his standing in the polls.<ref name=":03">{{cite book|url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174198/identity-crisis|title=Identity Crisis|author1=John Sides|author2=Michael Tesler|author3=Lynn Vavreck|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-691-17419-8|pages=8, 99, 104–107|language=en|quote=Sanders’s media coverage and polling numbers were strongly correlated… At this point in time [2015], Sanders’s share of news coverage far exceeded his share in national polls.|access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114214823/https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691174198/identity-crisis|archive-date=November 14, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Studies concluded that the tone of media coverage of Sanders was more favorable than that of any other candidate, whereas his main opponent in the democratic primary, Hillary Clinton, received the most negative coverage of any candidate.<ref name="Patterson12">{{citation|author=Thomas E. Patterson|title=Pre-Primary News Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Race: Trump's Rise, Sanders' Emergence, Clinton's Struggle|url=https://shorensteincenter.org/pre-primary-news-coverage-2016-trump-clinton-sanders/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127095707/https://shorensteincenter.org/pre-primary-news-coverage-2016-trump-clinton-sanders/|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=November 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":03" /> All 2016 candidates received vastly less media coverage than Donald Trump, and the Democratic primary received substantially less coverage than the Republican primary.<ref name=":03" /><ref name="Patterson12" /><ref name=":122">{{Cite book|last=Bitecofer|first=Rachel|year=2018|title=The Unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election|publisher=Palgrave|pages=36–38, 48|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-61976-7|isbn=978-3-319-61975-0}}</ref>+ − [[Amy Goodman]] of ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' noted that on March 15, [[Super Tuesday]] III, the speeches of Trump, Clinton, [[Marko Rubio|Marco Rubio]], and [[Ted Cruz]] were broadcast in full. Sanders was in Phoenix, Arizona, on that date, speaking to a rally larger than any of the others, yet his speech was not mentioned, let alone broadcast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/29/bernie_sanders_i_was_stunned_by|title=Bernie Sanders: "I Was Stunned" by Corporate Media Blackout During Democratic Primary|last=Goodman|first=Amy|date=November 29, 2016|work=[[Democracy Now]]|access-date=December 18, 2019}}</ref> However, political scientist [[Rachel Bitecofer]] wrote in her 2018 book about the 2016 election that the Democratic primary was effectively over in terms of delegate count by mid-March 2016, but that the media promoted the narrative that the contest between Sanders and Clinton was "heating up" at that time.<ref name=":122" />+ − An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted in May 2016 found Clinton and Trump (by then the presumptive Republican nominee) in a "dead heat," but the same poll found that if Sanders were the Democratic nominee, 53% of voters would support him to 39% for Trump.<ref name="NBC News1">{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/clinton-s-lead-over-trump-shrinks-3-points-new-nbc-n577726 | title=Meet the Press | publisher=NBC | date=May 23, 2016 | access-date=May 23, 2016 | author=Murray, Mark}}</ref> Clinton and Trump were the least popular likely candidates ever polled, while Sanders received a 43% positive, 36% negative rating.<ref name="NBC News2">{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/first-read-clinton-s-challenge-winning-over-sanders-voters-n578591 |title=First Read: Clinton's Challenge Is Winning Over Sanders Voters |publisher=NBC |date=May 23, 2016 |access-date=May 23, 2016 |last3=Dann |first3=Carrie |author1-link=Chuck Todd |last1=Todd |first1=Chuck |last2=Murray |first2=Mark}}</ref> Polls showed that Democratic voters older than 50 preferred Clinton by a large margin but that those under 50 overwhelmingly favored Sanders.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-sanders-age-20160419-story.html |title=Why young voters are flocking to Sanders and older ones to Clinton | date=April 19, 2016 | access-date=September 6, 2016 |last=Decker |first=Cathleen}}</ref> A 2017 analysis in ''Newsweek'' found that 12% of those who voted for Sanders in the Democratic primary voted for Trump in the general election.<ref name="Miere">{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-trump-2016-election-654320 |title=Bernie Sanders Voters Helped Trump and Here's Proof |last=Le Miere |first=Jason |date=August 23, 2017 |website =Newsweek |access-date=May 25, 2018}}</ref>+ − + − {{Main|2016 Democratic National Committee email leak|Podesta emails}}+ − − + − {{main|Results of the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2016 United States presidential election}} − [[File:Bernie Sanders Nashua Oct 2016 - 2.jpg|thumb|left|Sanders campaigning for Hillary Clinton at [[Nashua Community College]] in October 2016]] − After the final primary election, Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee.<ref name="The New York Times">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign.html | title=Bernie Sanders, Still Running, Pledges to 'Make Certain' Donald Trump Is Defeated | website=The New York Times | date=June 16, 2016 | access-date=June 18, 2016 | author=Alcindor, Yamiche}}</ref> On July 12, Sanders formally [[List of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign political endorsements, 2016|endorsed]] Clinton.<ref name="Endorsement2016"/> He said he would continue to work with the Democratic National Convention organizers to implement progressive positions. Sanders refused to formally concede before the convention.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Alcindor|first=Yamiche|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/13/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign.html|title=Bernie Sanders Refuses to Concede Nomination to Hillary Clinton|date=June 12, 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 2, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He spoke at the [[2016 Democratic National Convention]] on July 25, during which he gave Clinton his full support. Some of his supporters attempted to protest Clinton's nomination and booed when Sanders called for party unity. He responded, "Our job is to do two things: to defeat Donald Trump and to elect Hillary Clinton{{nbsp}}… It is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face if we are living under a [[Presidency of Donald Trump|Trump presidency]]."<ref name="CNN">{{cite news | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/25/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-national-convention-speech/ | title=Bernie Sanders: 'I am proud to stand with her' | publisher=CNN | date=July 26, 2016 | access-date=July 26, 2016 | author=Collinson, Stephen}}</ref>+ − On November 8, in the general election, Sanders received almost 6% of the vote in [[2016 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]], even though he was no longer a candidate. This was the highest share of a statewide presidential vote for a [[Write-in candidate|write-in]] [[Draft (politics)|draft campaign]] in American history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/190417-ralph-nader-got-the-most-write-in-votes-for-president-ever-but-election-write-ins-have-a-long |title=Ralph Nader Got The Most Write-In Votes For President Ever, But Election Write-Ins Have A Long History |last=Warner |first=Claire |date=October 19, 2016 |access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> He also received more votes in Vermont than [[Gary Johnson]], the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] candidate, and [[Jill Stein]], the [[Green Party of the United States|Green]] candidate, combined.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://vtelectionresults.sec.state.vt.us/Index.html#/home|title=Vermont Election Night Results|website=vtelectionresults.sec.state.vt.us|access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> It was possible to vote for Sanders as a write-in candidate in 12 states,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://heavy.com/news/2016/11/how-many-write-in-votes-for-did-bernie-sanders-get-presidential-election-results-california-iowa-new-hampshire-pennsylvania-vermont-total/ |title=How Many Write-In Votes Did Bernie Sanders Get in the Election?|last=Dwilson|first=Stephanie Dube|date=November 16, 2016|work=Heavy.com|access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> and exact totals of write-in votes for him were published in three of them: [[2016 United States presidential election in California|California]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-general/sov/17-presidential-formatted.pdf |title=Presidential election results in California, 2016|website=sos.ca.gov|access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> [[2016 United States presidential election in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sos.nh.gov/2016PresGen.aspx?id=8589963688 |title=President of the United States – 2016 General Election – NHSOS|website=sos.nh.gov|access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> and [[2016 United States presidential election in Vermont|Vermont]].<ref name=":2"/> In those three states, he received 111,850 write-in votes, about 15% of the write-in votes nationwide, and less than 1% of total nationwide vote.<ref name=":3"/>+ − ===Post-election activities===+ − In November 2016, Sanders's book ''[[Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In]]'' was released; upon its release, it was number three on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://vtdigger.org/2016/11/14/sanders-book-our-revolution-arriving-with-new-significance/ |title = Sanders' Book 'Our Revolution' Arriving with New Significance|last = O'Connor|first = Kevin|date = November 15, 2016|website = VTDigger|access-date = November 21, 2016|quote = …the candidate who had been anointed by the entire establishment, was winning, but at the same time was losing state after state by huge margins.}}</ref> The audiobook later received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album.<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=November 27, 2017 |title=Bernie Sanders Earns Grammy Nomination|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2017/politics/news/bernie-sanders-grammy-nomination-1202624408/|access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> In February 2017, he began webcasting ''The Bernie Sanders Show'' on [[Facebook live|Facebook live streaming]]. {{as of|2017|April|2|df=US}}, guests had included [[William Barber II|William Barber]], [[Josh Fox]], [[Jane Mayer]], and [[Bill Nye]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/democrats-vs-trump/sanders-show-welcome-bernie-tv-n741571|title=The Sanders Show: Welcome to 'Bernie TV' |first=Alex |last=Seitz-Wald |work=NBC News |date=April 2, 2017|access-date=April 4, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2017/04/03/forget-trump-tv-bernie-sanders-has-struck-gold-with-his-new-online-show/ |first=Charlie |last=May |title=Forget Trump TV. Bernie Sanders has struck gold with his new Facebook Live show|date=April 3, 2017|access-date=April 4, 2017}}</ref> Polls taken in 2017 found him to be the most popular politician in the United States.<ref name="thehill.com">{{cite web |last=Easley |first=Jonathan |date=April 18, 2017|title=Poll: Bernie Sanders country's most popular active politician|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/329404-poll-bernie-sanders-countrys-most-popular-active-politician |access-date=April 20, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Schwartz">{{cite news |last= Schwartz|first=Drew |date=August 24, 2017 |title=Bernie Sanders Is the Most Popular Politician in America, Poll Says|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xww4ek/bernie-sanders-is-the-most-popular-politician-in-america-poll-says-vgtrn|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=August 25, 2017}}</ref>+ − + − In November 2018, the [[Sanders Institute]] and [[Yanis Varoufakis]], co-founder of [[Democracy in Europe Movement 2025|DiEM25]], launched [[Progressive International]], an international organization uniting [[Progressivism|progressive]] activists and organizations "to mobilize people around the world to transform the global order and the institutions that shape it."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/bernie-sanders-turns-focus-to-the-white-house-and-the-world/2018/12/01/dc01f7ae-f4f1-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html|title=Bernie Sanders turns focus to the White House and the world|last=Wegel|first=David|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 1, 2018|access-date=December 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.progressive-international.org/open-call/|title=An Open Call to All Progressive Forces|publisher=Progressive International|date=November 30, 2018|access-date=December 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2018/sep/13/bernie-sanders-international-progressive-front |date=September 13, 2018 |title=A new authoritarian axis demands an international progressive front |last=Sanders|first=Bernie|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 27, 2018 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>+ − ===Influence on the Democratic Party===+ − Analysts have suggested that Sanders's campaign shifted both the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party [[Left-wing politics|politically leftward]]. A new [[political action committee|political organization]], [[Brand New Congress]], was formed in April 2016 by former campaign staffers. It works to elect congressional representatives with platforms in line with Sanders.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lachman |first=Samantha |title=Former Bernie Sanders Staffers Seek To Elect A 'Brand New Congress' |newspaper=HuffPost |date=April 27, 2016 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-congress_n_5720e608e4b0b49df6a9c933 |access-date=November 20, 2016 }}</ref> In August 2016, he formed [[Our Revolution]], a [[501(c)(4)|political organization]] dedicated to educating voters about issues, getting people involved in the political process, and electing progressive candidates for local, state, and national office.<ref name="Guadiano">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/07/15/bernie-sanders-progressive-message/87073052/|title=Bernie Sanders will launch organizations to spread progressive message|last=Guadiano|first=Nicole|date=July 15, 2016|work=USA Today|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="The Washington Times">{{cite web | url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/18/bernie-sanders-running-our-revolution/ | title=Bernie Sanders: Still percolating | website=The Washington Times | date=August 18, 2016 | access-date=August 19, 2016 | author=Harper, Jennifer | quote = "Election days come and go, but the struggle for economic, social, racial and environmental justice must continue. We have the guts and the energy to take on the special interests, win critical battles on the most important issues of our time, and redefine what's possible in this country. Now it's time for all of us to get to work."}}</ref> Speaking on the [[PBS Newshour]] about the upcoming 2018 elections and discussing the main principles of the two major parties, [[Susan Page]] described the Republican Party as "Trump's party" and the Democratic Party as "Bernie Sanders's party," saying that "Sanders and his more progressive stance has really taken hold."<ref>{{cite web |last1=beginning at minute 14:25 |title=PBS NewsHour full episode May 28, 2018 |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/pbs-newshour-full-episode-may-28-2018-1527540089/ |website=PBS Newshour |access-date=June 3, 2018}}</ref> Noting the increasing acceptance of his national single-payer health-care program, his $15-an-hour minimum wage stance, free college tuition and many of the other campaign platform issues he introduced,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48640268|access-date=August 23, 2019|title=Bernie Sanders: What's different this time around?|first=Anthony|last=Zurcher|date=June 20, 2019|website=[[BBC News]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|location=London, England}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/bernie-sanders-just-changed-the-democratic-party|access-date=August 23, 2019|title=Bernie Sanders Just Changed the Democratic Party|first=John|last=Cassidy|date=February 2, 2016|work=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> an April 2018 opinion article in ''[[The Week]]'' suggested, "Quietly but steadily, the Democratic Party is admitting that Sanders was right."<ref name="Spross">{{cite news|url=https://theweek.com/articles/769073/bernie-sanders-conquered-democratic-party|access-date=August 23, 2019|title=Bernie Sanders has Conquered the Democratic Party|first=Jeff|last=Spross|date=April 24, 2018|work=[[The Week]]}}</ref> In July 2016, a ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' article called the Democratic platform draft "a monument to his campaign," noting not only his call for a $15 minimum wage, but other campaign issues, such as Social Security expansion, a carbon tax, Wall Street reform, opposition to the death penalty, and a "reasoned pathway for future legalization" of marijuana.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouie |first1=Jamelle |title=What Bernie Sanders Has Won |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/07/the-democratic-platform-is-a-monument-to-bernie-sanders-campaign.html |date=July 11, 2016 |website=[[Slate.com]] |access-date=June 3, 2018}}</ref> − Sanders's presidential campaigns led to a resurgence of interest in democratic [[socialism among millennials]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title='The S-word': how young Americans fell in love with socialism |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2017-09-02 |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/02/socialism-young-americans-bernie-sanders |language=en |access-date=2021-06-19 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>+ − + − {{main|Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign|2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries}} − On February 19, 2019, Sanders announced that he would seek the Democratic Party's 2020 nomination for president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vpr.org/post/hes-2020-bernie-sanders-running-president-again|title=He's In For 2020: Bernie Sanders Is Running For President Again|last=Kinzel |date=February 19, 2019 |first=Bob |website=www.vpr.org|language=en|access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref> He had declined the [[Vermont Democratic Party]] nomination for U.S. Senate in 2006, 2012, and 2018, which caused an unsuccessful legal challenge to his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Along with his 2019 campaign announcement, he said he would abide by a new Democratic Party rule for presidential candidates and that he would affirm his membership in that party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wmur.com/article/independent-bernie-sanders-to-put-in-writing-that-hes-a-bona-fide-democrat/26474045|title=Independent Bernie Sanders to put in writing that he's a 'bona fide' Democrat|first=John|last=DiStaso|date=February 22, 2019|website=WMUR}}</ref> On March 5, 2019, he signed a formal statement, known as a "loyalty pledge," that he is a member of the Democratic Party and will serve as a Democrat if elected. News reports noted that the day before, he had signed paperwork to run as an independent for reelection to his Senate seat in 2024.<ref name=":18">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-signs-dnc-loyalty-pledge-i-am-member-democratic-n979696|title=Bernie Sanders signs DNC loyalty pledge: 'I am a member of the Democratic Party'|last=Seitz-Wald|first=Alex|date=March 5, 2019|work=NBC News|access-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref>+ + − Sanders's campaign manager was [[Faiz Shakir]]. The campaign's national co-chairs were [[Ben & Jerry's]] co-founder [[Ben Cohen (businessman)|Ben Cohen]], Representative [[Ro Khanna]], [[Our Revolution]] President [[Nina Turner]], and [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] mayor [[Carmen Yulín Cruz]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bernie Sanders Hires Top Progressive Advocate, Faiz Shakir, as Campaign Manager |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-hires-top-civil-liberties-advocate-faiz-shakir-as-campaign-manager |first1=Gideon |last1=Resnick |first2=Spencer |last2=Ackerman |first3=Sam |last3=Stein|date=February 19, 2019 |website=Daily Beast |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gamboa |first1=Suzanne |title=San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz to co-chair Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign |date=February 22, 2019 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/san-juan-mayor-carmen-yul-n-cruz-co-chair-bernie-n974276 |website=NBC News |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>+ − ===Campaign methods===+ − Given the high national profile that Sanders maintained since his 2016 campaign, [[NPR]] described him as "no longer an underdog" when he announced his 2020 campaign.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 19, 2019 |first1=Scott |last1=Detrow |first2=Jessica |last2=Taylor |title=Bernie Sanders Enters 2020 Presidential Campaign, No Longer An Underdog |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/676923000/bernie-sanders-enters-2020-presidential-campaign-no-longer-an-underdog |website=NPR |access-date=February 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220002744/https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/676923000/bernie-sanders-enters-2020-presidential-campaign-no-longer-an-underdog?t=1550576496363 |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Using the large email list it built during the 2016 campaign, the 2020 campaign recruited more than one million volunteers within weeks of its launch. It enlisted several former [[NowThis News]] employees to produce professional videos for wide social media distribution, live-streamed various forums to its millions of social media followers, and launched a [[podcast]] and smartphone app for grassroots organizing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/6/25/18753934/bernie-sanders-video-2020-facebook-twitter-debate|title=Bernie Sanders is winning the internet. Will it win him the White House?|last=Stewart|first=Emily|date=July 5, 2019|website=Vox|access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> − ===Fundraising===+ − Sanders's 2020 campaign employed many of the same methods as its 2016 counterpart, eschewing a [[Super PAC]] and relying predominantly on small-dollar contributions. According to [[Federal Election Commission]] filings, the Sanders campaign had raised the most money in the 2020 Democratic field as of June 2019, including money left over from his 2018 Senate and 2016 presidential races.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Presidential Race |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/2020-presidential-race |website=Open Secrets |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Summary data for Bernie Sanders |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/2020-presidential-race/candidate?id=N00000528 |website=Open Secrets |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Money |first1=Beatrice |last1=Jin |first2=Maggie |last2=Severns |date=October 15, 2019 |url=https://www.politico.com/2020-election/president/democratic-primary/candidates/fundraising-and-campaign-finance-tracker/ |website=Politico |access-date=December 18, 2019 }}</ref> In September 2019, the Sanders campaign became the fastest in U.S. history to reach one million donors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bernie Sanders has 1 million donors |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-has-one-million-donors/ |first=Cara |last=Korte |date=September 19, 2019 |website=CBS News |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> On October 1, 2019, the campaign announced it had raised $25.3 million in the year's third quarter, with an average donation of $18. It was the largest quarterly sum raised by any Democratic candidate.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Gregory |last1=Krieg |first2=Ryan |last2=Nobles |date=October 1, 2019 |title=Bernie Sanders scores massive $25.3 million third quarter fundraising haul |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-sanders-scores-massive-253-third-quarter-fundraising-haul/ar-AAI6H9Z |website=CNN on MSN|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Michelle Ye Hee |last1=Lee |first2=Sean |last2=Sullivan |first3=Amy B. |last3=Wang |date=October 2, 2019 |title=Sanders raised $25.3 million in third quarter, campaign says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-bernie-sanders-raised-253-million-in-third-quarter-campaign-says/2019/10/01/5d8a0e00-e3c7-11e9-a331-2df12d56a80b_story.html |website=Washington Post|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref> The campaign raised $34.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/sanders-brings-over-35m-4th-quarter-fundraising-yang-s-haul-n1109406|title=Trump brings in $46M in 4th quarter, as Sanders, Yang smash their previous records|last=Smith|first=Allan|date=January 2, 2020|work=NBC News|access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref> − ===Polls and news coverage===+ − [[File:Bernie Sanders - Rally at San Jose, CA - 2.jpg|thumb|right|Sanders campaigning for president in [[San Jose, California]], March 2020]] − {{see also|Media coverage of Bernie Sanders}} − Sanders steadily polled between 15 and 20% on most national surveys between May and September 2019, according to the [[RealClearPolitics]] average. This placed him in a decisive second-place behind [[Joe Biden]] until [[Elizabeth Warren]] and [[Kamala Harris]] caught up in July.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html#!|website=RealClearPolitics |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> From mid-February 2020 to the start of March, Sanders polled in first place in the Democratic primary ahead of Joe Biden<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/|title=National President: Democratic primary Polls|last=Mehta|first=Aaron Bycoffe, Ritchie King and Dhrumil|date=June 28, 2018|website=FiveThirtyEight|language=en|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html|title=RealClearPolitics - Election 2020 - 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination|website=www.realclearpolitics.com|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref> and was described by the press as the party's presidential front-runner.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|last1=Burns|first1=Alexander|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/us/politics/democratic-debate-nevada-recap.html|title=Warren Leads an Onslaught of Attacks, Zeroing In on Bloomberg|date=February 19, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 20, 2020|last2=Martin|first2=Jonathan|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-now-front-runner-moderates-may-be-too-divided-n1135596|title=Bernie Sanders is now the front-runner. And moderates may be too divided to stop him|last1=Kapur|first1=Sahil|last2=Brewster|first2=Shaquille|date=February 12, 2020|website=NBC|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/17/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-primary-2020-election/index.html|title=How Bernie Sanders became the Democratic primary's early front-runner|last1=Krieg|first1=Gregory|last2=Nobles|first2=Ryan|date=February 18, 2020|website=CNN|access-date=February 20, 2020|last3=Grayer|first3=Annie}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/18/bernie-sanders-frontrunner-nationwide-poll-115753|title=Sanders surges to double-digit lead in new nationwide poll|last=Ward|first=Myah|date=February 18, 2020|website=Politico|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>+ − According to a [[RealClearPolitics]] analysis, Sanders received the third-most mentions on [[CNN]], [[Fox News]], and [[MSNBC]] between January and August 2019, trailing only [[Joe Biden]] and [[Kamala Harris]]. Biden, however, received twice as many mentions as Sanders and Harris. Mentions of Sanders on ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' found him in second place, though also trailing Biden by a large margin. Online mentions "reflect a slightly more balanced picture," with both Sanders and [[Elizabeth Warren]] running "neck-and-neck" with Biden.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/22/ranking_the_2020_democratic_candidates_by_media_coverage.html |first=Kalev |last=Leetaru |title=Ranking the 2020 Democratic Candidates by Media Coverage|date=August 22, 2019|publisher=RealClearPolitics|access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref>+ − ===Forums and other appearances===+ − {{main|2020 Democratic Party presidential forums}} − On April 6, 2019, Sanders participated in a [[Fox News]] town hall that attracted more than 2.55 million viewers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/439169-bernie-sanders-fox-news-town-hall-draws-more-than-255-million|title=Bernie Sanders Fox News town hall draws more than 2.55 million|first=Joe|last=Concha|date=April 16, 2019|newspaper=The Hill|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416205654/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/439169-bernie-sanders-fox-news-town-hall-draws-more-than-255-million|archive-date=April 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sunkara|first=Bhaskar|date=April 16, 2019|title=How wide is Bernie Sanders's appeal? This cheering Fox News audience is a clue|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2019/apr/16/bernie-sanders-appeal-cheering-fox-news|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 18, 2019|author-link=Bhaskar Sunkara|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417164502/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2019/apr/16/bernie-sanders-appeal-cheering-fox-news|archive-date=April 17, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> His decision to appear on Fox was controversial given the [[Democratic National Committee]]'s decision not to allow Fox to host any of its debates.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bernie Sanders, at combative Fox News town hall, makes no apologies for making millions |first=Gregg |last=Re |date=April 15, 2019 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-takes-stage-at-fox-news-town-hall-after-emerging-as-apparent-dem-frontrunner |website=Fox News |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 3, 2019 |first=Benjamin |last=Fearnow |title=Democrats Ridicule Bernie Sanders Over Fox News Town Hall Plans, Conservatives and Moderates Offer Rare Praise|url=https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-bernie-sanders-dnc-loyalty-controversy-town-hall-democratic-2020-1385160 |website=Newsweek |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> His appearance saw an increase of Fox News viewers by 24% overall and 40% in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic, surpassing the ratings of all other Democratic presidential candidate town halls that year. As of September 2019, the town hall had received more than 1.5 million views on [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Town hall with Bernie Sanders |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ozAACcc8I |website=YouTube |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref>+ − On August 6, Sanders appeared on [[The Joe Rogan Experience]] podcast. Some praised Rogan for "hosting a pragmatic discussion" while others "seemed rather stunned by Sanders's decision to appear on the show at all." After the podcast, Rogan became a top-trending Twitter topic.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prokos |first1=Hayley |title=Joe Rogan Praised by Twitter After Bernie Sanders Appears On Podcast to Debate Health Care, Gun Laws and Aliens |date=August 7, 2019 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/joe-rogan-praised-twitter-after-bernie-sanders-appears-podcast-debate-health-care-gun-laws-1453096 |website=Newsweek |access-date=August 10, 2019}}</ref> After interviewing him, Rogan said, "I am not right-wing… I've interviewed right-wing people. I am 100% left-wing… Bernie Sanders made a ton of sense to me and I would 100% vote for him."<ref>{{cite web |title=Joe Rogan Experience #1334 - Fahim Anwar |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1040&v=nV3miitxG08 |website=YouTube |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> As of October 2019, the podcast had received more than ten million views on YouTube.<ref>{{cite web |title=Joe Rogan Experience #1330 - Bernie Sanders |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-iLk1G_ng |website=YouTube |access-date=August 10, 2019}}</ref>+ − ===Presidential debates===+ − {{See also|2020 Democratic Party presidential debates}} − In December 2018, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced the preliminary schedule for 12 official DNC-sanctioned debates, set to begin in June 2019, with six in 2019 and the remaining six during the first four months of 2020. During the July and September debates, commentators described Sanders and [[Elizabeth Warren]] as having a "non-aggression pact," staking out similar progressive positions in contrast to the more conservative candidates.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49675275|title=Democratic debate: The winners and losers|date=September 13, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/heres-how-each-candidate-stood-out-during-the-debate|title=Here's How Each Candidate Stood Out During The Debate|date=September 12, 2019 |first1=John |last1=Light |first2=David |last2=Taintor|work=[[Talking Points Memo]] |access-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref> In the October 15 debate, his first appearance since his heart attack, debate coach Todd Graham gave Sanders's performance an A, his highest rating of all the candidates.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Todd |title=Debate coach: A star emerged from the Democratic debate |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/16/opinions/debate-coach-graham-democratic-debate/index.html |date=October 16, 2019 |website=CNN |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>+ − + − + − Sanders announced that he was suspending his campaign on April 8, 2020.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Ember |first=Sydney |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/bernie-sanders-drops-out.html |title=Bernie Sanders Drops Out of 2020 Democratic Race for President |date=April 8, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 8, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/08/politics/bernie-sanders-drops-out/|title=Bernie Sanders drops out of the 2020 race, clearing Joe Biden's path to the Democratic nomination|last1=Krieg|first1=Gregory|last2=Nobles|first2=Ryan|last3=Grayer|first3=Annie|publisher=CNN|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/08/bernie-sanders-drops-out-of-2020-democratic-presidential-primary.html|title=Bernie Sanders drops out of the presidential race|last=Pramuk|first=Jacob|publisher=CNBC|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref> He stated that he would remain on the ballot in the remaining states and continue to accumulate delegates with the goal of influencing the Democratic Party's platform.<ref name=BizInsider2020-04-10>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sanders-will-continue-gathering-delegates-to-influence-dnc-platform-2020-4|title=Bernie Sanders vows to stay on upcoming ballots and continue to gather delegates so he can 'exert significant influence over the party platform'|last=Epstein|first=Kayla|work=Business Insider|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/sanders-drops-out-will-work-with-biden-but-remain-on-ballot-to-influence-policy-81781317998|title=Sanders drops out, remains on ballot to press issues important to political agenda|first=Andrea|last=Mitchell|work=MSNBC|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=April 9, 2020}}</ref> On April 14 Sanders endorsed Biden. Biden responded, "I think that your endorsement means a great deal. It means a great deal to me. I think people are going to be surprised that we are apart on some issues but we're awfully close on a whole bunch of others. I'm going to need you—not just to win the campaign, but to govern."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for president |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/politics/bernie-sanders-endorses-joe-biden/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=June 21, 2020}}</ref> − ==Political positions==<!-- PLEASE KEEP THIS SECTION AS SUCCINCT AS POSSIBLE -->+ − {{American socialism|Activists}} − {{Social democracy sidebar}} − {{Main|Political positions of Bernie Sanders}} − A self-described "democratic socialist",<ref name="Democratic socialist">+ − *{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=April 30, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders confirms presidential run and damns America's inequities |work=[[The Guardian]] |quote=The self-described 'democratic socialist' enters the race as a robust liberal alternative… |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/30/bernie-sanders-confirms-presidential-run-and-damns-americas-inequities |access-date=June 19, 2015}}+ − *{{cite news |last=Dreier |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Dreier |date=May 5, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders' Socialism Is as American as Apple Pie |work=[[HuffPost]] |quote= because the 73‑year{{bracket|‑}}old U.S. senator from Vermont describes himself as a 'democratic socialist.' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-socialism-_b_7210120 |access-date=May 5, 2015}}+ − *{{cite web |last=Lerer |first=Lisa |date=July 16, 2009 |title=Where's the outrage over AIG bonuses? |website=[[The Politico]] |quote=Only a handful of members, including self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), criticized… |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2009/07/aig-wheres-the-outrage-025000 |access-date=April 19, 2010}}</ref> Sanders is a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] who admires the [[Nordic model]] of [[social democracy]] and has been a proponent of [[workplace democracy]].<ref> − * {{cite web |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |date=May 26, 2013 |title=What Can We Learn From Denmark? |website=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-can-we-learn-from-de_b_3339736 |access-date=August 19, 2013}} − * {{cite news |last=Issenberg |first=Sasha |date=January 9, 2010 |title=Sanders a growing force on the far, far left |work=[[Boston Globe]] |quote=You go to Scandinavia, and you will find that people have a much higher standard of living, in terms of education, health care, and decent paying jobs. |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/09/sanders_a_growing_force_on_the_far_far_left/ |access-date=August 24, 2013}} − * {{cite web |first2=Ben |last2=Schreckinger |first1=Jonathan |last1=Topaz |date=July 6, 2015 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-socialist-surge-119785 |title=The socialist surge |website=Politico |access-date=August 18, 2015 |quote={{nnbsp}}'I believe that, in the long run, major industries in this state and nation should be publicly owned and controlled by the workers themselves,' he wrote in 1976.}} − * {{cite news |first=Conor |last=Lynch |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/10/08/bernie_sanders_is_ayn_rands_worst_nightmare_hes_changing_how_we_view_socialism_and_exposing_free_market_parasites/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders is Ayn Rand's worst nightmare: He's changing how we view socialism{{snd}}and exposing free market parasites |work=[[Salon.com]] |date=October 8, 2015 }} − *{{cite web |last=McMurry |first=Evan |date=May 3, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders: America Should Look More Like Scandinavia |website=[[Mediaite]] |url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bernie-sanders-america-should-look-more-like-scandinavia/ |access-date=June 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504171720/http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bernie-sanders-america-should-look-more-like-scandinavia/ |archive-date=May 4, 2015 }}</ref> He advocates for [[universal healthcare|universal]] and [[single-payer healthcare]], paid [[parental leave]], as well as tuition-free [[tertiary education]].<ref name="Jaffe"/> He supports lowering the cost of drugs by reforming patent laws to allow cheaper generic versions to be sold in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Zach |date=May 19, 2012 |title=Bernie Sanders Offers Plan To Cut Prescription Drug Prices |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-prescription-drug-prices_n_1528332 |access-date=August 16, 2014}}</ref> He supported the [[Affordable Care Act]], though he said it did not go far enough.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/24/bernie-sanders-obamacare-is-a-good-republican-program/ |title=Bernie Sanders: Obamacare is a 'good Republican program'|publisher=CNN|date=September 24, 2013|first=Bryan|last=Koenig}}</ref> − In November 2015, he gave a speech at [[Georgetown University]] about his view of [[democratic socialism]], including its place in the policies of presidents [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref name=atlanticsocialism>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/bernie-sanders-makes-his-pitch-for-socialism/416913/ |date=November 20, 2015 |title=How Bernie Sanders Explains Democratic Socialism |first=Clare |last=Foran |website=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://berniesanders.com/democratic-socialism-in-the-united-states/ |title=Senator Bernie Sanders on Democratic Socialism in the United States |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720220054/https://berniesanders.com/democratic-socialism-in-the-united-states/ |archive-date=July 20, 2017 |website=BernieSanders.com |date=November 19, 2015 }}</ref> In defining what ''democratic socialism'' means to him, Sanders said: "I don't believe government should take over the grocery store down the street or own the means of production, but I do believe that the middle class and the working families who produce the wealth of America deserve a decent standard of living and that their incomes should go up, not down. I do believe in private companies that thrive and invest and grow in America, companies that create jobs here, rather than companies that are shutting down in America and increasing their profits by exploiting low-wage labor abroad."<ref name="atlanticsocialism"/> − Based on his positions and votes throughout his career, many commentators consider his political platform based on tax-funded social benefits and not on [[social ownership]] of the [[means of production]].<ref name="Gram2015a">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/bernie-sanders-has-had-consistent-message-for-4-decades/ |title=Bernie Sanders has had consistent message for 4 decades |date=May 11, 2015 |work=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151111064629/http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/bernie-sanders-has-had-consistent-message-for-4-decades/ |archive-date=November 11, 2015 |url-status=dead |issn=0745-9696}}</ref><ref name="maddow1">{{cite news |last1=Maddow |first1=Rachel |title=Bernie Sanders' track record distinguished by consistency |url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/sanders-record-distinguished-by-consistency-504479811515 |access-date=October 13, 2015 |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |date=August 13, 2015}}</ref> Some have described Sanders's political philosophy as "[[Welfare capitalism|welfarism]]"<ref name="Harris 2015">{{cite web | last=Harris | first=Malcolm | title=Is Bernie Sanders Really a Socialist? | website=Al Jazeera America | date=2015-10-19 | url=http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/10/is-bernie-sanders-really-a-socialist.html | access-date=2021-02-03}}</ref> or "social democracy"<ref name="social democrats"/> but not ''democratic socialism'' defined as "an attempt to create a property-free, socialist society."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketplace.org/2015/11/18/elections/explaining-democratic-socialism |title=Explaining "democratic socialism" |last=Marshall-Genzer |first=Nancy |date=November 18, 2015 |publisher=Marketplace Elections |access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref> Some members of various U.S. socialist parties and organizations have said that Sanders is a reformer of capitalism, not a socialist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/13/real-socialists-think-bernie-s-a-sellout.html |title=Real socialists think Bernie is a sellout |last=Murphy |first=Patricia |date=October 10, 2015 |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsausa.org/weneedbernie |title=#WeNeedBernie, Democratic Socialists of America |publisher=Dsausa.org |access-date=July 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709154400/https://www.dsausa.org/weneedbernie |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/a-former-ally-says-bernie-sanders-has-changed/Content?oid=2775474 |title=A Former Ally Says Bernie Sanders Has Changed |last=Davis |first=Mark |date=July 19, 2015 |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> Others distinguish among ''socialism'', ''social democracy'', and ''democratic socialism'', and describe his philosophy as extending from such existing [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] programs in the U.S. as [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/121680/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialist-not-just-socialist|title=Stop Calling Bernie Sanders a Socialist|last=Benson|first=Thor|date=April 30, 2015|work=The New Republic|access-date=July 18, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="social democrats"/> and more consistent with the social democracy found in much of Europe, especially the [[Nordic countries]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/05/17/bernies-democratic-socialism-isnt-socialism-its-social-democracy/ |title=Bernie's Democratic Socialism Isn't Socialism, It's Social Democracy |last=Worstall |first=Tim |work=Forbes |access-date=July 18, 2018 |date=May 17, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="social democrats"/> [[Noam Chomsky]] and [[Thomas Frank]] have described Sanders as "a [[New Deal]]er."{{efn|[[Thomas Frank]]'s comments are mentioned in the following book review: {{cite news |last= Lozada |first=Carlos |date=March 11, 2016 |title=The liberal war over the Obama legacy has already begun|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2016/03/11/the-liberal-war-over-the-obama-legacy-has-already-begun/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=March 17, 2016}}}} Other observers, such as [[Lane Kenworthy]] and [[Bhaskar Sunkara]], suggest that his views are more closely related to those of social democrats.<ref>+ − *{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/13/bernie-sanderss-brand-socialism-is-hard-pin-down/|title=Bernie Sanders's brand of socialism is hard to pin down|last=McArdle|first=Megan|date=June 13, 2019|work=The Washington Post}} − *{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/471630/|title=Bernie Is Not a Socialist and America Is Not Capitalist|last=Tupy|first=Marian|date=March 1, 2016|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=January 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="social democrats"> − *{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism-new-deal-liberalism-cnn-town-hall.html |title=Bernie Sanders: 'Democratic Socialist' Is Just a Synonym for New Deal Liberal |last=Levitz |first=Eric |date=April 23, 2019 |website=Intelligencer |access-date=January 14, 2020}} − *{{Cite web|url=https://theweek.com/articles/726093/bernie-sanders-rise-american-social-democracy|title=Bernie Sanders and the rise of American social democracy|last=Cooper|first=Ryan|date=January 10, 2018|website=theweek.com|language=en|access-date=January 14, 2020}} − *{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/upshot/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialist-capitalist.html |title=Bernie Sanders, Democratic Socialist Capitalist |last=Barro |first=Josh |date=October 20, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 16, 2015}} − *{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/11/20/9767096/bernie-sanders-socialism-jacobin|title=A leading socialist explains what Bernie Sanders's socialism gets right — and wrong|last=Matthews|first=Dylan|date=November 20, 2015|work=Vox|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> − ===Climate change===+ − Sanders views [[global warming]] as a serious problem,<ref name="Totten">{{cite news |last=Totten |first=Shay |date=January 15, 2007 |title=Sanders to push global warming legislation in Senate |work=Vermont Guardian |quote=Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, said Monday he was making good on at least one of a handful of campaign promises — introducing a bill designed to cut U.S. contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade. … Sanders added that construction of new power plants is "extraordinarily expensive" and he would prefer to see federal funding support used to expand the development of sustainable energy, as well as biofuels. |url=https://www.vermontguardian.com/local/012007/GlobalWarmingBill.shtml |access-date=August 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508004601/http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/012007/GlobalWarmingBill.shtml |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and advocates bold action to reverse its effects. He calls for substantial investment in [[infrastructure]], with energy efficiency, [[sustainability]], and [[job creation]] as prominent goals.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2014/9/22/bernie_sanders_at_peoples_climate_march |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders at People's Climate March: To Stop Global Warming, Get Dirty Money Out of Politics |work=[[Democracy now!]] |date=September 22, 2014 |first=Amy |last=Goodman }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ashley, III |last=Halsey |date=January 27, 2015 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/01/27/bernie-sanders-wants-to-spend-1-trillion-on-infrastruture/ |title=Bernie Sanders wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastruture |work=The Washington Post |access-date=August 18, 2015 }}</ref> He considers [[Climate change and national security|climate change the greatest threat]] to national security.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/260184-sanders-climate-change-still-greatest-threat-to-national-security |first=Jonathan |last=Easley |date=November 14, 2015 |title=Sanders: Climate change still greatest threat to national security |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=December 19, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Totten"/> He said that [[family planning]] can help fight climate change.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bernie Sanders in climate change 'population control' uproar |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49601678 |access-date=February 14, 2020 |work=BBC News |date=September 5, 2019}}</ref> He opposed the construction of the [[Dakota Access Pipeline]] on the grounds that, like the [[Keystone XL Pipeline]], it "will have a significant impact on our climate."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/10/bernie-sanders-dakota-access-pipeline/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders Just Asked President Obama to Halt the Dakota Access Pipeline |work=Mother Jones |date=October 13, 2016 |first=Alexander |last=Sammon }}</ref> In 2019, he announced his support for [[Green New Deal]] legislation,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Olivia |first1=Rosane |title=Bernie Sanders Enters 2020 Race, Promises Own Version of Green New Deal |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html |date=February 19, 2019 |website=EcoWatch |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419115516/https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and joined Representatives [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] and [[Earl Blumenauer]] in proposing legislation that would declare climate change a national and international emergency.<ref>{{cite news |last=Day |first=Meagan |date=July 10, 2019 |title=The US Government Should Declare Climate Emergency|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2019/07/climate-emergency-legislation-bernie-sanders-aoc|work=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |access-date=July 10, 2019 }}</ref> − + − Sanders focuses on economic issues such as [[Income inequality in the United States|income]] and [[Wealth inequality in the United States|wealth inequality]],<ref name="Democratic socialist"/><ref>{{cite web |title=On the Issues: Income and Wealth Inequality |url=https://berniesanders.com/issues/income-and-wealth-inequality/ |publisher=BernieSanders.com |access-date=August 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620081832/https://berniesanders.com/issues/income-and-wealth-inequality/ |archive-date=June 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Poverty in the United States|poverty]],<ref>{{cite news |last= Pilkington|first=Ed|date=December 15, 2017 |title=Trump turning US into 'world champion of extreme inequality', UN envoy warns|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/15/america-un-extreme-poverty-trump-republicans|work=The Guardian |access-date=December 16, 2017|quote=We are moving into 2018 – we should not be living in a country with 41 million people living in poverty and so many more in extreme poverty, and nobody even talks about it. – Bernie Sanders}}</ref> raising the minimum wage,<ref name = Lachman/> [[universal healthcare]],<ref name="Jaffe">{{cite news |last=Jaffe |first=Sarah |date=July 14, 2009 |title=Sanders Schools McCain on Public Healthcare |work=[[The Nation]] |quote=Senator Bernie Sanders is one of the Senate's fiercest advocates for real healthcare reform that puts Americans, not private insurance companies, first. Recently, Sanders told The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel, '[I]f you are serious about real healthcare reform, the only way to go is [[single-payer]].' |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/sanders-schools-mccain-public-healthcare/ |access-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref> cancelling all [[student debt]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nobles |first1=Ryan|last2=Krieg|first2=Gregory|date=June 23, 2019 |title=Bernie Sanders to unveil plan to cancel all $1.6 trillion of student loan debt|website=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/23/politics/bernie-sanders-student-loan-debt-cancellation/index.html|access-date=June 24, 2019}}</ref> making public colleges and universities tuition-free by [[Robin Hood tax|taxing financial transactions]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Resnikoff |first=Ned |date=May 19, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders unveils plan for tuition-free public colleges |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]] |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/19/bernie-sanders-unveils-plan-for-tuition-free-public-colleges.html |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref> and expanding [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] benefits by eliminating the cap on the payroll tax on all incomes above $250,000.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-calls-on-congress-to-strengthen-and-expand-social-security |title=Sanders Files Bill to Strengthen, Expand Social Security |website=Sanders.Senate.gov |date=March 12, 2015 |access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1=Nicole |last1=Woo |first2=Janelle |last2=Jones |first3=John |last3=Schmitt |date=September 2011 |url=http://cepr.net/publications/reports/whos-above-the-social-security-payroll-tax-cap |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116062936/https://cepr.net/publications/reports/whos-above-the-social-security-payroll-tax-cap |archive-date=November 16, 2011 |title=Who's Above the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap? |work=[[Center for Economic and Policy Research]] |access-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref> He has become a prominent supporter of laws requiring companies to give their workers [[parental leave]], [[sick leave]], and [[List of statutory minimum employment leave by country|vacation time]], noting that such laws have been adopted by nearly all other developed countries.<ref name="agenda">{{cite web |title=Family values agenda: paid family leave, paid sick leave, paid vacation|url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/061115-familyvaluesagendafactsheet?inline=file|website=Senate office of Bernard Sanders|format=PDF |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref> He also supports legislation that would make it easier for workers to join or form a [[Labor unions in the United States|trade union]].<ref name="Economic Agenda">{{cite news |first=Bernie |last=Sanders |date=December 1, 2014 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/an-economic-agenda-for-am_b_6249022 |title=An Economic Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward |work=HuffPost |access-date=June 27, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ned |last=Resnikoff |date=October 6, 2015 |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/6/bernie-sanders-proposes-labor-law-reforms.html |title=Bernie Sanders proposes sweeping labor law reforms |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=October 6, 2015 }}</ref> He was against the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=303544|title=(Video) Bailout Petition Statement|date=September 24, 2008|publisher=Senate.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014003612/http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=303544|archive-date=October 14, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=August 29, 2010}}</ref> and has called for comprehensive financial reforms,<ref name="MarketWatch">{{cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/text-of-bernie-sanders-wall-street-and-economy-speech-2016-01-05 |title=Text of Bernie Sanders' Wall Street and economy speech |website=MarketWatch |date=January 5, 2016 |first=Bernie |last=Sanders |access-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref> such as breaking up "[[too big to fail]]" financial institutions, restoring [[Glass–Steagall legislation]], reforming the [[Federal Reserve Bank]], and allowing the [[United States Postal Service|Post Office]] to offer basic financial services in economically marginalized communities.<ref name="huffingtonpost.com">{{cite news |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Break Up Big Banks |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/break-up-big-banks_b_7233284 |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="politico.com">{{cite web |last1=Everett |first1=Burgess |title=Bernie Sanders backs big bank breakups, in contrast with Hillary Clinton |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-big-ban-break-ups-glass-steagall-120287 |date=July 17, 2015 |website=[[Politico]] |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Bernie |title=Bernie Sanders: To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/opinion/bernie-sanders-to-rein-in-wall-street-fix-the-fed.html |date=December 23, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Atlantic">{{cite web |last1=Pinsker |first1=Joe |title=Bernie Sanders's Highly Sensible Plan to Turn Post Offices Into Banks |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/bernie-sanders-lets-turn-post-offices-into-banks/411589/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=January 6, 2016|date=October 20, 2015 }}</ref> − Believing greater emphasis is needed on labor rights and environmental concerns when negotiating international trade agreements, Sanders voted against and has long spoken against [[NAFTA]], [[CAFTA]], and [[PNTR]] with [[China]]. He has called them a "disaster for the American worker," saying that they have resulted in American corporations moving abroad. He also opposes the [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]], which he says was "written by corporate America and the pharmaceutical industry and Wall Street."<ref>{{cite news |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |date=May 21, 2015 |title=The TPP Must Be Defeated |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-tpp-must-be-defeated_b_7352166 |access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="On the Issues">{{cite web |url=https://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Free_Trade.htm |title=Bernie Sanders on Free Trade |publisher=On the Issues |access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> On May 1, 2019, he tweeted: "Since the [[United States–China Relations Act of 2000|China trade deal]] I voted against, America has lost over three million manufacturing jobs. It's wrong to pretend that China isn't one of our major economic competitors."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Democratic candidates on foreign policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020-election/ |work=[[Foreign Policy]]}}</ref>+ − ===Foreign relations===+ − [[File:Bernie Sanders helicopter Afghanistan 2011.jpg|thumb|left|Sanders steps out of a [[Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk]] helicopter after arriving in Afghanistan in 2011]] − On foreign policy, Sanders supports reducing [[United States military spending|military spending]] while pursuing more [[diplomacy]] and [[international cooperation]]. He opposed funding [[Nicaragua]]n rebels, known as [[contras]], in the [[CIA activities in Nicaragua|CIA]]'s [[Nicaragua v. United States|covert war]] against Nicaragua's leftist government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who Was Naive About Bernie Sanders Meeting the Sandinistas? |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/05/who-was-naive-about-bernie-sanders-meeting-the-sandinistas/ |first=Jonathan M. |last=Katz |work=Mother Jones |date=May 30, 2019}}</ref> He opposed the [[U.S. invasion of Iraq]] and has criticized a number of policies instituted during the [[War on Terror]], particularly that of [[Mass surveillance in the United States|mass surveillance]] and the [[Patriot Act|USA Patriot Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/video/flashback-rep-bernie-sanders-opposes-iraq-war |title=Flashback: Rep. Bernie Sanders Opposes Iraq War |work=Sanders.Senate.gov }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Krieg |first=Gregory |date=May 7, 2015 |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/117738/bernie-sanders-rips-nsa-spying-and-pushes-for-end-to-mass-surveillance |title=Bernie Sanders Rips NSA Spying and Pushes for End to Mass Surveillance |work=Mic.com |access-date=August 18, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statement on NSA Surveillance |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/statement-on-nsa-surveillance |website=Sen. Bernie Sanders |access-date=October 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?173117-1/house-session&start=46850 |date=October 9, 2002 |title=House Session |work=[[C-SPAN]] |access-date=February 14, 2020 |page=13:00:50 }}</ref> He criticized [[Israel]]'s bellicose actions during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|2014 Gaza war]]<ref>{{cite news |access-date=February 14, 2020 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/bernie-sanders-accuses-netanyahu-of-overreacting-in-gaza-war/ |title=Bernie Sanders accuses Netanyahu of overreacting in Gaza war |website=The Times of Israel |date=November 19, 2015 }}</ref> and U.S. involvement in the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://theintercept.com/2018/02/28/yemen-war-bernie-sanders-saudi-arabia/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders Wants Congress to End U.S. Support for Yemen War. Saudi Lobbyists Fought Similar Measures Last Year. |first1=Lee |last1=Fang |first2=Alex |last2=Emmons |work=[[The Intercept]] |date=February 28, 2018 }}</ref> On November 15, 2015, in response to the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL)'s [[November 2015 Paris attacks|attacks in Paris]], he cautioned against [[Islamophobia]] and said, "We gotta be tough, not stupid" in the war against ISIL, adding that the U.S. should continue to welcome Syrian refugees.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/16/politics/bernie-sanders-cleveland-isis/index.html |title=Bernie Sanders on ISIS: U.S. needs to be "tough" not "stupid" |last=LoBianco |first=Tom |date=November 17, 2015 |work=CNN |access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref> He criticized the January 2020 [[2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike|drone assassination]] of Iranian general [[Qasem Soleimani]], calling it a dangerous [[2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis|escalation of tensions]] that could lead to an expensive war.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Matthew |title=2020 Dems warn of escalation in Middle East after Soleimani killing |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/02/soleimani-2020-iran-democrats-093123 |access-date=February 14, 2020 |work=[[Politico]] |date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103071024/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/02/soleimani-2020-iran-democrats-093123 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> − Sanders supports Palestinians' rights and has criticized Israel on several occasions. In 2020, he described the [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]] as a platform for [[bigotry]] and said he would not attend its conference.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/sanders-accuses-pro-israel-group-giving-platform-bigotry-200224071117944.html|title=Sanders accuses pro-Israel group of giving platform to 'bigotry'|first=Usaid|last=Siddiqui|date=February 24, 2020|access-date=February 24, 2020|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> He condemned Trump's decision to [[United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel|recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital]], saying, "It would dramatically undermine the prospects for an [[Israeli–Palestinian peace process|Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement]], and severely, perhaps irreparably, damage the United States' ability to broker that peace."<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberal US Jews blast Trump's expected Jerusalem declaration |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liberal-us-jews-blast-trumps-expected-jerusalem-declaration/ |first=Eric |last=Cortellessa |work=The Times of Israel |date=December 6, 2017 |access-date=February 14, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |title=Sanders Statement on Trump's Plan to Recognize Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel|website=Senate.gov |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-trumps-plan-to-recognize-jerusalem-as-the-capital-of-israel|date=December 5, 2017|access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref>+ − Addressing [[Westminster College (Missouri)|Westminster College]] in a September 2017 speech, Sanders laid out a foreign policy plan for greater international collaboration, adherence to U.S.-led international agreements such as the [[Paris Agreement]] and the [[Iran nuclear deal framework]], and promoting human rights and democratic ideals. He emphasized the consequences associated with global economic inequality and climate change, and urged reining in the use of U.S. military power, saying it "must always be a last resort." He also criticized [[Foreign policy of the United States#Criticism|U.S. support for "murderous regimes"]] during the [[Cold War]], such as those in [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Iran]], [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–90)|Chile]] and [[Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador|El Salvador]], and said that those actions continue to make the U.S. less safe.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hancock |first= Jason|date=September 21, 2017 |title=Bernie Sanders, in Missouri speech, takes aim at 'outrageous' inequalities|url=https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article174608901.html |work=[[The Kansas City Star]] |access-date=September 24, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Detrow |first=Scott |date=September 21, 2017 |title=Bernie Sanders Lays Out His Foreign Policy Vision|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/21/552671703/bernie-sanders-lays-out-his-foreign-policy-vision|publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=September 24, 2017}}</ref> He also spoke critically of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and the way President Trump has handled the crisis.<ref>{{cite news |last=Berman |first=Paul |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/275223/american-left-2-foreign-policy |title=The Foreign Policy of the American Left |work=Tablet Magazine |date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=November 27, 2018 }}</ref> He does not consider [[Turkey]] a U.S. ally, and condemned the [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|Turkish military offensive]] against U.S.-aligned [[Rojava|Kurdish forces]] in northeastern [[Syria]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Democratic debate: Military veterans Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Buttigieg clash over Syria |first=Negar |last=Mortazavi |access-date=February 9, 2020 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/democratic-debate-tulsi-gabbard-syria-pete-buttigieg-trump-turkey-a9157711.html |work=The Independent |date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>+ − + − Sanders supports closing the "[[gun show loophole]]," [[Assault weapons legislation in the United States|banning assault weapons]], and passing and enforcing [[Universal background check|universal federal background checks for gun purchases]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ben|first1=Kamisar|title=Gun control push complicates Sanders's 2020 ambitions |date=February 28, 2018 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/375927-gun-control-push-complicates-sanderss-2020-ambitions|website=The Hill|access-date=March 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 17, 2013 |url=https://projects.propublica.org/represent/votes/113/senate/1/97 |title=Represent: Senate Vote 97: Defeats Manchin–Toomey Background Checks Proposal |website=ProPublica |access-date=May 28, 2018 |first1=Derek |last1=Willis |first2=Allison |last2=McCartney |first3=Jeremy B. |last3=Merrill}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Gun_Control.htm |title=Bernie Sanders on Gun Control |publisher=Ontheissues.org |access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref> In 1990, he was supported by the [[National Rifle Association]] in his bid to become a U.S. Representative in exchange for opposing both the competing campaign of Peter Smith, who had reversed his stance on firearm restrictions, and waiting periods for handgun purchases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-the-nra-helped-put-bernie-sanders-in-congress/2015/07/19/ed1be26c-2bfe-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html|title=How the National Rifle Association helped get Bernie Sanders elected|last=Fahrenthold|first=David A.|date=July 19, 2015|website=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> In 1993, while a U.S. Representative, he voted against the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act]] (which established background checks and wait periods), and in 2005 voted for legislation that gave gun manufacturers legal immunity against claims of negligence, but {{as of|2016|lc=y}} he has since said that he would support repealing that law.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/01/26/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-bernie-sanderss-record-on-guns/|title=Analysis {{!}} Everything you wanted to know about Bernie Sanders's record on guns|last=Lee|first=Michelle Ye Hee|date=January 26, 2016|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 4, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In 1996, he voted against additional funding to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] for research on issues related to firearms, but in 2016, he called for an increase in CDC funding for the study of gun violence.<ref name=":11" />+ + − + − On social issues, Sanders has long taken liberal stances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism |title=Bernie Sanders explains democratic socialism|last=Seitz-Wald|first=Alex|date=November 19, 2015|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=March 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301233912/http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism|archive-date=March 1, 2019|url-status=live }}</ref> He considers himself a [[Feminism|feminist]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Tumulty|first= Karen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/24/hey-bernie-sanders-are-you-a-feminist|title=Hey Bernie Sanders, are you a feminist?|website=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 24, 2015|access-date=February 10, 2016}}</ref> is [[pro-choice]] on abortion, and opposes defunding [[Planned Parenthood]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lavender |first=Paige |date=July 29, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders: GOP Efforts To Defund Planned Parenthood 'An Attack On Women's Health' |website=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-planned-parenthood_n_55b8f386e4b0074ba5a6fe60 |access-date=October 5, 2015}}</ref> He has denounced [[institutional racism]] and called for criminal justice reform to reduce the [[incarceration in the United States|number of people in prison]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Ken |date=August 16, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405080456/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-racism_us_55d10b2be4b055a6dab0a4a8 |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-racism_55d10b2be4b055a6dab0a4a8 |website=HuffPost |url-status=dead |title=Bernie Sanders Vows To Better Address Racism }}</ref> advocates a crackdown on [[Police brutality in the United States|police brutality]], and supports abolishing [[Private prisons in the United States|private, for-profit prisons]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://berniesanders.com/issues/racial-justice/ |title=Issues: Racial Justice |work=BernieSanders.com |access-date=August 18, 2015}}{{Primary source inline|date=August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |access-date=February 14, 2020 |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/09/17/bernie_sanders_declares_war_on_the_prison_industrial_complex_with_major_new_bill/ |first=Sophia |last=Tesfaye |title=Bernie Sanders declares war on the prison-industrial complex with major new bill |website=[[Salon.com]] |date=September 17, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Bernie |last=Sanders |date=September 22, 2015 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/we-must-end-for-profit-pr_b_8180124 |title=We Must End For-Profit Prisons |work=HuffPost |access-date=September 23, 2015 }}</ref> and the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/read/bernie-sanders-wants-to-abolish-the-death-penalty-vgtrn-1030 | title=Bernie Sanders Wants to Abolish the Death Penalty | last=Schwartz | first=Drew | website=Vice | date=October 29, 2015 | access-date=August 3, 2016 | quote=Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for an end to the death penalty on Thursday, laying out his case in a Senate floor speech just one day after Hillary Clinton{{snd}}the party's 2016 frontrunner and Sanders' main rival for the nomination{{snd}}said she was opposed to abolishing the practice.}}</ref> He supports [[Black Lives Matter]].<ref name="Huffington Post2">{{cite web | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-tells-spike-lee-what-black-lives-matter-means-to-him_n_57067e01e4b0a506064e59e5 |title=Bernie Sanders Tells Spike Lee What Black Lives Matter Means To Him |website=HuffPost |date=April 7, 2016 |access-date=October 6, 2016 |last=Workneh |first=Lilly }}</ref> He also supports [[Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States|legalizing marijuana]] at the federal level.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/bernie-sanders-supports-ending-federal-marijuana-ban-54195/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Bernie Sanders Supports Ending Federal Marijuana Ban |work=Rolling Stone |date=October 28, 2015 |first=Tessa |last=Stuart }}</ref> He has advocated for greater democratic participation by citizens, [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]], and a constitutional amendment or judicial decision that would overturn ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]''.<ref name="Legislation: Campaign Finance">{{cite web|url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/legislation/issue/?id=a22c4c55-2c79-4d6b-895b-704230412415|title=Legislation: Campaign Finance|website=Bernie Sanders: U.S. Senator for Vermont|publisher=Senate.gov|access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Saving American Democracy Amendment">{{cite web |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/saving-american-democracy-amendment |title=Saving American Democracy Amendment |date=December 8, 2011 |work=Sanders.Senate.Gov |access-date=December 18, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sanders-to-senate-if-we-dont-overturn-citizens-united-the-congress-will-become-paid-employees-of-the-billionaire-class_b_6918468 |title=If We Don't Overturn Citizens United, The Congress Will Become Paid Employees of the Billionaire Class|last=Sanders|first=Bernie|date=March 22, 2015|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> − === LGBTQ rights ===+ − He advocated for [[LGBT rights in the United States|LGBT rights]] as Burlington mayor in 1983 and voted against the 1996 [[Defense of Marriage Act]]. In 2006, he indicated that the time was not right for legalizing same-sex marriage nationally, describing the issue as one that should be handled at the state level; but then in 2009, he supported the [[Marriage Equality Act (Vermont)|legalizing same-sex marriage in Vermont]], which was enacted that year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Frizell|first=Sam|newspaper = Time|title=How Bernie Sanders Evolved on Gay Marriage|url=https://time.com/4089946/bernie-sanders-gay-marriage/ |date=October 28, 2015|access-date=August 14, 2017}}</ref> In 2014, he signed a letter to then-FDA commissioner [[Sylvia Burwell]] requesting that the [[FDA]] revise its policy banning donation of [[corneas]] and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding 5 years.<ref>https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/9.8.14%20Bicameral%20Letter%20to%20HHS%20on%20MSM%20Policies.pdf</ref> − ===Trump administration===+ − Sanders criticized President Trump for appointing multiple billionaires to his cabinet.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/05/politics/bernie-sanders-trump-fraud/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Sanders on Trump: 'This guy is a fraud'|date=February 6, 2017 |work=CNN |first=Eric |last=Bradner }}<br />{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/317981-sanders-trump-is-a-fraud |title=Sanders: Trump is a 'fraud'|first=Mallory|last=Shelbourne|date=February 5, 2017 |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=February 14, 2020 }}</ref> He criticized Trump's rolling back President Obama's [[Clean Power Plan]], noting the scientifically reported effect on climate change of human activity and citing Trump's calling those reports a hoax.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/30/bernie-sanders-prioritizing-jobs-over-climate-chan/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Sanders: Prioritizing jobs over climate change is 'stupid and dangerous'|date=March 30, 2017|website=The Washington Times|first=Douglas|last=Ernst}}</ref> He called for caution on the [[Syrian Civil War]], saying, "It's easier to get into a war than out of one."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/bernie-sanders-slams-trumps-airstrike-syria-2522629 |title=Bernie Sanders Slams Trump's Airstrike On Syria|first=Juliana Rose|last=Pignataro|date=April 7, 2017|work=International Business Times}}</ref> In 2017, he promised to defeat "Trump and Trumpism and the Republican right-wing ideology".<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-bernie-sanders-event-20170219-story.html |title=Bernie Sanders in Los Angeles: 'The truth is that Trump is a pathological liar'|date=February 21, 2017|website=Los Angeles Times|first=Javier|last=Panzer}}</ref> − Sanders gave an online reply to Trump's January 2018 State of the Union address in which he called Trump "compulsively dishonest" and criticized him for initiating "a looming immigration crisis" by ending the [[Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]] program. He voiced concern about Trump's failure to mention the finding that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election and "will likely interfere in the 2018 midterms we will be holding… Unless you have a very special relationship with Mr. Putin."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Diaz|first1=Daniella|title=Bernie Sanders holds his own SOTU speech on-line|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/politics/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-2020-state-of-the-union/index.html |date=January 31, 2018 |work=CNN|access-date=February 4, 2018}}</ref>+ − On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|stormed the United States Capitol]]. Sanders commented: "[Trump] has made it clear that he will do anything to remain in power – including insurrection and inciting violence [and he] will go down in history as the worst and most dangerous president in history."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haltiwanger |first1=John |title=Bernie Sanders skewers the president over Capitol siege: 'The man directly responsible for the chaos of today is Donald Trump' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sanders-says-trump-is-directly-responsible-for-capitol-siege-2021-1 |website=Business Insider |access-date=January 8, 2021}}</ref>+ − Sanders voted to convict Trump on both articles of his [[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|first impeachment trial]] in 2020 (for pressuring a foreign leader to investigate [[Joe Biden]]), and again on the sole article of his [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|second impeachment trial]] in 2021 (for inciting the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol|storming of the Capitol]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Leahy, Sanders vote to convict Trump of inciting insurrection » Senator Bernie Sanders|url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/in-the-news/leahy-sanders-vote-to-convict-trump-of-inciting-insurrection/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Senator Bernie Sanders|language=en-US}}</ref>+ − === Biden administration ===+ − After Biden was elected president, Sanders became the subject of speculation over a potential appointment as [[United States Secretary of Labor|Labor Secretary]], which was supported by several progressive groups, such as the [[Sunrise Movement]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Climate Mandate - The Team We Need to Combat the Climate Crisis|url=https://climatemandate.org/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Climate Mandate|language=en}}</ref> For his part, Sanders said that he would accept Biden's nomination if it was offered. But Biden chose [[Boston]] mayor [[Marty Walsh (politician)|Marty Walsh]] for the position instead. When announcing Walsh's nomination, Biden confirmed that he had discussed the position with Sanders, but the two agreed that Sanders's resignation from the Senate and the ensuing special election would have put the Democrats' slim Senate majority at risk.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Here's Why Biden Didn't Pick Sen. Bernie Sanders for Labor Secretary|url=https://www.necn.com/news/politics/heres-why-biden-didnt-pick-sen-bernie-sanders-for-labor-secretary/2385333/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=NECN|language=en-US}}</ref> − On February 23, 2021, Sanders became the first senator in the Democratic caucus to oppose one of Biden's cabinet picks when he voted against [[Tom Vilsack]]'s confirmation as [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Agriculture Secretary]], citing concerns about Vilsack's past work as a lobbyist and ties to large corporations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Homan|first=Timothy R.|date=2021-02-23|title=Sanders votes against Biden USDA nominee Vilsack|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/540137-sanders-votes-against-biden-usda-nominee-vilsack|access-date=2021-04-23|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref>+ − Sanders strongly supported Senate Democrats' decision to use [[Reconciliation (United States Congress)|budget reconciliation]] (a procedure used to avoid [[Filibuster in the United States Senate|filibusters]]) to pass the [[American Rescue Plan Act of 2021]], despite having criticized Republicans' use of reconciliation to pass their [[Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017|2017 tax cuts]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hooper|first=Kelly|title=Bernie Sanders: Dems will use reconciliation to pass Covid relief 'as soon as we possibly can'|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/24/bernie-sanders-reconciliation-covid-relief-461843|access-date=2021-04-23|website=POLITICO|language=en}}</ref> The bill passed the Senate by a 50-49 vote and was signed into law by Biden on March 11, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Kate Sullivan|title=Biden signs historic $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief law|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/politics/biden-sign-covid-bill/index.html|access-date=2021-04-23|website=CNN}}</ref>+ − ==Party affiliations==+ − Born into a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]-voting family, Sanders was first introduced to political activism when his brother [[Larry Sanders (politician)|Larry]] joined the [[Young Democrats of America]] and campaigned for [[Adlai Stevenson II]] in 1956.{{sfn|Sanders|2016|p=9}} Sanders joined Vermont's [[Liberty Union Party]] in 1971 and was a candidate for several offices, never coming close to winning election. He became party chairman,<ref name=":BeganRevolution">{{cite news|url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/26/sanders-begin-political-revolution/27991467/|title=Sanders: 'We begin a political revolution'|last1=Burbank|first1=April|last2=Donoghue|first2=Mike|date=May 26, 2015|newspaper=[[Burlington Free Press]]|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref> but quit in 1977 to become an independent.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?&id=wgdlAAAAIBAJ&pg=5788,2134518 |title=Liberty Union Party Chief in Vermon Quits Position|date=October 12, 1977|work=Nashua Telegraph|access-date=March 1, 2016|agency=AP}}</ref> In 1980, he served as an elector for the [[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers Party]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Amber |title=Bernie Sanders: A somewhat reluctant socialist |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/19/bernie-sanderss-surprisingly-slow-embrace-of-the-term-socialism/ |website=Washington Post |access-date=June 7, 2020 |language=en |date=November 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com|title=The case against Bernie|last=Alterman|first=Eric|journal=The Nation |date=April 15, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0027-8378}}</ref> In 1981, Sanders ran as an independent for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and defeated the Democratic incumbent; he was reelected three times.<ref name="Dreier2015"/> Although an independent, he endorsed Democratic presidential candidates [[Walter Mondale]] in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] in [[Jesse Jackson presidential campaign, 1988|1988]]. His endorsement of Mondale was lukewarm (telling reporters that "if you go around saying that Mondale would be a great president, you would be a liar and a hypocrite"), but he supported Jackson enthusiastically.<ref name=mojo>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/bernie-sanders-jesse-jackson-campaign |title=This Is the Campaign That Explains Bernie Sanders |last=Murphy |first=Tim |date=December 17, 2015 |website=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |access-date=January 22, 2017}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported that the Jackson campaign helped inspire Sanders to work more closely with the Democratic Party.<ref name=mojo/><ref name=wapo/>+ + − Sanders attended the 1983 conference of the [[Socialist Party USA]] where he gave a speech.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 13, 2016 |title=In Speech from 1983, Sanders Rails Against the Establishment |work=[[WNYC]] |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/speech-1983-sanders-rails-against-establishment |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.vn/7BN2c |archive-date=December 8, 2020}}</ref>+ − Sanders first ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in [[1988 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont|1988]] and for the U.S. Senate in [[2006 United States Senate election in Vermont|2006]], each time adopting a strategy of winning the Democratic Party primary, thereby eliminating Democratic challengers, and then running as an independent in the general election.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/05/21/bernie-sanders-is-still-borrowing-the-democratic-party/|title=Bernie Sanders is still borrowing the Democratic Party|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=May 21, 2018|work=The Washington Post|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref> He continued this strategy through his reelection in the [[2018 United States Senate election in Vermont]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/bernie-sanders-democrat-independent-vermont-601844 |date=May 21, 2018|title=Sanders to run as a Democrat — but not accept nomination|last=Dovere|first=Edward-Isaac|website=POLITICO|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref> Throughout his tenure in Congress, he has been listed as an independent. He caucused with Democrats in the House<ref name="Shoah"/> while refusing to join the party,<ref name=":17" /> and continues to caucus with Democrats in the Senate.<ref name="Jones"/> Some conservative southern House Democrats initially barred him from the caucus as they believed that allowing a self-described socialist to join would harm their electoral prospects.<ref name=wapo/> He soon came to work constructively with Democrats, voting with the party over 90% of the time during his tenure in Congress.<ref name=wapo/>+ − Starting with his 2016 presidential campaign, Sanders's announcements suggested that not only was he running as a Democrat, but that he would run as a Democrat in future elections.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/11/05/sanders-declares-democrat-nh-primary/75242938/ |first=Kathleen |last=Ronayne |newspaper=[[Burlington Free Press]] |title=Sanders declares as Democrat in NH primary |date=November 5, 2015 |quote=Sanders says he'll run as a Democrat in future elections. He says, 'I am running as a Democrat obviously, I am a Democrat now.'}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Blomquist |first1=Dan |last2=Way |first2=Robert |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/11/05/sanders-declares-democrat-new-hampshire-primary/jxK9D2LQAAKYdUW9CyjjdM/story.html |title=Bernie Sanders files for Democratic ballot in N.H. primary |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=November 5, 2015 |quote=When a reporter asked Sanders his party allegiance after he filed, Sanders responded, 'I'm a Democrat.' He then called on Buckley, the Democratic chairman, who confirmed the senator's party allegiance. Sanders added that he would run as a Democrat in any future elections. |access-date=December 20, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Seitz-Wald |first1=Alex |last2=Koenig |first2=Kailani |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/sanders-files-new-hampshire-state-ballot-without-incident-n458271 |title=Sanders Files for New Hampshire State Ballot Without Incident |work=[[NBC News]] |date=November 5, 2015 |quote=Sanders declared himself a Democrat Thursday, and said he will run as a Democrat in future elections, and that was good enough for Gardner. }}</ref> When challenged by Clinton about his party commitment, he said, "Of course I am a Democrat and running for the Democratic nomination."<ref name=":19">{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/03/politics/democratic-town-hall-highlights/ |title=Clinton, Sanders clash over what it means to be progressive |work=CNN |date=February 5, 2016 |first=MJ |last=Lee |access-date=December 20, 2019}}</ref> Since he remained a senator elected as an independent, his U.S. Senate website and press materials continued to refer to him as an independent during the campaign and upon his return to the Senate.<ref name=":22">See [https://www.senate.gov/general/search/search_cfm.cfm?q=+%22Sanders+%28I-VT%29%22&x=16&y=10&site=default_collection&num=10&filter=0 search results for "Sanders (I-VT)" at www.senate.gov].</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/26/bernie-sanders-to-return-to-senate-as-an-independent/ |title=Bernie Sanders to Return to Senate as an Independent |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=July 26, 2016 |access-date=August 6, 2016 |first=Peter |last=Nicholas}}</ref> In October 2017, Sanders said he would run for reelection as an independent in 2018 despite pressure to run as a Democrat.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/356650-sanders-to-run-as-an-independent-in-2018 |title=Sanders to run as an independent in 2018 |last=Thomsen |first=Jacqueline |date=October 22, 2017 |work=The Hill |access-date=November 12, 2017}}</ref> His party status became ambiguous again in March 2019 when he signed a formal "loyalty pledge" to the Democratic Party stating that he was a member of the party and would serve as a Democrat if elected president. He signed the pledge the day after he signed paperwork to run as an independent for reelection to the Senate in 2024.<ref name=":18" />+ + − After Trump's victory in the 2016 elections, Sanders suggested the Democratic Party undergo a series of reforms and that it "break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/opinion/bernie-sanders-where-the-democrats-go-from-here.html|title=Bernie Sanders: Where the Democrats Go From Here |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |last1=Sanders|first1=Bernie|date=November 11, 2016}}</ref> He drew parallels between his campaign and that of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 UK general election]].<ref name="theguardian">{{cite news |last1=Roberts|first1=Dan|last2=Asthana|first2=Anushka|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/02/i-dont-think-he-needs-my-advice-bernie-sanders-applauds-jeremy-corbyn|title='There's a real similarity': Corbyn gets rousing support from Bernie Sanders|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=June 2, 2017|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref><ref name="independent">{{cite news |last=Kentish|first=Ben|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bernie-sanders-jeremy-corbyn-praise-democracy-cambridge-union-us-senator-democrat-labour-leader-a7769091.html|title=Bernie Sanders praises 'courageous' Jeremy Corbyn for 'revitalising democracy'|work=[[The Independent]]|date=June 2, 2017|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref> He wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that "the British elections should be a lesson for the Democratic Party" and urged the Democrats to stop holding on to an "overly cautious, centrist ideology," arguing that "momentum shifted to Labour after it released a very progressive manifesto that generated much enthusiasm among young people and workers."<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |last=Sanders|first=Bernie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/opinion/bernie-sanders-how-democrats-can-stop-losing-elections.html|title=Bernie Sanders: How Democrats Can Stop Losing Elections|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 13, 2017|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name="newstatesman">{{cite news |last=Hasan|first=Mehdhi|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2017/06/prime-minister-jeremy-corbyn-sitting-down-president-bernie-sanders-no-longer-sounds-so |title=Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn sitting down with President Bernie Sanders no longer sounds so outlandish|work=[[New Statesman]]|date=June 26, 2017|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref> He had earlier praised [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s stance on class issues.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news |last=Wilkinson|first=Michael|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/23/bernie-sanders-backs-jeremy-corbyn-in-labour-leadership-race|title=Bernie Sanders 'backs Jeremy Corbyn' in Labour leadership race|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=August 23, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref>+ + + + + − ==Personal life==+ − [[File:Bernie and Jane Sanders by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg|thumb|Sanders with his wife [[Jane Sanders|Jane O'Meara]] in Des Moines, Iowa, January 2016]] − In 1963, Sanders and Deborah Shiling Messing, whom he met in college, volunteered for several months on the Israeli [[kibbutz]] [[Sha'ar HaAmakim]]. They married in 1964 and bought a summer home in Vermont; they had no children and divorced in 1966.<ref name=Politico/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wisloski |first1=Jess |last2=Galloway |first2=Anne |title=Bernie Sanders' Early Days in Vermont: His Life, Loves and Circuitous Route to Politics |newspaper=VTDigger |location=Montpelier, Vermont |date=July 9, 2015 |url=https://vtdigger.org/2015/07/09/bernie-sanders-early-days-in-vermont-his-life-loves-and-circuitous-route-to-politics/ |access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aderet |first1=Ofer |title=Mystery Solved? Haaretz Archive Reveals Which Kibbutz Bernie Sanders Volunteered On |url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.701513 |website=Haaretz |access-date=February 5, 2016 |date=February 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Shoah"/> His son (and only biological child), Levi Sanders, was born in 1969 to then-girlfriend Susan Campbell Mott.<ref name="The Populist Prophet"/>+ + − On May 28, 1988, Sanders married [[Jane Sanders|Jane O'Meara Driscoll]] ({{née|Mary Jane O'Meara}}), who later became president of [[Burlington College]], in Burlington, Vermont.<ref>{{cite web |last=Greenhouse |first=Emily |date=May 12, 2015 |title=Getting to Know Jane Sanders, Wife of Bernie |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-12/getting-to-know-jane-sanders-wife-of-bernie |access-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> The day after their wedding, the couple visited the Soviet Union as part of an official delegation in his capacity as mayor.<ref>{{cite news|title=George Will describes Bernie Sanders' Soviet Union honeymoon|url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/aug/12/george-will/george-will-reminds-readers-about-bernie-sanders-u/|work=[[PolitiFact]]|last=Cabaniss|first=Will|date=August 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=How Bernie Sanders Spent His Soviet 'Honeymoon'|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-02-11/how-bernie-sanders-spent-his-soviet-honeymoon|publisher=[[Bloomberg News#Bloomberg View|Bloomberg View]]|last=Bershidsky|first=Leonid|date=February 11, 2016}}</ref> They own a [[row house]] in [[Capitol Hill]], a house in Burlington's [[New North End]] neighborhood, and a lakefront [[summer home]] in [[North Hero]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2016/08/08/bernie-sanders-buys-a-summer-home-in-north-hero|title=Bernie Sanders Buys a Summer Home in North Hero|first=Sasha|last=Goldstein|date=August 8, 2016|publisher=Seven Days}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/08/bernie-sanders-summer-house|title=Bernie Sanders Buys His Third House|last=Nguyen|first=Tina|date=August 9, 2016|website=Vanity Fair - The Hive|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-criticized-twitter-users-having-three-houses-587721|title=Bernie Sanders tweeted about billionaires' greed, then some Twitter users brought up his three homes|last=Marcin|first=Tim|date=April 21, 2017|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2016/08/10/bernie-sanders-buys-a-half-million-dollar-vacation-home-and-the-internet-cries-hypocrisy/|title=Bernie Sanders buys a $575,000 vacation home and the Internet cries hypocrisy|last=Andrews-Dyer|first=Helena|date=August 10, 2016|work=The Washington Post|access-date=February 5, 2019}}</ref> He considers Jane's three children—Dave Driscoll (born 1975), [[Carina Driscoll]] (born 1974), and Heather Titus ({{née|Driscoll}}; 1971)—to be his own.<ref name=Politico/><ref name=cnnfastfacts1/> He also has seven grandchildren,<ref>{{cite web |first=Sandra Sobieraj |last=Westfall |date=January 23, 2016 |url=https://people.com/celebrity/bernie-sanders-is-fun-grandpa-5-things-we-learned-at-his-home/ |title=Bernie Sanders Is 'Fun Grandpa': 5 Things We Learned at His Home |website=People}}</ref> three (including one who was adopted) through his son Levi and four through his stepchildren.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://considerable.com/bernie-sanders-grandchildren/ |date=February 10, 2016 |title=Does Bernie Sanders have grandchildren? |work=Considerable.com }}</ref>+ + − + + − + − On October 1, 2019, Sanders was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains at a campaign event in [[Las Vegas]]. His campaign announced the next day that a blockage had been found in one coronary artery and two [[stent]]s inserted.<ref name = ChoiOtterbein>{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Matthew|last2 = Otterbein|first2 = Holly|title=Bernie Sanders suffered heart attack, has been discharged from hospital |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/04/bernie-sanders-heart-attack-000276 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=October 4, 2019 |date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> Scheduled campaign events and appearances were canceled until further notice.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parks |first1=Maryalice |last2=Margolin |first2=Josh |last3=Karson |first3=Kendall |title=Bernie Sanders hospitalized with chest pain, campaign events canceled |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bernie-sanders-78-canceled-events-notice-hospitalized/story?id=66003850 |work=[[ABC News]] |access-date=October 2, 2019 |date=October 2, 2019}}</ref> Two days later his campaign released a statement that he had been diagnosed with a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. He was released from the hospital the same day.<ref name = ChoiOtterbein/> The statement included the following from Sanders's doctors:<ref>{{cite news |title=Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack, campaign reveals |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-10-04/bernie-sanders-suffered-a-heart-attack-doctors-reveal-says-he-feels-great-after-release-from-hospital |first=Matt |last=Pearce |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=October 8, 2019 |date=October 4, 2019}}</ref>+ − <blockquote>After presenting to an outside facility with chest pain, Sen. Sanders was diagnosed with a [[myocardial infarction]]. He was immediately transferred to Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center. The senator was stable upon arrival and taken immediately to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, at which time two stents were placed in a blocked coronary artery in a timely fashion. All other arteries were normal. His hospital course was uneventful with good expected progress. He was discharged with instructions to follow up with his personal physician.</blockquote> − A few days after returning home, Sanders addressed media outside his home and said he had experienced fatigue and chest discomfort for a month or two before the incident; he expressed regret for not seeking medical assessment sooner: "I was dumb."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-sanders-i-was-dumb-to-ignore-symptoms-before-heart-attack/ar-AAItjVB|title=Bernie Sanders to scale back campaign schedule in the wake of heart attack|last1=Krieg|first1=Gregory|last2=Nobles|first2=Ryan|date=October 8, 2019|website=www.msn.com|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref> − Sanders made his first national appearance after his heart attack on October 15 at the Democratic debate, at which he said, "I'm healthy, I'm feeling great." When asked how he would reassure voters about his health and ability to take on the duties of the presidency, he said, "We are going to be mounting a vigorous campaign all over this country. That is how I think I can reassure the American people." It was noted that he was "lively and sharp at the debate."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Villa |first1=Lissandra |title=Bernie Sanders Leverages the Debate for a Comeback Just Weeks After a Heart Attack |url=https://time.com/5701745/bernie-sanders-debate-health/ |date=October 16, 2019 |website=Time |access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>+ − + − In December 2019, three months after the heart attack, Sanders released letters from three physicians, [[Attending Physician of the United States Congress|Attending Physician of Congress]] [[Brian P. Monahan]] and two [[cardiologists]], who declared Sanders healthy and recovered from his heart condition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/us/politics/bernie-sanders-health-medical-records.html |title=Bernie Sanders Is in 'Good Health,' His Doctors Say |author=Ember, Sydney |work=The New York Times |date=December 30, 2019 |access-date=February 2, 2020}}</ref>+ − + − ===Honors and awards===+ − On December 4, 2015, Sanders won ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''{{'}}s 2015 [[Time Person of the Year|Person of the Year]] readers' poll with 10.2% of the vote<ref>{{cite web |first=Nick |last=Gass |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/bernie-sanders-time-person-of-the-year-poll-216481 |title=Bernie Sanders wins Time's Person of the Year readers' poll |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=December 7, 2015 |date=December 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Sam |last=Frizell |date=December 7, 2015 |url=https://time.com/4137173/bernie-sanders-time-person-of-the-year-poll-win/ |title=Bernie Sanders Wins Readers' Poll for TIME Person of the Year |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=December 7, 2015}}</ref> but did not receive the editorial board's award. On March 20, 2016, he was given an honorary [[Coast Salish]] name, {{lang|lut|dxʷshudičup}},{{efn|name="CoastSalishName"|{{IPA-all|ˌduːh.s.ˈhwuː.diː.ˌtʃuːp}}, {{literal translation|lk=on}} 'the one lighting the fires for change and unity' in [[Lushootseed]]}} by [[Deborah Parker]] in [[Seattle]] to honor his focus on Native American issues during his presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--None listed.-->|date=March 25, 2016|orig-year=Updated; originally published March 23, 2016|title=U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders honoured with Coast Salish name|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/bernie-sanders-receives-coast-salish-name-1.3504078|url-status=live|department=News (Indigenous)|work=[[CBC News]]|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180724230352/https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/bernie-sanders-receives-coast-salish-name-1.3504078#selection-2311.0-2323.210|archive-date=July 24, 2018|access-date=July 24, 2018}}</ref>+ − + − On May 30, 2017, Sanders received an [[honorary degree]] of [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from [[Brooklyn College]].<ref>{{cite news| last = Singman| first = Brooke| title = Bernie Sanders slams GOP health care plans at New York college graduation|publisher=Fox News Channel| location = New York City| date = May 30, 2017| url = http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/30/bernie-sanders-slams-gop-health-care-plans-at-new-york-college-graduation.html| access-date = May 30, 2017}}</ref> − − ===In popular culture=== − In December 1987, during his tenure as mayor of Burlington, Sanders recorded a folk album, ''[[We Shall Overcome (Bernie Sanders album)|We Shall Overcome]]'', with 30 Vermont musicians. As he was not a skilled singer, he performed his vocals in a [[talking blues]] style.<ref name="nprbehindthemusic">{{cite news |title=Behind The Music: Bernie Sanders |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/01/30/464736315/behind-the-music-bernie-sanders |access-date=February 4, 2016 |author=NPR Staff|website=NPR |date=January 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-untold-story-of-bernie-sanders-1987-folk-album-20151202 |work=Rolling Stone |title=The Untold Story of Bernie Sanders' 1987 Folk Album |date=December 2, 2015 |access-date=February 4, 2016 |last=Stuart|first=Tessa}}</ref> He appeared in a cameo role in the 1988 comedy-drama film ''[[Sweet Hearts Dance]]'', playing a man who distributes candy to young trick-or-treaters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/who-knew-bernie-sanders-had-career-low-budget-rom--231777 |title=Bernie Sanders has appeared in not one, but two low-budget rom-coms |website=A.V. Club|access-date=February 5, 2016 |date=February 5, 2016 |last=Blevis|first=Joe}}</ref> In 1999, he acted in the film ''[[My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception]]'', playing Rabbi Manny Shevitz. In this role he mourned the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]]' move to Los Angeles, reflecting Sanders's own upbringing in Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-played-rabbi-1999-romantic-comedy-article-1.2519921 |work=Daily News|location=New York |title=Bernie Sanders plays rabbi Manny Shevitz in 1999 romantic comedy, goes on long-winded Brooklyn Dodgers rant |date=February 4, 2016 |access-date=February 4, 2016 |last=Wagner|first=Meg}}</ref> On February 6, 2016, he was a guest star alongside [[Larry David]] on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', playing a Polish immigrant on a [[steamship]] that was sinking near the [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref name="SNL">{{cite web |first=Sam |last=Sanders |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/07/465892623/with-a-little-help-from-larry-david-bernie-sanders-does-snl|title = With A Little Help From Larry David, Bernie Sanders Does SNL|website = NPR|access-date = February 7, 2016|date = February 7, 2016}}</ref> − − ==== Internet culture ==== − Owing to his two high-profile campaigns in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries, Sanders and his campaigns have generated many [[Internet meme]]s and other online content. The [[Facebook group]] [[Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash]], where users can submit memes focused around Sanders, received significant attention in the 2016 primary season due to the at-the-time unique idea of a meme community focused entirely on a politician.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Can Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash Swing the Election?|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/d7ypwa/bernie-sanders-dank-meme-stash-facebook-page|access-date=2021-01-21|website=www.vice.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ashkinaze|first=Josh|title=Politicians Should Embrace Internet Memes|url=https://oberlinreview.org/9607/opinions/politicians-should-embrace-internet-memes/|access-date=2021-01-21|website=The Oberlin Review}}</ref> During the 2020 primary season, a still from a fundraising video in which Sanders tells the viewers "I am once again asking for your financial support" went [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] online, with numerous edits made of the frame.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Bernie Sanders Meme Pile on Has Commenced|url=https://time.com/5779804/bernie-sanders-memes/|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ewart|first=Asia|title=Bernie Sanders' Campaign Ad Became A Viral Meme & We Are Here For It|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/02/9347494/bernie-sanders-meme-i-am-once-again-asking-viral|access-date=2021-01-21|website=www.refinery29.com|language=en}}</ref> The day before [[Super Tuesday, 2020|Super Tuesday 2020]], a video of the Twitch streamer [[Neekolul]] wearing a Bernie 2020 shirt and lip-syncing the song "[[OK boomer|Oki Doki Boomer]]" also went viral.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Let the 'OK Boomer' Girl Live|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxe34n/let-the-ok-boomer-girl-live|access-date=2021-01-21|website=www.vice.com|language=en}}</ref> In 2021, a frame from the [[inauguration of Joe Biden]] showing Sanders seated in a folding chair wearing patterned mittens and a jacket reminiscent of the one in the "I am once again asking" meme [[Bernie Sanders mittens meme|went viral]], with the image captioned or edited into other images, most commonly popular movie scenes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Romano|first=Aja|date=2021-01-20|title=Bernie Sanders inauguration memes are liberal comfort food|url=https://www.vox.com/2021/1/20/22241280/bernie-sanders-inauguration-day-memes-coat|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Vox|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Ives|first1=Mike|last2=Victor|first2=Daniel|date=2021-01-21|title=Bernie Sanders Is Once Again the Star of a Meme|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/us/politics/bernie-sanders-meme.html|access-date=2021-01-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> − − ===Religion, heritage, and values=== − As Sanders described his upbringing as an [[American Jews|American Jew]] in a 2016 speech: his father generally attended [[synagogue]] only on [[Yom Kippur]]; he attended [[American public schools|public schools]] while his mother "chafed" at his [[yeshiva]] Sunday schooling at a [[Hebrew school]]; and their religious observances were mostly limited to [[Passover]] [[Passover Seder|seders]] with their neighbors. Larry Sanders said of their parents, "They were very pleased to be [[Jews]], but didn't have a strong belief in [[God in Judaism|God]]."<ref name=NYT02242016>{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Joseph |title=Bernie Sanders Is Jewish, but He Doesn't Like to Talk About It |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=A16 |date=February 24, 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us/politics/bernie-sanders-jewish.html |access-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref> Bernie had a [[bar mitzvah]]<ref name=Sellers/> at the historic [[Kingsway Jewish Center]] in [[Midwood, Brooklyn]], where he grew up.<ref name=NYT02242016/> − − In 1963, in cooperation with the [[Labor Zionism|Labor Zionist]] youth movement [[Hashomer Hatzair]], Sanders and his first wife [[Kibbutz volunteer|volunteered]] at [[Sha'ar HaAmakim]], a kibbutz in northern Israel.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zeveloff |first=Naomi |date=February 4, 2016 |title=Bernie Sanders Kibbutz Revealed at Last |url=https://forward.com/news/israel/332946/revealed-at-last-inside-the-kibbutz-where-bernie-sanders-lived-and-learned/ |newspaper=Forward |access-date=February 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="jtamysterysolved">{{cite news |title=Mystery solved: Sanders volunteered at Kibbutz Shaar HaEmekim |url=https://www.jta.org/2016/02/05/politics/sanders-in-1990-named-the-kibbutz-were-he-stayed-in-the-early-1960s |access-date=February 5, 2016 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=February 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Frances Stead Sellers |title=The kibbutz Bernie Sanders stayed in may have been revealed |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/05/the-kibbutz-bernie-sanders-stayed-in-may-have-been-revealed/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 5, 2016 |access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Jewish"/> His motivation for the trip was as much socialistic as it was Zionistic.<ref name=NYT02242016/> − − As mayor of Burlington, Sanders allowed a [[Chabad]] [[public menorah]] to be placed at city hall, an action the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]] contested. He publicly inaugurated the [[Hanukkah]] [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|menorah]] and performed the Jewish religious ritual of [[Hanukkah music#Hanukkah blessings|blessing Hanukkah candles]].<ref name=NYT02242016/> His early and strong support played a significant role in the now widespread [[public menorah]] celebrations around the globe.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kellner |first=Mark |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/bernie-sanders-supported-religious-liberty-in-menorah-dispute/2016/02/10/f46d1250-d042-11e5-90d3-34c2c42653ac_story.html |title=Bernie Sanders supported religious liberty in menorah dispute |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 10, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ziri |first=Danielle |url=https://www.jpost.com/US-Elections/Sanders-may-play-down-Judaism-but-he-has-a-fan-in-Chabad-Lubavitch-444487 |title=Sanders may play down Judaism, but he played big role in Hannukah case |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=February 10, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Sally |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/09/us/the-law-menorah-ruling-little-new-light.html |title=The Law; Menorah Ruling: Little New Light |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 9, 1988 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3224239/jewish/Some-More-Info-on-Bernie-Sanders-and-Judaism-blog.htm |title=Some More Info on Bernie Sanders and Judaism (blog) |website=[[Chabad.org]] |access-date=December 19, 2019 }}</ref> When asked about his Jewish heritage, Sanders has said that he is "proud to be Jewish."<ref name="Jewish"/> − − Sanders rarely speaks about religion.<ref name="Sellers"/> He describes himself as "not particularly religious"<ref name="Jewish"/> and "not actively involved" with [[organized religion]].<ref name="Sellers"/> A press package issued by his office states his religion as Jewish.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/press-package?download=1 |title=Press Package |website=Sanders.Senate.gov |access-date=February 5, 2015 }}</ref> He has said he believes in God, but not necessarily in a traditional way: "I think everyone believes in God in their own ways," he said. "To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together."<ref name="Sellers">{{cite news |last1=Sellers |first1=Frances |last2=Wagner |first2=John |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-finally-answers-the-god-question/2016/01/26/83429390-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html |title=Why Bernie Sanders doesn't participate in organized religion |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 27, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Winston |first=Kimberly |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/bernie-sanders-disappoints-some-atheists-with-very-strong-religious-feelings/2016/02/04/433a07f8-cb89-11e5-b9ab-26591104bb19_story.html |title=Bernie Sanders disappoints some atheists with 'very strong religious' feelings |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 4, 2016 }}</ref> In October 2015, on the [[late-night talk show]] ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]'', Kimmel asked him, "You say you are culturally Jewish and you don't feel religious; do you believe in God and do you think that's important to the people of the United States?" Sanders replied:<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Gabe |url=https://www.haaretz.com/watch-sanders-talks-larry-davids-impression-and-marijuana-1.5412790 |title=Watch: Bernie Sanders talks spirituality, Larry David and marijuana on 'Jimmy Kimmel' |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=October 24, 2015 }}</ref> − − {{quote|I am who I am, and what I believe in and what my spirituality is about is that we're all in this together. That I think it is not a good thing to believe as human beings we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people… and this is not Judaism, this is what Pope Francis is talking about, that we can't just worship billionaires and the making of more and more money. Life is more than that.}} − − In 2016, he disclosed that he had "very strong religious and spiritual feelings," adding, "My spirituality is that we are all in this together and that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me."<ref name="jtasandersdiscussesfaith">{{cite news |title=Sanders discusses faith, Clinton grapples with rabbinical question on humility |url=https://www.jta.org/2016/02/04/politics/sanders-discusses-faith-clinton-grapples-with-rabbis-question-on-humility |access-date=February 4, 2016 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> − − Sanders does not regularly attend synagogue, and he does not refrain from working on [[Rosh Hashanah]], as observant Jews do. He has attended [[Yahrtzait|yahrzeit observances]] in memory of the deceased, for the father of a friend, and in 2015 attended a [[Tashlikh]], an atonement ceremony, with the mayor of Lynchburg on the afternoon of [[Rosh Hashanah]].<ref name=NYT02242016/> According to his close friend [[Richard Sugarman]], a professor of religious studies at the [[University of Vermont]], Sanders's Jewish identity is "certainly more ethnic and cultural than religious."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kampeas |first=Ron |url=https://forward.com/news/322284/bernie-sanders-opens-up-about-jewish-upbringing-at-last/ |title=Bernie Sanders Opens Up About Jewish Upbringing{{snd}}at Last |work=[[The Forward]] |date=October 8, 2015 }}</ref> [[Deborah Dash Moore]], a Judaic scholar at the [[University of Michigan]], has said that Sanders has a particular type of "ethnic Jewishness that is out of style these days among American Jews."<ref>{{cite news |last=Mangla |first=Ismat Sarah |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/why-arent-american-jews-celebrating-bernie-sanders-2016-2311495 |title=Why Aren't American Jews Celebrating Bernie Sanders In 2016? |work=[[International Business Times]] |date=February 18, 2016 }}</ref> His wife is [[Roman Catholic]], and he has often expressed admiration for [[Pope Francis]], saying that "the leader of the [[Catholic Church]] is raising profound issues. It is important that we listen to what he has said." He has said he feels very close to Francis's economic teachings, describing him as "incredibly smart and brave."<ref name=gaudiano/><ref name="Pope Francis">{{cite web |last=Sanders |first=Bernie |date=February 15, 2015 |title=Pope Francis |publisher=Senate.gov |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/video-audio/pope-francis |access-date=June 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Heilman |first=Uriel |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35999269 |title=New Hampshire Jews all over the map ahead of presidential primary |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=February 2, 2016 }}</ref> In April 2016, he accepted an invitation from [[Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo]], an aide close to Francis, to speak at a Vatican conference on economic and environmental issues. While at the [[Vatican City|Vatican]], he met briefly with Francis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/us/politics/bernie-sanders-vatican.html |title=As Bernie Sanders Heads to Vatican, a Visit With Pope Francis Seems in Doubt |first=Jason |last=Horowitz |date=April 15, 2016 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/51a3860bb14940608f9f6539bd441f4e/bernie-sanders-says-he-met-pope-francis |title=Pope: Sanders encounter sign of good manners, 'nothing more' |first=Ken |last=Thomas |date=April 16, 2016 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref> − ==Publications==+ − * With [[Huck Gutman]], {{cite book|title=Outsider in the White House|publisher=[[Verso Books]]|year=2015|orig-year=1997|location=London|isbn=978-1-78478-418-8|oclc=918986570|title-link=Outsider in the White House}} − * In {{cite book|chapter=Why Americans Should Take Back the Media|title=The Future of Media: Resistance and Reform in the 21st Century|editor1=[[Robert W. McChesney|Robert McChesney]]|editor2=Russell Newman|editor3=[[Ben Scott (policy advisor)|Ben Scott]]|publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]]|year=2005|isbn=978-1-58322-679-7|oclc=57574152}} − * {{cite book|title=The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class|publisher=[[Bold Type Books]]|year=2015|orig-year=2011|location=New York|isbn=978-1-56858-554-3|oclc=927456901|lccn=2011920256|ol=25090387M|title-link=The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class}} − * {{cite book|title=Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In|publisher=[[Thomas Dunne Books]]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-250-13292-5|oclc=1026148801|title-link=Our Revolution (book)}} − * {{cite book|title=Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution|publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1-250-13890-3|oclc=999379791|title-link=Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution}} − * {{cite book|title=Where We Go from Here: Two Years in the Resistance|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|year=2018|isbn=978-1-432-86916-8|oclc=1126540640|title-link=Where We Go from Here}} − ==See also==+ − {{div col|colwidth=30em}} − − * [[History of the socialist movement in the United States]] − * [[List of elected socialist mayors in the United States]] − * [[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress]] − * [[List of people who received an electoral vote in the United States Electoral College]] − * ''[[Spintharus berniesandersi]]'' − * [[Third-party members of the United States House of Representatives]] − * [[Electoral history of Bernie Sanders]] − {{div col end}} − − ==Notes== − {{Notelist}} − + − − ==Further reading== − * {{cite book |last=Rall |first=Ted |date=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mMaUCwAAQBAJ |title=Bernie |publisher=Hollowbrook Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1609806989}} − * {{cite journal |last=Rice |first=Tom W. |year=1985 |title=Who Votes for a Socialist Mayor?: The Case of Burlington, Vermont |journal=Polity |doi=10.2307/3234575 |issn=0032-3497 |jstor=3234575 |oclc=5546248357 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=795–806|s2cid=153889856 }} − * {{cite book |last=Rosenfeld |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Making History in Vermont: The Election of a Socialist to Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBRyAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Hollowbrook Publishing |location=Wakefield, NH |isbn=978-0-89341-698-0 |lccn=91034055 |oclc=24468446 |ol=1553980M}} − * {{cite book |last=Soifer |first=Steven |date=1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S8h4AAAAMAAJ |title=The Socialist Mayor: Bernard Sanders in Burlington, Vermont |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CN |isbn=978-0-89789-219-3 |lccn=90048954 |oclc=22491683 |ol=1887682M}} − {{sister project links|b=no|commons=Category:Bernie Sanders|d=Q359442|n=yes|q=Bernie Sanders|s=Author:Bernie Sanders|v=no|wikt=no}}+ − + − ===Official===+ − + − + − {{CongLinks | congbio=s000033 | fec=S4VT00033 | congress=bernard-sanders/1010}}+ − + − + − * {{C-SPAN|Bernie Sanders}}+ − * {{Curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/Vermont/Government/Federal/US_Senate/Bernie_Sanders_%5BI%5D}}+ − + − − − {{CongLinks | votesmart=27110}} − − {{Bernie Sanders|state=expanded}} − {{Navboxes − |title=Offices and distinctions − |list1= − {{s-start}} − {{s-off}} − {{s-bef|before=Gordon Paquette}} − {{s-ttl|title=[[List of mayors of Burlington, Vermont|Mayor of Burlington]]|years=1981–1989}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Peter Clavelle]]}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-par|us-hs}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Peter Plympton Smith]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Vermont|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br />from [[Vermont's at-large congressional district]]|years=1991–2007}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Peter Welch]]}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-ppo}} − {{s-new|office}} − {{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]]|years=1991–1999}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Dennis Kucinich]]}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Ed Flanagan (politician)|Ed Flanagan]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of United States senators from Vermont|U.S. Senator]] from [[Vermont]]<br />([[Classes of United States senators|Class 1]])<br />Affiliated|years=[[United States Senate election in Vermont, 2006|2006]], [[United States Senate election in Vermont, 2012|2012]], [[United States Senate election in Vermont, 2018|2018]]}} − {{s-inc|recent}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Amy Klobuchar]]|as=Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee}} − {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chair of the [[United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee|Senate Democratic Outreach Committee]]}}|years=2017–present}} − {{s-inc}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-par|us-sen}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Jim Jeffords]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Vermont|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Vermont]]|years=2007–present|alongside=[[Patrick Leahy]]}} − {{s-inc}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Jeff Sessions]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]]|years=2015–2021}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Lindsey Graham]]}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Patty Murray]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee]]|years=2013–2015}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Johnny Isakson]]}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Mike Enzi]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]]|years=2021–present}} − {{s-inc}} − {{s-break}} − {{s-prec|usa}} − {{s-bef|before=[[Ben Cardin]]}} − {{s-ttl|title=[[Seniority in the United States Senate|United States senators by seniority]]|years=24th}} − {{s-aft|after=[[Sherrod Brown]]}} − {{s-end}} − }} − {{Navboxes − |title=Articles related to Bernie Sanders − |list1= − {{US Senate Budget chairs}} − {{2016 United States presidential election}} − {{2020 United States presidential 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Undo revision 1773214 by IHateConservatives (talk)
{{short description|United States senator from Vermont}}
{{Officeholder
|name=Bernie Sanders
|image=Sanders.jpg
|party=[[Democrat Party|Democrat]] and [[Democratic Socialists of America|Democratic Socialist]]
|spouse=Deborah Shiling (1964 – 1966)<br>Jane O'Meara
|religion=[[Jewish]] (In Name Only)
|offices=
| name = Bernie Sanders
{{Officeholder/senator
| image = Bernie Sanders in March 2020.jpg
|state=Vermont
| alt = Bernie Sanders smiling
|terms=January 3, 2007 – present
|preceded=[[Jim Jeffords]]
|status=j
|succeeded=
| alongside = [[Patrick Leahy]]
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=Vermont
|district=At-large
|terms=January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2007
|preceded=Peter Smith
| term_start1 = February 3, 2021
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Peter Welch]]
| predecessor1 = [[Mike Enzi]]
}}
| successor1 =
| office2 = Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]]
| term_start2 = January 3, 2015
| predecessor2 = [[Jeff Sessions]]
| term_start3 = January 3, 2013
| term_end3 = January 3, 2015
| state4 = [[Vermont]]
| district4 = {{ushr|VT|AL|at-large}}
| term_start4 = January 3, 1991
| predecessor4 = [[Peter Plympton Smith]]
| successor4 = [[Peter Welch]]
| office5 = 37th [[List of mayors of Burlington, Vermont|Mayor of Burlington]]
}}
}}
'''Bernard "Bernie" Sanders''', [[Bernie Sanders' age|born September 8, 1941]] (age {{age|1941|9|8}}), is a [[Marxist-Leninist]], Communist, [[limousine liberal]] [[elitism|elitist]], millionaire 1%er,<ref name="1%er">Multiple references:
*Curl, Joseph (June 6, 2017). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/6/socialist-bernie-sanders-gets-superrich-in-capital/ Socialist Bernie Sanders gets superrich in capitalist U.S.]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
*Renzulli, Kerri Anne (March 15, 2016). [http://time.com/money/4235986/bernie-sanders-millionaire-finances/ Bernie Sanders Is a De Facto Millionaire]. ''Time''. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
*Gross, Daniel (February 28, 2016). [http://fortune.com/2016/02/28/bernie-sanders-socialist-finances/ How Bernie Sanders, the Socialist, Quietly Entered the Top 4% of Earners]. ''Fortune''. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
*Shaw, Adam (February 21, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-socialist-bernie-sanders-has-3-houses-makes-millions Lifestyles of the rich and socialist: Bernie Sanders has 3 houses, makes millions]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
*Schmidt, Ann W. (April 9, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/how-did-bernie-sanders-make-his-money-a-look-at-his-wealth-and-assets How did Bernie Sanders make his money? A look at his wealth and assets]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
*Xiao, Bowen (April 16, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/socialist-bernie-sanders-is-part-of-the-top-1-tax-returns-confirm_2881908.html Socialist Bernie Sanders Is Part of the Top 1 Percent, Tax Returns Confirm]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
*Kirkwood, R. Cort (April 16, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/32028-tax-returns-show-socialist-sanders-is-an-old-skinflint Tax Returns Show Socialist Sanders Is an Old Skinflint]. ''The New American''. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
*Starr, Penny (April 15, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/04/15/socialist-sanders-tax-returns-top-1-percent-earners/ Socialist Sanders’ Tax Returns Reveal Presidential Hopeful in Top 1% of U.S. Earners]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 16, 2019.</ref> and [[demagogue]] who [[predator|prey]]s on naive and unsuspecting youth, minorities, and working people with [[class war]] [[hate speech]]. He currently serves as a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] representing [[Vermont]]. His extremism is visible in his 2020 Presidential campaign slogan, "No Middle Ground."<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uhJ_MmIbq0</ref> Sanders is a pre-eminent leftwing [[Socialist mass murder denier]] and proponent of communist [[dictatorship]].<ref>Morris, Kyle (February 25, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/25/candid-camera-breadline-bernie-sanders-decades-long-defense-of-socialism-communism/ Candid Camera: ‘Breadline Bernie’ Sanders’ Decades-Long Defense of Socialism, Communism]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved February 25, 2019.</ref> Sanders has openly advocated for the extermination and [[genocide]] of infants from the [[Third World]].<ref>https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2019/09/05/bernie-sanders-population-control-n2552642</ref><ref>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sanders-supports-us-taxpayer-funding-of-third-world-abortions-to-combat-climate-change</ref><ref>Murphy, James (September 6, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/33351-cnn-s-climate-town-hall-reveals-an-ugly-democrat-truth CNN’s Climate Town Hall Reveals an Ugly Democrat Truth]. ''The New American''. Retrieved September 8, 2019.</ref>
Sanders has long-time associations with Marxist, Communist, and Anti-American organizations.<ref>Bohon, Dave (June 2, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/32490-bernie-sanders-record-shows-longtime-communist-marxist-affiliation Bernie Sanders’ Record Shows Longtime Communist-Marxist Affiliation]. ''The New American''. Retrieved June 3, 2019.</ref> He ran for office on the Vermont ballot as a supposed 'Independent', is the founder of the [[Communist]]-dominated [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]], and caucuses with [[Democrats]]. He has been instrumental in the [[far-Left]] take over of the [[Democratic Party|Democrat Party]]. He calls himself a [[Democratic Socialists of America|Democratic Socialist]], registered as a Democrat to run for the presidency in the [[2016 presidential election|2016 elections]], dropped out, re-registered again for the [[2020 presidential election]] and dropped out again.
Sanders was a major candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. Despite initially low expectations, his 2016 campaign generated significant grassroots enthusiasm and funding from small-dollar donors, carrying Sanders to victory against eventual nominee [[Hillary Clinton]] in 23 [[Democratic Party 2016 presidential primaries|primaries and caucuses]] before he conceded in July.<ref name="auto4">{{cite news|last=Gambino|first=Lauren|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/10/democrats-small-dollar-donors-essential-bernie-sanders|title='Not the billionaires': why small-dollar donors are Democrats' new powerhouse |date=March 10, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 25, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2020, Sanders's strong showing in early [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|primaries and caucuses]] made him the [[front-runner]] in a historically large [[2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates|field of Democratic candidates]]. In April 2020, he conceded the nomination to [[Joe Biden]], who had won a series of decisive victories as the field narrowed. Sanders supported Clinton and Biden in their general election campaigns against [[Donald Trump]] while continuing his efforts to move the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction.<ref name=Ember-200408>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/bernie-sanders-drops-out.html|title=Bernie Sanders Is Dropping Out of 2020 Democratic Race for President|work=The New York Times|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=April 8, 2020|first=Sydney|last=Ember}}</ref><ref name=BizInsider2020-04-10/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/blog/meet-press-blog-latest-news-analysis-data-driving-political-discussion-n988541/ncrd1165631|title=Sanders' campaign raises over $2 million for coronavirus charities|last=Grumbach|first=Gary|agency=NBC News|date=April 13, 2020|access-date=April 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/us/politics/bernie-sanders-joe-biden-endorsement.html|title=Bernie Sanders Endorses Joe Biden for President|last1=Ember|first1=Sydney|last2=Glueck|first2=Katie|date=April 13, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 13, 2020}}</ref>
He served in the House of Representatives for eight terms after serving several terms as mayor of Burlington. Sanders has a 100% pro-[[abortion]] voting record. Sanders has a child born out of wedlock.<ref>Multiple references:
*Kruse, Michael (July 9, 2015). [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-119927 "Bernie Sanders has a secret"]. Politico website.
*Gould, Martin (July 15, 2015). [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3155396/Bernie-Sanders-1960s-love-life-revealed-wife-woman-son-sugar-shack-home-lived-revolutionary.html "Bernie Sanders' very 1960s love life revealed - his first wife, the woman who had his son, and the sugar shack home where he lived as a 'revolutionary'"], ''Daily Mail'' website.</ref>
Sanders has [[Bernie Bros|a devout and violent following]]. He tickles his supporters' ears with all the usual [[Marxist]] claptrap: Banks are bad, equality, the middle class, minimum wage, free healthcare, free college, a government so big it will be like living in a [[utopia]]. He is a radical socialist who supports pro-[[abortion]] movements, such as [[Planned Parenthood]].
[[File:Bernie Sanders 1959 High School Yearbook.jpg|thumb|upright|Sanders as a senior in high school, 1959]]
==2020 presidential campaign==
:{{See also|United States presidential election, 2020|Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign|116th United States Congress|Bernie Bros|Antifa|NeverTrump|Leftwing violence in the Trump era}}
Sanders has inspired leftist acts of violence, including kind words for [[Antifa]] and mass shootings of [[Republican]]s and Trump supporters, in the name of socialist [[revolution]]. Sanders oft repeated slogan is, "There Is No Middle Ground."<ref>https://pjmedia.com/trending/bernie-sanders-says-there-is-no-middle-ground-then-blames-trump-for-division/</ref> NBC News Director [[Chuck Todd]] compared Sanders supporters to [[Nazi]] [[Brownshirts]].<ref>https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/chuck-todd-should-apologize-and-resign-msnbc-anchor-blasted-for-nazi-smear-on-leading-democrat/</ref> Democrat hardliner [[Chris Matthews]] of MSNBC speculated that if socialism wins, there will be "executions in [[Central Park]]." <ref>https://nypost.com/2020/02/08/chris-matthews-warns-of-executions-in-central-park-if-socialism-wins/</ref> Ironically, Sanders began his win streak of government run healthcare and [[liberal censorship]] at the same time the [[Communist Party of China]] was wrestling with the outbreak of the [[Coronavirus]].
Sanders became interested in politics at an early age. He said, "A guy named Adolf Hitler won an election in 1932.{{efn|Although Hitler lost the [[1932 German presidential election|election for the presidency]] of Germany on March 13, 1932, when Hindenburg received 49.6% of the vote to Hitler's 30.1%,<ref>{{cite news |last=Kessler |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Kessler (journalist) |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Why you shouldn't retweet Sanders's claim that Hitler 'won an election' |work=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/08/28/why-you-shouldnt-retweet-sanders-claim-that-hitler-won-an-election/ |access-date=March 26, 2016}}</ref> the Nazi Party which was led by Hitler won a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] in the [[July 1932 German federal election|July 1932 election]] for the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]], Germany's lower house of parliament. The Nazi Party retained its status as the largest party thereafter.<ref>{{cite web |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Sanders Gets History Right on Hitler's Rise to Power |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] via Sen. Bernie Sanders's Official Website |url=https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/sanders-gets-history-right-on-hitlers-rise-to-power |access-date=March 26, 2016}}</ref>}} He won an election, and 50 million people died as a result of that election in World War II, including six million Jews. So what I learned as a little kid is that politics is, in fact, very important."<ref name="Jewish">
True to his Marxist convictions, Sanders claims that his own words "mischaracterize" his thinking.<ref>https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1144436123122524161</ref> The Sanders campaign has defended Sanders' use of the N-word.<ref>https://www.mediaite.com/news/bernie-sanders-campaign-defends-use-of-uncensored-n-word-in-1997-book-critiquing-racism-is-not-racism/</ref>
Sanders lived in [[Midwood, Brooklyn]].<ref name="Birth"/> He attended elementary school at [[P.S. 197]], where he won a borough championship on the basketball team.<ref name=untold>{{cite web |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=January 29, 2016 |title=The untold story of Bernie Sanders, high school track star |website=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/29/the-untold-story-of-bernie-sanders-high-school-track-star/ |access-date=January 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Felsenthal |first=Carol |date=May 4, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Found Socialism at the University of Chicago |website=Chicago magazine |quote=He graduated from Brooklyn's P.S. 197 and James Madison High School where he was captain of his high school track team. |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Felsenthal-Files/May-2015/Bernie-Sanders-University-of-Chicago/ |access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> He attended [[Hebrew school]] in the afternoons, and celebrated his [[bar mitzvah]] in 1954.<ref name="stone_p483">{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Kurt F. |title=The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members|date=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=9780810857315|oclc=755001191|page=483|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACTF56SnaykC&pg=PA483 }}</ref> His older brother, [[Larry Sanders (politician)|Larry]], said that during their childhood, the family never lacked for food or clothing, but major purchases, "like curtains or a rug," were not affordable.<ref name="Smith">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Nicola |title=Bernie ropes in British brother for showdown with Clinton |publisher=Sunday Times (London) |date=January 17, 2016|id={{ProQuest|1757568267}} }}</ref>
===Policies===
Among the dreams that Sanders presents as plans are:<ref>[https://berniesanders.com/issues Bernie Sanders on the issues] Retrieved March 3, 2020</ref>
*Murder the preborn: Fully fund Planned Parenthood, protect women’s availability to safe and legal abortion. health, and access to contraception.
*Protect those who promote sodomy, lesbianism, gender dysphoria, etc.: Pass the [[Equality Act]] under which faithful Christians will be persecuted for obeying God and conscience.
*Assault weapons: Regulate assault weapons in the same way that we currently regulate fully automatic weapons — a system that essentially makes them unlawful to own. Support “red flag” laws and legislation to ensure we keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and stalkers
*Free Pre-K and child care and public education (and indoctrination) for all. Guaranteed universal full-day, full-week pre-kindergarten education funded in full by the federal government for every child to regardless of income, starting at age 3. Make transformative investments in our public education system. Double the number of early childhood educators in this country to more than 2.6 million. Guarantee everyone working in the field of early education a living wage. Require anyone providing direct service to young children have at least child a Child Development Associates (CDA) credential, require all assistant teachers have at least an Associate’s Degree in early childhood education or child development, and require all lead preschool teachers have a Bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development. End for-profit charter schools.
*Education spending: Invest $10 billion to create and expand HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) medical, dental, and teacher training graduate programs. Invest $5 billion in HBCU infrastructure grants and cancel all institutional HBCU loan debt from the Capital Financing Program. Double Title III and Title V funds to decrease the funding gap between HBCUs and MSIs and predominantly white institutions Set the starting salary for teachers at no less than $60,000. Spend $50 billion over the next decade to substantially expand access to summer and after-school programs, teen centers and tutoring. Provide year-round, free universal school meals. Ensure that the federal government provides at least 50 percent of the funding for special education. Rebuild, modernize, and green our nation’s schools. Provide funding for union training fund programs to help early care and learning professionals, with strong protections for unionizing, etc. regardless of immigration status.
*College for all: Guarantee tuition and debt-free public colleges, universities, HBCUs, Minority Serving Institutions and trade-schools for all. Cancel all student loan debt for the some 45 million Americans who owe about $1.6 trillion. Invest $5 billion in high-quality teacher preparation programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions of higher education (MSIs), and Tribal Colleges.
*Housing for all: Invest $2.5 trillion to build nearly 10 million permanently affordable housing units. Investing $70 billion to repair, decarbonize, and build new public housing. Make Section 8 vouchers available to all eligible families. National rent control standard.
*Medicare for All: single-payer, national health insurance program to provide everyone in America with comprehensive health care coverage, free at the point of service, including home and community-based long-term care, in-patient and out-patient services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, reproductive and maternity care, prescription drugs, dental, hearing, vision, and home. And more.
*Jobs for all: Enact a federal jobs guarantee, to ensure that everyone is guaranteed a stable job that pays a living wage. Create 20 million jobs as part of the Green New Deal, and millions of healthcare jobs and new jobs in early childhood education.
*Worker Unionization: Eliminate “Right to Work for Less” laws. Double union membership within Bernie’s first term, including by allowing unionization of farm workers and domestic workers. Shift the wealth of the economy back into the hands of the workers who create it. make corporations pay their fair share of taxes by reversing Trump’s corporate tax breaks and closing corporate tax loopholes to raise up to $3 trillion over 10-years.
*High speed Internet for all: Provide $150 billion through the Green New Deal in infrastructure grants and technical assistance for municipalities and/or states to build publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative, or open access broadband networks.
*Debt cancellation: Eliminate all of the $81 billion in past-due medical debt held by 79 million Americans.
*Government banking business: Allow every post office to offer basic and affordable banking services.
*Social Security expansion: Expand Social Security benefits for all recipients. Quadruple funding for the Older Americans Act and expanding other programs seniors rely on.
*Veterans: End restrictions on access to care and benefits based on the nature of one's discharge.
*Green New Deal: provide $200 billion to the Green Climate Fund. Transform US energy system to 100 percent renewable energy. Invest weatherization, public transportation, modern infrastructure and high-speed broadband.
*Decriminalization: Cut the national prison population by 50%. Reversing the criminalization of addiction. Legalize marijuana and expung past convictions. Abolish the death penalty, three strikes laws, and mandatory minimum sentences. Guarantee a “Prisoners Bill of Rights.” Outlaw for-profit prisons and detention centers. Ban cash bail. Outlaw the use of facial recognition software for policing.
*Immigration: Institute a moratorium on deportations. Welcome refugees displaced by climate change. Break up ICE and CBP..
*Feminism: Pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
*Elections:Guarantee the right to vote for every American over 18, including those Americans currently incarcerated and including felons.
*Punish prosperity: Increase annual taxes on the wealthiest 180,000 U.S. households, which would cut in half the wealth of billionaires over 15 years. Increase IRS funding for enforcement and require the IRS to perform an audit of 30 percent of wealth tax returns for those in the 1 percent bracket and a 100 percent audit rate for all billionaires. The wealth tax includes a 40 percent exit tax on the net value of all assets under $1 billion and 60 percent over $1 billion for all wealthy individual seeking to expatriate to avoid the tax. Raise taxes on companies the pay their CEO's far more than typical workers. Tax Wall Street speculators through the Inclusive Prosperity Act Financial Transaction Tax.
Sanders attended [[James Madison High School (Brooklyn)|James Madison High School]], where he was captain of the track team and took third place in the New York City indoor one-mile race.<ref name=untold/> In high school, he lost his first election, finishing last out of three candidates for the student body presidency with a campaign that focused on aiding [[Korean War]] orphans. Despite the loss he became active in his school's fundraising activities for Korean orphans, including organizing a charity basketball game.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2020/07/bernie-sanders-bernies-brooklyn-excerpt|title=In Bernie's Brooklyn, Political Revolution Was Mainstream |last=Hamm |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Hamm|date=July 7, 2020 |website=[[Jacobin (magazine)]]|access-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref> Sanders attended high school with economist [[Walter Block]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chana |first1=Jas |title=Straight Outta Brooklyn, by Way of Vermont: The Bernie Sanders Story |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/bernie-sanders-story |website=Tablet Magazine |publisher=Nextbook Inc |access-date=15 March 2021}}</ref> Not long after his high school graduation, his mother died at the age of 46.<ref name="Shoah"/><ref name=stone_p483/> His father died a few years later in 1962, at the age of 57.<ref name="Geni.com"/>
===Staff===
[[File:Bernie boxxing.gif|right|200px|thumb|Bernie goes toe-to-toe with capitalism.]]
See: [[Individuals who have served on Bernie Sander's staff]]
Sanders hired [[Paul Manafort]] partner [[Tad Devine]] as an advisor on both his 2016 and 2018 campaigns. Devine managed [[Putin]] ally [[Viktor Yanukovych]] campaign for the presidency of [[Ukraine]]. Upon Sanders announcement of his intention to run, Sanders immediately shot up as the top frontrunner of Democratic hopefuls in the [[2020 Presidential election]]. Many former Bernie supporters turned against him because of his disrespectful and nasty personality.<ref>Bleau, Hannah (August 31, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/08/31/many-sanders-supporters-not-enthralled-by-angry-bernie/ Many Sanders Supporters Not Enthralled by ‘Angry Bernie’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 31, 2019.</ref>
Former [[Bernie Sanders]] campaign co-chair Nina Turner said voting for Joe Biden is like "eating a bowl of s***."<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/how-trump-could-win-reelection/612205/</ref>
==Early career==
====Anti-Semitism====
A senior political advisor to Sanders and former adviser to the anti-Semitic [[Women's March]], Winnie Wong, tweeted a gif of [[far left]] [[UK]] [[Labour Party]] leader and [[anti-Semite]] [[Jeremy Corbyn]] dancing on the grave of former [[Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]. The gif also contains a [[Rose (symbolism)|Red Rose]], the symbol of the global socialist movement and conspiracy.<ref>https://tenor.com/view/corbin-corbyn-maggie-thatcher-dance-gif-7229175</ref> after Conservative Party Prime Minister [[Theresa May]] resigned in the Spring of 2019. Wong tweeted the image and wrote, "Jeremy Corbyn's gonna to be the next PM of England. That's gonna be so much fun."<ref>https://freebeacon.com/politics/sanders-advisor-tweets-gif-of-jeremy-corbyn-dancing-on-margaret-thatchers-grave/</ref> Thatcher, who was British PM at the demise of the [[Soviet Union]] famously said, "There is no alternative to [[capitalism]]."
Leading anti-Semite [[Linda Sarsour]] is one of the chief surrogates of the Sanders campaign.
====Sexual violence====
Sanders ran a campaign that was rife with sexual violence and harassment against males, females, and other genders. Sanders ignored complaints from at least two dozen [[male]] and female volunteers (and however many other genders) of "sexual [[violence]] and harassment" in his [[2016 presidential election|2016 presidential campaign]].<ref>https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/30/bernie-sanders-campaign-harassment-1077014</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Sanders had apologized to female victims of sexual violence who "were not treated properly",<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/us/politics/sanders-sexism-apology.html</ref> however male victims of sexual violence in the Sanders campaign have not been addressed. Secondly, a mere "apology" does not address the serious issue of sexual violence in the Sanders campaign. No single person has been reported to have been arrested or disciplined.
Sanders did an interview with ex-stripper Cardi B who admitted to drugging and robbing men.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47718477</ref>
===Professional history and early years in Vermont===
====Unfair labor practices====
Sanders’ campaign was hit with an unfair labor practice complaint alleging illegal employee interrogation and retaliation against staffers. The complaint to the [[National Labor Relations Board]], lists five potential violations of the National Labor Relations Act. The charge also alleges that the campaign unlawfully discharged an employee, modified a labor contract, and engaged in illegal discipline.<ref>https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/sanders-white-house-campaign-hit-with-federal-labor-complaint</ref>
===Liberty Union campaigns===
====Starvation wages====
[[File:Venezuelan-Garbage-Truck-640x480 (2).jpg|right|250px|thumb|[[Venezuela]]ns eating "Bernie Burgers" out of a garbage truck.<ref>https://www.mediaite.com/online/video-of-venezuelans-eating-out-of-a-garbage-truck-led-maduro-to-walk-out-of-jorge-ramos-interview/</ref>]]
While Sanders vowed a $15 minimum wage, he was only paying campaign workers $13 an hour. Many complained of poor working conditions. In response, Sanders raised pay to $15 an hour and cut their hours.<ref>Kirkwood, R. Cort (July 19, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/32891-sanders-starving-campaign-workers-ask-for-another-bowl-of-gruel Sanders’ Starving Campaign Workers Ask for Another Bowl of Gruel]. ''The New American''. Retrieved July 22, 2019.</ref><ref>Kirkwood, R. Cort (July 22, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/32918-sanders-will-raise-workers-pay-to-15-per-hour-by-cutting-their-hours Sanders Will Raise Workers’ Pay to $15 Per Hour — by Cutting Their Hours]. ''The New American''. Retrieved July 22, 2019.</ref> Loss of hours and part-time status had the effect of reducing healthcare benefits.
===Racism===
Bernie Sanders said of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]:
{{quotebox-float|Residents of Baltimore’s poorest boroughs have lifespans shorter than people living under dictatorship in [[North Korea]]. That is a disgrace.<ref>https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/728278867639676930</ref>}}
Sanders further added, "anyone who took the walk that we took around this Baltimore neighborhood would not think you’re in a wealthy nation, you'd think that you were in a [[Third World]] country”.<ref>https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-sanders-baltimore-20151207-story.html</ref>
Baltimore Deputy Police Chief was robbed at gunpoint.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/us/arrests-announced-in-gunpoint-robbery-baltimore-deputy-police-commissioner</ref> By mid 2019 Baltimore was a rat infested dump with 180 homicides.<ref>https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/07/video-proves-trump-right-baltimore-is-rat-infested-dump-with-180-homicides-so-far-this-year-video/</ref> Baltimore is so infested with rodents the ''Baltimore Sunn' published a map of rat hot spot map.<ref>https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1155352238493069312</ref><ref>https://archive.fo/bn0Zx</ref> [[Speaker Nancy Pelosi]] white-flighted from Baltimore in 1962.<ref>https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/10/07/family-dynasty-may-boost-pelosi-to-head-of-house-2/amp/</ref><ref>https://qz.com/393128/white-flight-decimated-baltimore-businesses-long-before-rioters-showed-up/amp/</ref>
[[File:City Hall Burlington Vermont from southeast on Main Street.jpg|thumb|upright|250px|Burlington City Hall]]
Sanders supports racist killer Dylann Roof’s right to vote.<ref>https://freebeacon.com/politics/bernie-sanders-dylann-roof/</ref>
====New Jim Crow====
[[File:Racist.jpg|right|200px]]
:{{See also|The New Jim Crow}}
Bernie Sanders voted for the Clinton era 1994 Crime bill,<ref>https://www.vox.com/2016/2/26/11116412/bernie-sanders-mass-incarceration</ref> authored by Sen. [[Joe Biden]]. The bill added more than forty crimes that would be eligible for the [[death penalty]]. The [[NAACP]] and other groups lobbied against the bill.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/27/us/civil-libertarians-go-after-crime-bills.html</ref>
By 2001, the United States had the highest rate of incarceration in the world. [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that in seven states, [[African American]]s constituted 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders even though they were no more likely than whites to use or sell illegal drugs. Prison admissions for drug offenses reached a level in 2000 for African Americans more than 26 times the level they had been under [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>[https://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes/ Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote], Michelle Alexander, ''The Nation'', February 10, 2016</ref>
Among other provisions, the bill targeted "Superpredators," and handed out 20-year mandatory sentences for gang membership or recruiting. The bill did "everything but hang people for jaywalking.”<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AK_DAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA141&dq=we%20do%20everything%20but%20hang%20people%20for%20jaywalking&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q=we%20do%20everything%20but%20hang%20people%20for%20jaywalking&f=false The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America]'', Naomi Murakawa, Oxford University Press, Jul 10, 2014, p. 141.</ref>
Sanders castigated the pro-development incumbent as an ally of prominent shopping center developer Antonio Pomerleau, while Paquette warned of ruin for Burlington if Sanders were elected. The Sanders campaign was bolstered by a wave of optimistic volunteers as well as a series of endorsements from university professors, social welfare agencies, and the police union. The result shocked the local political establishment.<ref name="Guma">{{cite book|last = Guma|first = Greg|title = The People's Republic: Vermont and the Sanders Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttETPQAACAAJ |publisher = New England Press|date = 1989|location = South Burlington, Vermont|pages = 19–42|isbn = 9780933050785}}</ref>
===Iowa and New Hampshire===
:{{See also|2020 Antifa riots}}
As Sanders rose in the polls, [[Leftwing violence in the Trump era|leftist violence]] escalated.
[[File:Death-camps-trump-supporters.jpg|right|350px|thumb|The poster reads, "Deathcamps for Trump Supporters".]]
*Bernie supporter tried to burn down GOP HQ in [[California]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WyYUshFe3k</ref>
*[[Leftist]] attempted voter intimidation and suppression at Trump registration event by deliberately driving his vehicle through it.<ref>https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/02/08/police-van-drives-through-republican-partys-voter-registration-tent/</ref>
*Leftist wanted to "Slit Republican throats" at a voter registration table.<ref>https://www.conservapedia.com/Left-wing_violence_in_the_Trump_era#cite_note-608</ref>
*GOP Headquarters vandalized in [[New Mexico]].<ref>https://newmexico.gop/police-called-protestors-vandalized-rpnm-headquarters/</ref>
*Retired cop punched in the face when red hat triggers leftist.<ref>https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/02/13/former-ny-cop-reportedly-punched-in-face-at-his-own-birthday-party-when-red-hat-is-mistaken-for-maga-cap-886522</ref>
===Love of communism===
A satirical article has Sanders reminiscing about his drunken honeymoon to ''[[Time magazine]]'' in his beloved [[USSR|Soviet Russia]] saying: {{quotebox|"on our honeymoon, I took Jane to [[Russia]], back when it was still known as the Soviet Union. Russia was an incredible place back then, before the billionaires ruined everything. Who needs 30 different types of deodorant anyway? In the glory days of the [[Soviet Union]], there was one brand, it was called “Deodorant,” and you had to wait four hours in line for it. By the time you got your hands on one, you were sweating so badly, not even the greediest billionaire’s fanciest deodorant could mask the stench. Or as I call it: The sweet smell of [[equality]]!"<ref>https://www.trumprussiaconspiracy.com/2019/01/29/bernie-sanders-and-wife-on-their-honeymoon-in-russia-singing-this-land-is-your-land-with-their-russian-comrades/</ref><ref>https://medium.com/the-haven/bernie-sanders-reminisces-about-honeymoon-in-soviet-union-bcbe3537e06c</ref>}} Vladimir Putin commented on the glory days of the Soviet Union: {{quotebox|"Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.}}
Barack Obama said of Sanders during the 2016 primaries, "I am hurt, though, Bernie, that you've distancing yourself a little from me. I mean, that's just not something that you do to your comrade."<ref>https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1235556892396720129</ref>
===Prison industrial complex===
Sanders adopted [[Linda Evans]] prison industrial complex slogan as part agenda.<ref>https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1104190335805255680</ref> Evans is a [[far left]] radical member of the terrorist group [[Weather Underground]]<ref>http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/horowitz090601.asp</ref> who was convicted and sentenced in 1987 to 40 years in prison in connection with the 1981 Brinks armored truck robbery in which two police officers and a guard were killed. In a second case, she was sentenced in 1990 to five years in prison for [[conspiracy]] and malicious destruction in connection with eight bombings, including the 1983 [[United States Senate]] bombing.
While in prison, she authored ''The Prison Industrial Complex'' with funding from the [[George Soros]] [[Open Society Foundations|Open Society Institute]].<ref>[http://sorosfiles.com/soros/2011/10/soros-funded-media-and-the-glorification-of-the-weather-underground.html Soros-funded Media and the Glorification of the Weather Underground]</ref>
===Administration===
=== Bernie Sander's on Biden's dementia ===
''See also:'' [[Biden's age]] and [[Bernie Sanders' age]]
Bernie Sander's believes Biden's overall health and well-being is the issue when it comes to whether to whether or not Joe Biden is able to perform his presidential duties should he be elected.<ref name="Joe Biden, own your age">[https://theweek.com/articles/859219/joe-biden-age Joe Biden, own your age], ''The Week''</ref>
Sanders was a consistent [[Foreign policy of the United States#Criticism|critic of U.S. foreign policy]] in [[Latin America]] throughout the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?6046-1/political-parties-america|title=Third Political Parties in America|date=February 3, 1989|website=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=November 16, 2018|minutes=34:27}}</ref> In 1985, Burlington City Hall hosted a foreign policy speech by [[Noam Chomsky]]. In his introduction, he praised Chomsky as "a very vocal and important voice in the wilderness of intellectual life in America" and said that he was "delighted to welcome a person who I think we're all very proud of."<ref>{{cite news |first=Bethania Palma |last=Markus |date=August 11, 2015 |url=https://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/the-bernie-effect-noam-chomsky-says-sanders-will-push-the-entire-democratic-party-to-the-left/ |title=The Bernie effect: Noam Chomsky says Sanders will push the Democratic Party to the left |work=[[The Raw Story]] |access-date=August 21, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chomsky Speech at Burlington City Hall – 1985 |via=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvZRsdHgxgA |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>
Spefically, ''The Week'' reported about Bernie Sanders' comments about Joe Biden's age:
{{Cquote|Sanders likewise [https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/19/bernie-sanders-2020-918609 conceded to] [[Politico]] that his age is "part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished," as well as "the overall health and wellbeing of the individual."<ref name="Joe Biden, own your age">[https://theweek.com/articles/859219/joe-biden-age Joe Biden, own your age], ''The Week''</ref>}}
===Funding===
The Sanders campaign is funded by donors in the wealthiest [[Zip code]]s in the United States.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b-GvQTWzeE</ref>
Geographically, Bernie's top dollar zip code is 94110 in San Francisco. The average household income in this part of the Mission District, specifically the Inner Mission, the Bernal Heights area, is $166,302. The median home value is around $1.5 million and the median rent is almost $5,000 a month. The next top dollar zip code in San Francisco, 94117 or Haight-Ashbury where the average income is $201,503 and average home values top $1.6 million.
The Brooklyn zipcode of 11215 or Park Slope is the second biggest top dollar zip code of Bernie donors. It’s a place where a three-bedroom apartment can go for $2.9 million.
In third place on Bernie’s donor list is 10025 or the Upper West Side of Manhattan. With an average rental price of $4,695 per month, it’s not exactly an inexpensive place to live. The UWS is the 8th richest neighborhood with a $190,281 mean household income.
In 1988, incumbent Republican congressman [[Jim Jeffords]] decided to run for the U.S. Senate, vacating the House seat representing [[Vermont's at-large congressional district]]. Former [[Lieutenant Governor of Vermont|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Peter P. Smith]] (R) won the House election with a plurality, securing 41% of the vote. Sanders, who ran as an independent, placed second with 38% of the vote, while Democratic State Representative [[Paul N. Poirier]] placed third with 19%.<ref>{{cite web |title=VT At-Large Race, November 8, 1988 |publisher=ourcampaigns.com |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=37984 |access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> Two years later, he ran for the seat again and defeated Smith by a margin of 56% to 39%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/308177/Rep10.pdf| title=Vermont State archives – General Election Results| access-date=March 31, 2016}}</ref>
11238 or Prospect Heights, in fourth place, is a newly gentrified neighborhood in Brooklyn where the median sales price passed $1 million, and you can expect to spend $800,000 for a one-bedroom co-op.
In fifth place is 98103, the Seattle neighborhood of Wallingford. With an average household income of $124,504, the University of Washington neighborhood with its $800,000 homes isn’t working class. Among the cheapest housing options is a $400,000 one-bedroom condo that’s a mere 757 square feet. The area is so expensive because it’s home to tech employees, including Microsoft engineers. Microsoft employees are among Bernie’s top dollar donors.
And in seventh place is 90026. The Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles where the median price for housing is $813,000, and rents can hit $6,700 a month.
In 2005, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called Sanders the "amendment king" for his ability to get more roll call amendments passed than any other congressman during the period since 1995, when Congress was entirely under Republican control. Being an independent allowed him to form coalitions across party lines.<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/inside-the-horror-show-that-is-congress-177955/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Inside the Horror Show That Is Congress |first=Matt |last=Taibbi |author-link=Matt Taibbi |date=August 25, 2005 }}</ref>
In eight place is the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago at zip code 60647. A condo will set you back over half a million dollars. The rush got so bad that a garage transformed into a home was going for $2.85 million.
Ninth and tenth on the list of Bernie’s money neighborhoods are two expensive Manhattan areas. 10003, Union Square and Greenwich Village in downtown Manhattan, is home to NYU where condos cost millions of dollars. In tenth place is 10011 or Chelsea and the West Village of Manhattan. It’s also the single most expensive zip code in New York City. Not only is it the most expensive area in New York, but it’s the 23rd most expensive area in the country with a median sale price approaching $2 million. And with average monthly rents of over $4,000, it’s the 19th most expensive rental area in the entire United States. It’s also home to New York’s Silicon Alley, the city’s tech industry ghetto of dot com and fintech startups.<ref>https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/bernie-sanders-funded-wealthiest-zip-codes-america-daniel-greenfield/</ref>
====Cancer registries====
==2016 presidential primaries==
At a press conference on April 30, 2015, Sanders announced his intention to run for the Democrat nomination in the [[2016 presidential election]].<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/29/vermont-sen-bernie-sanders-am-running-for-president/ "Vermont Sen. Sanders announces White House bid, says he's 'running to win'"] (April 30, 2015). FoxNews.com website/Politics.</ref> Sanders accused his main rival, [[Hillary Clinton]] of [[racism]], but in the end he backed the [[racist]] Democrat nominee.<ref>https://youtu.be/hlyx70WQqck</ref>
''[[USA Today]]'' reported a [[The indictment of 12 Russian nationals, 13 July 2018#Use of Organization 1|37-page indictment]] from special counsel [[Mueller office|Robert Mueller’s investigation]] shows that Russians worked to boost the campaign of Bernie Sanders to damage [[Hillary Clinton]]. The Russians “engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders."<ref>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/17/indictment-russians-also-tried-help-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-presidential-campaigns/348051002/</ref>
[[File:SG-ted-devine-bernie-sanders-paul-manafort.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Ted Devine (left) Bernie Sanders (center) Paul Manafort (right). Devine and Sanders colluded with Putin stooge Victor Yanukovich and reported to Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik. Manafort faces life in prison. Devine was hired by Sanders as chief strategist for his 2016 and 2018 presidential campaigns.<ref>https://twitter.com/PuestoLoco/status/1070005636535148545</ref>]]
Sanders hired [[Paul Manafort]] partner Tad Devine of Devine Mulvey Longabaug as his chief strategist.<ref>http://dmlmessage.com/about/</ref> Devine and Manafort worked for the election of [[Putin]] [[crony]] [[Victor Yanukovich]] as President of the [[Ukraine]] in 2010.<ref>https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/bernie-sanders-strategist-tad-devine-paul-manafort-files-mueller</ref> In February 2019 Sanders entered the [[2020 presidential election]] and re-hired Devine's company, of which Devine is president.<ref>https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-hires-top-civil-liberties-advocate-faiz-shakir-as-campaign-manager</ref>
Sanders did vote for other gun-control measures.<ref>{{Cite book|title=What Happened |title-link=What Happened (Clinton book) |last=Clinton |first=Hillary |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5011-7556-5 |page=186}}</ref><ref name="Tampa Bay Times"/> For example, in 1994, he voted for the [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act]] "because it included the [[Violence Against Women Act]] and the ban on certain assault weapons." He was nevertheless critical of the other parts of the bill.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Capehart |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/02/25/hillary-clinton-responds-to-activist-who-demanded-apology-for-superpredator-remarks/ |access-date=February 14, 2020 |title=Hillary Clinton on 'superpredator' remarks: 'I shouldn't have used those words' |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 25, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Where do Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stand on the death penalty? |date=September 2, 2015 |first=Will |last=Cabaniss |work=[[PolitiFact]] |url=https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/sep/02/viral-image/where-do-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders-stand-/ |access-date=February 26, 2016}}</ref> Although he acknowledged that "clearly, there are some people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and [[antisocial personality disorder|sociopathic]], and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them," he maintained that governmental policies played a large part in "dooming tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime, and violence" and argued that the repressive policies introduced by the bill were not addressing the causes of violence, saying, "we can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1994-04-13/html/CREC-1994-04-13-pt1-PgH49.htm |work=Congressional Record, Volume 140, Number 39 |date=April 13, 1994 |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Publishing Office]] |access-date=December 18, 2019 |title=Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 39 (Wednesday, April 13, 1994) }}</ref>
Sanders calls himself an outsider and anti-[[establishment]]. He has spent the last 40 years in politics, though admittedly, he has never been able to attain the level of "establishment", because he has been unable to be accepted by anyone, nor to receive much support on any of his issues. His own views are the reason why he has long been an "outsider", even though he's been admitted to serve in the government.
Sanders has at times favored stronger law enforcement and sentencing. In 1996, he voted against a bill that would have prohibited police from purchasing tanks and armored carriers.<ref name="Kristian 2016"/><ref>{{cite web |title=H.R. 728 (104th): Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Act of 1995 |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1995/h129 |website=govtrack.us |publisher=Civic Impulse |access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref> In 1998, he voted for a bill that would have increased minimum sentencing for possessing a gun while committing a federal crime to ten years in prison, including nonviolent crimes such as [[marijuana]] possession.<ref name="Kristian 2016">{{cite news |last1=Kristian |first1=Bonnie |title=Bernie Sanders is not nearly as progressive as you think he is |url=https://theweek.com/articles/603044/bernie-sanders-not-nearly-progressive-think |access-date=February 11, 2019 |work=The Week |date=February 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Tampa Bay Times"/><ref>{{cite web |title=HR 424 - Minimum Sentences for Gun Crimes - National Key Vote |url=https://votesmart.org/bill/2915/8175/27110/minimum-sentences-for-gun-crimes |website=votesmart.org |publisher=[[Vote Smart]] |access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>
Sanders does take pleasure in creating the same straw men as Obama. Specifically, the GOP war on women. Calls to defund [[Planned Parenthood]] is an opportunity for Sanders to denounce the treatment of women. He would kill a child in the womb for any reason and at any term but the GOP is extremist. Sanders will say the GOP wants to deny women's health services. The facts are that 13,000 women's health centers are available that are not owned by Planned Parenthood. He supports babies chopped up and sold for parts. No concern for underage victims of rape not being reported. He is indifferent to the fraudulent billing of the US government.
Class warfare is a favorite theme for Sanders, pitting rich against the poor. His Marxist linchpin is the argument that the banks are too big. He also claims that billionaires are hurting the country, citing the Koch brothers over and over. He believes that America needs to spend another $18 Trillion dollars despite being $18 Trillion in debt. He has also made claims supporting single-payer healthcare, free college tuition, etc.
In one rant, Sanders claimed that Americans needlessly have too many choices when it comes to deodorant brands, noting that he counted 23 different types of the product for sale. Somehow he tied the story into feeding the poor. Reason.com produced a satirical video mocking its absurdity titled "The Bernie Sanders Save the Children Fund".<ref>[http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fspZiT8TdBE "The Bernie Sanders Save The Children Fund"] (May 27, 2015). YouTube video, 1:15, posted by ReasonTV.</ref>
He has said that [[America]] is racist, and he frequently puts America down.
Sanders is the author of "Rape Essays," a 1972 essay on sexual behavior filled with lurid sexual fantasies. He claimed that it was a satirical essay against traditional gender roles.<ref>Merica, Don (May 28, 2015). [https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/28/politics/bernie-sanders-rape-essay-1972/index.html Bernie Sanders distances himself from 'dumb' 1972 essay on rape]. ''CNN''. Retrieved October 11, 2017.</ref><ref>Peyser, Andrea (June 5, 2015). [http://nypost.com/2015/06/05/bernie-sanders-rape-fantasy-essay-reveals-left-wing-hypocrisy/ Bernie Sanders’ rape-fantasy essay reveals left-wing hypocrisy]. ''New York Post''. Retrieved October 11, 2017.</ref>
Sanders uses what some people call [[Christian socialism]] to further his campaign, citing [[Pope Francis]]. However, Sanders cherry picks what elements of Christianity he agrees with and ignores the rest. He told a crowd of 300 in [[Alabama]] that [[Jesus]] was a socialist.<ref>Flynn, Mike (July 14, 2015). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/14/jesus-was-a-socialist-bernie-sanders-rocks-alabama/ "'Jesus was a socialist': Bernie Sanders rocks Alabama"]. Breitbart website/Big goverment.</ref>
[[File:Bernie Sanders.jpg|thumb|left|Senate portrait, 2007]]
Sanders has expressed his undying support for socialist tyrants and mass murderers. Some Florida Democrats call Sanders undying devotion to the [[authoritarian]] [[dictator]] [[Fidel Castro]] "unacceptable" and "insulting."<ref>https://freebeacon.com/politics/florida-democrats-slam-sanderss-castro-comments-as-unacceptable-insulting/</ref>
==Democratic Socialism==
[[File:Bernie-sanders-soviet-singing-1548699453.jpg|right|200px|thumb]]
:{{See also|Democratic Socialism|Democide|Berlin Wall|North Korea}}
Sanders began his electoral political career in 1971 as a member of the Liberty Union Party, which originated in the anti-war movement and the [[People's Party (1970s)|People's Party]]. He ran as the Liberty Union candidate for governor of Vermont in 1972 and 1976 and as a candidate for U.S. senator in 1972 and 1974.<ref>[http://media.cq.com/members/509?rc=1 Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.)] RollCall.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.</ref> Sanders claimed the U.S. government and [[CIA]] were responsible for a series of domestic bombings.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2019/05/01/bernie-sanders-false-flag-domestic-bombings/?utm_medium=email</ref> In 1980, Sanders ran for mayor of Burlington, Vermont at the suggestion of his close friend and political confidante Richard Sugarman, a professor of religion at the [[University of Vermont]]. He defeated the incumbent Democrat mayor by 10 votes and served for eight years, from April 6, 1981, to April 4, 1989. From 1980 to 1984, Sanders campaigned for the [[Socialist Workers Party]] and was investigated by the FBI because of his association with the Marxist group.<ref>Simonson, Joseph (May 30, 2019). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/bernie-sanders-campaigned-for-marxist-party-in-reagan-era Bernie Sanders campaigned for Marxist party in Reagan era]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved May 30, 2019.</ref>
In 1986, Sanders unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Governor Madeleine Kunin (D) in her reelection bid. Running as an independent, Sanders finished third with 14.4% of the vote. Kunin won with 47%, followed by Lt. Governor Peter P. Smith (R) with 38%.
In the most expensive political campaign in Vermont's history,<ref name="BGlobe-110706">{{cite news |last=Ring |first=Wilson |date=November 7, 2006 |title=Sanders, Welch are winners in Vermont |work=[[Boston Globe]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2006/VT/2006-11-08-us-congress_x.htm |access-date=January 25, 2007}}</ref> Sanders defeated businessman [[Rich Tarrant]] by an almost 2-to-1 margin. Many national media outlets projected him as the winner just after the polls closed, before any returns came in. He was reelected in 2012 with 71% of the vote,<ref>{{cite web |title=Vermont Election Results |website=Decision 2012 |publisher=NBC News |url=http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/vermont/ |access-date=April 21, 2013|date=December 2, 2011 }}</ref> and in 2018 with 67% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.state.vt.us/media/914457/2018-ge-winnerlisting.pdf|title=Vermont electoral results, 2018|last=Vermont Secretary of State|date=November 2018|website=State of Vermont}}</ref>
In 1990 Sanders was elected to the [[U.S. Congress]] as a [[Socialist]] on a third party ticket. Sanders was a leading member of the [[National Rainbow Coalition]] at the time and was one of two candidates endorsed by the He was supported by the Democratic Socialists of America Political Action Committee. "DSAer Democrat" [[Neil Abercrombie]] also sought to regain the House seat representing [[Honolulu]].<ref>''Democratic Left'', November/December 1990, page 4.</ref> Sanders was endorsed by the [[AFL-CIO]], [[environmentalist]]s and Democratic Party leaders.<ref>''[[People's Weekly World]]'', Nov. 10 1990, page 23.</ref>
DSA supported Sanders 2006 Senate race.<ref>http://www.dsausa.org/dl/Winter_2006.pdf</ref><ref>[http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/committees/democratic-socialists-of-america-pac.asp?cycle=06 CampaignMoney.com 2006 Cycle]</ref><ref>[http://www.dsaboston.org/yradical/yr2007-04.pdf TYR, April 2007]</ref>
[[File:Bernie Sanders - full 2010-12-10 filibuster.webm|thumb|right|Sanders spoke for more than eight hours in his December 2010 [[filibuster]].]]
Sanders has praised failing and flawed welfare systems of other countries as a model for the U.S. to follow.<ref>Bleau, Hannah (July 27, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/07/27/bernie-praises-welfare-systems-of-other-countries-shies-away-from-term-democratic-socialism/ Bernie Praises Welfare Systems of Other Countries, Shies Away from Term ‘Democratic Socialism’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved July 27, 2019.</ref>
===Sandinistas===
In 1985 Sanders traveled to New York City to meet with [[Daniel Ortega]] a few weeks after [[Nicaragua]] imposed a “state of emergency”, mass arrests of the socialist regime's critics, and the shuttering of opposition newspapers and magazines. Sanders refused to condemn the decision. Sanders said in a press conference that he was “not an expert in Nicaragua” and “not a Nicaraguan." “Am I aware enough of all the details of what is going on in Nicaragua to say ‘you have reacted too strongly?’ I don’t know.” Sanders later said that the Sandinistas’ brutal crackdown “makes sense to me.” TV talk-show host Phil Donahue told Ortega that his actions looked "[[fascist]]".
In 2016, Sanders voted for the [[Federal Reserve Transparency Act]], which included proposals for a reformed audit of the Federal Reserve System.<ref name="Robb"/><ref name="usnews.com"/><ref name="Schroeder"/>
In 1985 Sanders was "the highest ranking American official” to attend a parade celebrating the [[Sandinista]] seizure of power in Nicaragua as Daniel Ortega's guest. Other wire reports described it as an “anti-U.S. rally" with the crowd chanting “Here, there, everywhere/the Yankee will die.”<ref>[https://www.yahoo.com/politics/bernie-sanders-radical-past-how-the-vermont-230255076.html Bernie Sanders’ radical past: How the Vermont firebrand started wearing a suit and gave up on taking over big companies], Hunter Walker, Yahoo Politics, January 17, 2016.</ref>
Sanders thought the Sandinista [[Marxist-Leninist]] clique had much to teach Burlington: “Vermont could set an example to the rest of the nation similar to the type of example Nicaragua is setting for the rest of [[Latin America]].”
In 2018, Sanders sponsored a bill and was joined by Senators [[Chris Murphy]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[List of United States senators from Connecticut|CT]]) and [[Mike Lee (American politician)|Mike Lee]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]–[[List of United States senators from Utah|UT]]) to invoke the [[War Powers Resolution|1973 War Powers Resolution]] to end U.S. support for the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen]],<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/676152310/senate-poised-to-vote-to-end-u-s-military-support-for-war-in-yemen|title=Senate votes to end U.S. support for war in Yemen, rebuking Trump and Saudi Arabia|last=Detrow|first=Scott|date=December 13, 2018|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref> which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties<ref name=":5">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/after-inadequate-briefing-saudi-arabia-senate-advances-bill-end-u-n941386|title=Senate advances bill to end U.S. involvement in Yemen war after 'inadequate' briefing on Saudi Arabia|last=Caldwell|first=Leigh Ann|date=November 28, 2018|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref> and "millions more suffering from starvation and disease".<ref name=":14">{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/11/28/18116442/yemen-war-powers-senate-vote-sanders|title=The Senate is moving closer to ending US support for the war in Yemen|last=Ward|first=Alex|date=November 28, 2018|work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/54|title=Senate Joint Resolution 54 of the 115th Congress: A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress|date=December 19, 2018|website=[[Congress.gov]]|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref> After the [[assassination of Jamal Khashoggi]] in October 2018 (which was ordered by Saudi Arabian [[Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia|Crown Prince]] [[Mohammad bin Salman]], according to multiple intelligence agencies),<ref name=":4"/><ref name=":5"/><ref name=":14"/><ref name=":15">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/politics/yemen-saudi-war-pompeo-mattis.html|title=Senate votes to end aid for Yemen fight over Khashoggi killing and Saudis' war aims|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|date=December 13, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 1, 2019|last2=Schmitt|first2=Eric|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> his bill attracted bipartisan co-sponsors and support, and the Senate passed it by a vote of 56–41.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00266 |title= Roll Call Vote 115th Congress - 2nd Session |website=Senate.gov |quote=Vote Number 266 |date=December 13, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2019 }}</ref> The bill passed the House in February 2019 by a 247–175 vote and President Trump vetoed it in March, saying: "This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities, endangering the lives of American citizens and brave service members, both today and in the future."<ref>{{cite news |first1=Felicia |last1=Sonmez |first2=Josh |last2=Dawsey |first3=Karoun |last3=Demirjian |title=Trump vetoes resolution to end U.S. participation in Yemen's civil war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-vetoes-resolution-to-end-us-participation-in-yemens-civil-war/2019/04/16/0fabc312-60a1-11e9-bfad-36a7eb36cb60_story.html |website=The Washington Post |access-date=January 21, 2020 |date=April 16, 2019 }}</ref>
In 1987 Sanders hosted Nora Astorga of the Sandinistas to Burlington. Astorga had lured Gen. Reynaldo Perez-Vega, a high-ranking figure in the Somoza regime, to her apartment with promises of sex. Perez-Vega’s body was later recovered wrapped in a Sandinista flag with his throat slit.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/28/when-bernie-sanders-thought-castro-and-the-sandinistas-could-teach-america-a-lesson.html When Bernie Sanders Thought Castro And The Sandinistas Could Teach America A Lesson], Michael Moynihan, ''Daily Beast'', 02.27.16.</ref>
====Health care====
===U.S Peace Council===
[[File:Don't Take Our Health Care Rally (35501942056).jpg|thumb|Don't Take Our Health Care rally in [[Columbus, Ohio]], June 2017]]
A notice was placed in the communist newspaper, the ''[[Guardian (NY)]]'' on November 8, 1989, concerning an upcoming [[U.S. Peace Council]] national conference.<ref>''Guardian'', November 8, 1989</ref> The U.S. Peace Council was a [[Kremlin]]-backed anti-American [[communist front]] organization. Speakers included Bernie Sanders, Rep.[[John Conyers]], [[Leslie Cagan]], [[Holly Sklar]], Jack O'Dell of the [[Rainbow Coalition]], Zehdi Terzi of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]], Gunther Drefahl of the [[East German]] Peace Council among others.<ref>[http://www.aim.org/aim-column/should-the-nsa-be-watching-senator-sanders/ AIM Should the NSA Be Watching Senator Sanders? Cliff Kincaid — January 6, 2014]</ref>
==='Socialist Scholars'===
Sanders was a regular speaker at the Democratic Socialist's alleged 'Socialist Scholars' conferences and other DSA conventions throughout the country along with [[DSA]] vice chair and former director of the National Gay and Lesbian Clubs Christine Riddiough, DSA director Jim Shoch, [[Harry Magdoff]], Paul Sweezy, [[Frances Fox Piven]], Joseph S. Murphy of CUNY, President of the [[SEIU]] Local 1199 Dennis Rivera, author Ellen Willis, Doug Henwood, Robert Heilbroner, Bill Tabb, Robert Fitch, Jane Slaughter and Ellen Meiksins Wood.<ref>''Democratic Left'', November/December 1991, page 11.</ref><ref>''Dem. Left'', Sept./Oct 1995, page 40.</ref> Sanders was introduced by Congressman [[Bob Filner]] as the keynote speaker at DSA's national convention in 1999.
===I.F. Stone===
In October 1988, [[KGB]] agent and American [[propagandist]] [[I. F. Stone]] wrote a letter endorsing Burlington mayor Bernie Sanders' congressional run: {{quotebox|<small>''Dear Friend,<br>I've been politically active all my life. I was a member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party in New Jersey, before I was old enough to vote.<br>Now I'd like to ask you to join me in a historic step forward in American politics. My favorite Mayor -- Bernie Sanders of Burlington, Vermont -- is running for Congress, and with our help he can win an unprecedented victory for us all.<br>Bernie is a unique figure in our political system. He's an '''unapologetic socialist''' who has been elected Mayor of Vermont's largest city four times. He has proved that a socialist, running as an Independent against the combined opposition of Republicans and Democrats, can be successful by speaking out for working people, the elderly and the poor.<br>Under Bernie's leadership, Burlington has become a vibrant, innovative city, nationally recognized for its accomplishments. The U. S. Conference of Mayors recently gave it the "Most Liveable City" award, and even the conservative U.S. News and World Report has spotlighted Bernie as one of the country's Top Twenty Mayors (December 21, 1987).<br>Bernie has been a leader in the struggle for peace and justice . His activism was instrumental in Vermont's strong support of the Nuclear Freeze in its town meetings in 1982. He has traveled to Nicaragua to speak out against the Reagan Administration's war, and to establish a Sister City relation between Burlington and Puerto Cabezas. More recently, he went to the Soviet Union to set up a Sister City program with Yaroslavl.<br>While socialism has a long and proud history in America, extending back to the utopian experiments of the early 1800s, it's been a long time since we've had a socialist voice in Congress. Not since Victor Berger of Milwaukee in the twenties , has the debate gone beyond the limits set by the conventional two-party system.<br>Having Bernie in Washington will widen out the limits of political discussion. He'll speak up loudly, as he has in Vermont, for real alternatives. He'll show that we need a pragmatic socialism to deal with the grave problems of our economic system.<br>I.F. STONE''</small>}}
====Immigration policy====
===Voting record===
Bernie Sanders has missed 4.4% of the roll call votes, higher than the average 1.7% of lifelong senators' records.<ref name=legislativerecord>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/bernard_sanders/400357 GovTrack.US]</ref> As of October 2015, he has introduced 353 bills in his 16 years in Congress, though only 3 of them were into law, giving him less than a 1% success rate.<ref name=sanderslegislation-washtimes>Miller, S.A.; Dinan, Stephen (October 27, 2015). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/27/bernie-sanders-record-in-congress-shows-little-soc/?page=all Sanders has a tough time turning his socialist visions into reality]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved October 11, 2017.</ref>
Between 1995 and 2007, Sanders passed 17 amendments by a recorded roll call vote, the highest of any member of Congress during that period.<ref>[https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/24/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-was-roll-call-amendment-king-1995-2/]</ref>
===CPC founders===
Once elected, Saunders was the founder of the [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]]. Co-founders included House members [[Ron Dellums]], Lane Evans, Tom Andrews, [[Peter DeFazio]], and [[Maxine Waters]].
Since 1998 the Progressive Caucus has held its own Progressive State of the Union. Attendees and speakers include [[Tammy Baldwin]] [D-WI], John Cavanagh co-director of the Institute for Policy Studies, [[John Conyers]] [D-MI], Peter DeFazio [D-OR], Karen Dolan, Coordinator Institute for Policy Studies, Earl Hilliard [D-AL], Maurice Hinchey [D-NY], [[Stephanie Tubbs Jones]] [D-OH], [[Barbara Lee]], [D-CA], [[Jerrold Nadler]] [D-NY], [[Grace Napolitano]] [D-CA], [[Major Owens]] [D-NY], Bernie Sanders, [I-VT], [[Jan Schakowsky]], [D-IL], House Minority Whip David Bonior (D-MI), [[Dennis Kucinich]] (D-OH); [[Cynthia McKinney]] (D-GA); and [[Lynn Woolsey]](D-CA).<ref>[http://www.commondreams.org/news2000/0126-103.htm Common Dreams, Progressive Groups And Congressional Caucus To Present Their Third Annual Alternative State Of The Union Address, JANUARY 26, 2000]</ref><ref>[https://www.c-span.org/video/?118893-1/progressive-state-union-address CSPAN, JANUARY 19, 1999 Progressive State of the Union Address]</ref>
===CPUSA 'Jobs for All' bill===
In 1997 Rep. Matthew Martinez of [[California]] introduced the "Martinez Public Works Jobs Bill" at the request of the Los Angeles Labor Coalition for Public Works Jobs. The leaders of the Coalition and its only affiliate, the New York Coalition for Public Works Jobs, are all members and supporters of the Communist Party USA. The bill had 33 original co-sponsors, including Sanders.<ref>[http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45b/085.html The Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997 (H.R. 950)], from the New York State Communist Party email list 16 March 1997, accessed June 14, 2010.</ref>
===Anti-NAFTA===
In 1995 Marcy Kaptur, [[Peter DeFazio]], [[Nydia Velasquez]], [[Gene Taylor]] and Bernie Sanders co-sponsored a Bill, to force the US to withdraw from NAFTA.<ref>''People's Weekly World'', January 21, 1995, page 4.</ref>
====Veterans affairs====
===Council for a Livable World===
The Council for a Livable World, founded in 1962 by long-time socialist activist and Soviet agent, [[Leo Szilard]], is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council supported Bernie Sanders in his successful Senate run as a candidate for Vermont.<ref>[http://www.livableworld.org/support/meet_candidates/ CLW website: Meet Our Candidates]</ref>
===Supreme Court nominees===
===Venezuela===
Sanders orchestrated a deal with [[Venezuela]]n strongman [[Hugo Chavez]], Citizens Energy President [[Joseph P. Kennedy II]] and the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity for a delivery of more than 2.5 million gallons of discounted heating oil.<ref>[National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) (Canada) November 11, 2006 Saturday Toronto Edition]</ref>
At the height of the humanitarian crisis caused by [[socialism]] in Venezuela in 2019, Sanders still refused to call on fellow socialist [[dictator]] [[Nicolas Maduro]] to step down,<ref>https://freebeacon.com/politics/sanders-refuses-to-call-for-maduro-to-step-down-wont-say-explicitly-if-he-is-a-dictator/</ref> and he refused to describe Maduro as a dictator.<ref>Wolfsohn, Joseph A. (February 25, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-refuses-to-call-venezuelas-maduro-dictator-says-democratic-operations-taking-place Bernie Sanders refuses to call Venezuela's Maduro 'dictator,' says 'democratic operations taking place']. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 26, 2019.</ref>
===European Socialist ties===
The Party of European Socialists dialogue with the US Democrats and the Transatlantic partnership "was a priority over the last years" (written in 2009).
Delegations, meetings and exchanges of information were held on a regular basis. After the [2006] victory in the Congress, where the Democrats won the double majority, a Party of European Socialists Delegation, led by PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, discovered the new mood in Washington D.C., on 15–18 April 2007. It had meetings with Governor [[Howard Dean]], Chair of the [[DLC]]; Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the Committee on Financial Services; Senator Bernie Sanders and with Senator [[Ben Cardin]]; [[John Podesta]], CEO of the [[Center for American Progress]], Former Chief of staff of [[President Clinton]]; John Sweeney, President of the [[AFL-CIO]] and [[Andy Stern]], Chair of [[Service Employees International Union]] (SEIU). The underlying motive of the delegation was reiterated with the need for US and EU progressive forces to actively prepare for the post-Bush EU-US relations.<ref>[http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/partyofeuropeansocialists/pages/214/attachments/original/1395960135/Activity_Report_2007-2009_61209.pdf?1395960135 The PES in action 2007-2009, Activity Report of the Party of European Socialists Adopted by the 8th PES Congress 8th PES Congress], Prague, December 2009.</ref>
===Caucus memberships===
===CPUSA Draft Bernie for President campaign===
Sanders was only the third senator from Vermont to caucus with the Democrats, after Jeffords and Leahy. His caucusing with the Democrats gave them a 51–49 majority in the Senate during the [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]] in 2007–08. The Democrats needed 51 seats to control the Senate because [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Dick Cheney]] would likely have broken any [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by Vice Presidents of the United States|tie]] in favor of the Republicans.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781568587141 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781568587141/page/27 27] |publisher=Nation Books |title=Rebuild the Dream |isbn=9781568587158 |date=April 3, 2012 }}</ref> He is a member of the following caucuses:
In response to an organized campaign to draft Sanders for a presidential run in 2012, CPUSA member John Case wrote in the official communist organ ''[[Political Affairs]]'':
:''To use [[Carl Davidson]]'s excellent slogan around which left and working class forces can mobilize-- "peace and prosperity vs war and [[Ascesis|austerity]]" -- this is clearly a time when we can qualitatively expand the base of support for the principles the slogan expresses. The question is: can we do this and not end up playing a Nader-like spoiler role, that concludes by electing the Right, in those campaigns, primaries, etc where our main objective is to move the political center leftward and strengthen the hand of center forces against the right. Of course, in those campaigns where the left coalition has winning chances, where the center is ready to be led by left forces, tactics differ.
''
:''The complexity of the US political process at this moment requires shrewd and careful AND BOLD calculations There are few, if any, politicians on the left more shrewd than Bernie Sanders. I am not convinced about Bernie's denials. I got to know him somewhat in my years as a UE rep in Vt, and later as DO for the Communist Party in N. New England. With a few arguable exceptions, he has always -- both ideologicaly and politically -- pursued a working class line. As important, he become a demonstrated master of very concrete tactics directed at isolating the right, without appearing irresponsible or reckless to center forces. He kept focused on the concretes -- especially economics, and non-corrupt governance -- that blunted repeated attempts by the right to isolate him.''
:''He would have to run as a Democrat in the 2012 primaries, in order not to be counted as a spoiler. Unlike Nader, Bernie has never been a 'spoiler' politician. But running as a Democrat, after years of success as an Independent is something I think he would be temperamentally loath to do. Part of his success at independence is due to some very peculiar features unique to Vermont political history, that would not be practical to reproduce nationally. Nonetheless, I am sure he will be tempted.
''
:''Personally, at this point, I think a primary challenge against Obama is a mistake -- the history of such challenges is not encouraging for defeating Republicans. Obama is not a Blue Dog-er, IMHO, but rather a liberal doing what Presidents do -- not straying too far from the Center. I think we should focus our primary challenge energies against the blue dogs and in local and state campaigns where we can strengthen and galvanize our grass roots base. But I am willing to be persuaded otherwise -- only if we ourselves--the Left are grown-up enough to be as shrewd and smart and flexible as Kucinich on health care, or Sanders through most of his career.''<ref>[http://politicalaffairs.net/sanders-for-president/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Paeditorsblog+%28PA+Editors+Blog%29 PA Blog, Sanders for President? by: John Case Wednesday 29 December 2010]</ref>
===Globalism===
Sanders advocates for a [[globalist]] and weak U.S. foreign policy in which the goal is "'global engagement based on partnership' rather than dominance or withdrawal."<ref>Savitsky, Shane (September 21, 2017). [https://www.axios.com/sanders-advocates-foreign-policy-of-global-engagement-2488020738.html Sanders advocates foreign policy of "global engagement"]. ''Axios''. Retrieved September 21, 2017.</ref> While originally holding protectionist and even some nationalist views, he has caved to the [[uniparty]] establishment and endorsed globalist policies.<ref>Caplan, Joshua (October 9, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/10/09/bernie-sanders-abandons-u-s-against-china-trade-stance-in-new-world-order-speech/ Bernie Sanders Abandons ‘U.S. Against China’ Trade Stance in ‘New World Order’ Speech]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved October 9, 2018.</ref> He supports giving every American a government job.<ref>Rodriguez, Katherine (April 24, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/24/sen-bernie-sanders-unveil-plan-give-every-american-guaranteed-government-job/ Sen. Bernie Sanders to Unveil Plan to Give Every American a Guaranteed Government Job]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 26, 2018.<br>See also:
*Carney, John (April 26, 2018). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/26/carney-the-problem-with-the-job-guarantee-is-not-that-its-too-expensive-its-that-the-left-hates-us/ Carney: The Problem with the ‘Job Guarantee’ Is Not That It’s Too Expensive. It’s That the Left Hates Us]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
*Thomas, Cal (April 26, 2018). [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/04/26/crazy-bernie-sanders-is-at-it-again-will-be-getting-guaranteed-job-and-more-soon.html 'Crazy Bernie' Sanders is at it again -- Will you be getting a guaranteed job (and more) soon?] ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
*Kupfer, Theodore (April 26, 2018). [https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/democrats-jobs-guarantee-bernie-sanders-is-mainstream-now/ Democrats’ Jobs Guarantee: Bernie Sanders Is Mainstream Now]. ''National Review''. Retrieved April 26, 2018.</ref>
In November 2019, Sanders released an [[open borders]] immigration plan that would end deportations, [[abolish ICE]], and give welfare to illegals, among other provisions.<ref>Multiple references:
*Bleau, Hannah (November 7, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/11/07/bernie-immigration-plan-stop-racist-and-ineffective-wall-freeze-deportations-extend-entitlement-benefits-to-illegal-aliens/ Bernie Immigration Plan: Stop ‘Racist and Ineffective’ Wall, Freeze Deportations, Extend Entitlement Benefits to Illegal Aliens]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
[[File:Bernie Sanders rally in Portland, Oregon, August 2015 (20261929680).jpg|thumb|Sanders rally in Portland, Oregon, August 2015]]
*Shaw, Adam (November 7, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sanders-immigration-plan Sanders' immigration plan: Halt deportations, abolish ICE, welcome 50K 'climate migrants,' give welfare to all]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
[[File:Bernie Sanders at Rutgers, May 2016.jpg|thumb|Sanders speaking at [[Rutgers University]] in May 2016]]
*Morgan, Justin (November 7, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/sanders-immigration-plan-aims-to-stop-border-wall-end-ice-raids_3140374.html Sanders’ Immigration Plan Aims to Stop Border Wall, End ICE Raids]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
*Sherfinski, David (November 7, 2019). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/7/bernie-sanders-proposes-break-ice-and-halt-deporta/ Bernie Sanders proposes to 'break up' ICE and halt deportations in immigration plan]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
*Madden, Nate (November 8, 2019). [https://www.conservativereview.com/news/bernie-sanders-immigration-plan-even-extreme-imagine/ Bernie Sanders’ immigration plan is even more extreme than you could imagine]. ''Conservative Review''. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
See also:
*Buchanan, Patrick J. (November 12, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/34012-bernie-leads-his-party-to-open-borders Bernie Leads His Party to Open Borders]. ''The New American''. Retrieved November 12, 2019.</ref>
===Disregard for the law===
Sanders showed his contempt for federal law by hiring an illegal migrant as his spokesperson.<ref>Mikelionis, Lukas (March 1, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-2020-campaign-spox-wont-be-able-to-vote-for-him-due-to-her-illegal-immigrant-status New spokeswoman for Bernie Sanders won't be able to vote for him in 2020 -- she's an illegal immigrant]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved March 1, 2019.</ref><ref>Caplan, Joshua (March 1, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/03/01/bernie-sanders-campaign-hires-illegal-immigrant-as-deputy-press-secretary/ Bernie Sanders Campaign Hires Illegal Immigrant as Deputy Press Secretary]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved March 1, 2019.</ref><ref>Kirkwood, R. Cort (March 1, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/31617-sanders-who-opposed-importing-cheap-labor-hires-illegal-alien-as-campaign-s-deputy-spokesman Sanders, Who Opposed Importing Cheap Labor, Hires Illegal Alien as Campaign’s Deputy Spokesman]. ''The New American''. Retrieved March 1, 2019.</ref>
===Controversial votes===
[[File:YFO.png|right|350px|thumb|Economics 101 teaches that a loan that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy would have a lower rate than loans that can be discharged.]]
In 32 years of politics, Sanders authored 353 bills. Only three that made it into law and two of those were renaming post offices. [[Conservative Review]] has compiled a Liberty Score on Sanders. He gets a ''' 'F' ''' at just 16%.
Sanders headed the Veterans Affairs Committee. Under his purview; waiting list deaths, destruction and manipulation of medical records, whistleblowers punished, [[opioid]] abuse, fraud unpunished, mismanagement rewarded with pay raises, wait times to see a doctor has never been longer. Sanders has done next to nothing to fix these issues. Even as he campaigned, he remained a member of the committee with no plans to turn the duties over to somebody that would give it the time it deserves to fix.
During Sanders's 2006 Senatorial campaign, [[Republican]] opponent Rich Tarrant made an issue over Sanders 2003 vote against the [[Amber Alert]] even though he was actually in favor of the Amber Alert system to notify the public of missing children. The reason for his 'nay' vote was because the bill allegedly contained unconstitutional provisions<ref>[https://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/09/21/sanders_vote_on_amber_alert_emerges_as_key_campaign_issue/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Local]</ref> in it's 47 pages according to Sanders. Sanders earlier voted in favor of [[Megan's Law]],<ref>[https://votesmart.org/bill/2763/8163/27110/megans-law#.VsyGmigrKHs]</ref> which made sex offender information public. Bernie responded with an ad to try to clarify his position.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIa2KlEHhvc]</ref>
He was also one of only nineteen Congressman to vote against the Victims of Rape Health Protection Act passage, which would allow sexual assault victims to find out the HIV status of their suspected assailant<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/106-2000/h505 "H.R. 3088 (106th): Victims of Rape Health Protection Act"] (October 2, 2000). Govtrack.us website/Congress/Votes/House Vote #505 in 2000.</ref>
After damning evidence of election fraud by the group [[ACORN]], Sanders joined six Democrat Senators that voted to continue funding ACORN. The vote failed, and ACORN was stripped of funding in the Senate.<ref>Isenstadt, Alex (September 14, 2009). [https://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27153.html "Senate denies ACORN funding"]. Politico website.</ref> Bill Wilson of [[Americans for Limited Government]] said, "The ACORN Housing Corporation has long been pushing the very loose-lending policies that helped destroy the housing industry. And now it has been exposed for working with prostitutes, as well. Yet, these seven Senators [Sanders] have knowingly voted to keep sending taxpayer money to a highly corrupt organization of pushers and pimps," <ref>Americans for Limited Government (September 15, 2009). [http://politicomafioso.blogspot.com/2009/09/alg-condemns-7-senators-for-voting-to.html "ALG condemns 7 Senators for voting to continue funding ACORN, calls for complete cutoff of federal funds"]. Americans for Limited Government website. Reprinted at Politico Mafioso website on September 16, 2009.</ref>
==Ideology==
[[File:Katyn bodies 1470221766 46847-475x300.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Mass grave of victims of Bernie Sanders beloved Soviet Union and socialist ideology.<ref>https://ww2gravestone.com/russian-brutality-massacres-russian-soldiers-ww2/</ref>]]
:{{See also|Marxist-Leninism}}
Sanders' godless utopian [[Socialist]] ideology is responsible for some, if not the most horrific and despicable [[crime]]s known to [[humanity]] in the entire history of the [[planet]]. The fact that few of the promulgators and instigators of these inhumane doctrines have ever faced scrutiny or [[justice]] is a crime itself. The failings of one generation to protect its children from the [[hate]], resentment, and twisted reasoning underpinning Socialism, which justifies the most atrocious [[human rights]] abuses and [[murder]] committed by [[government]]s, is an indelible [[moral]] blemish on the generations that fought the [[evil]]s of [[National Socialism]] in [[World War II]], and [[Communism]] in [[Cold War]].
In 1997, while Sanders shuttled across the country to various DSA conferences picking up the broken pieces of the communist dream, the ''The Black Book of Communism'' appeared documenting a history of political repressions by Communist states, including [[genocide]]s, extrajudicial executions, [[deportation]]s, killing population in [[labor camp]]s and artificially created famines. In the first chapter of the book entitled ''Introduction: The Crimes of Communism'', Stéphane Courtois states that "Communist regimes turned mass [[crime]] into a full-blown system of government" and they are responsible for a greater number of deaths than [[Nazism]] or any other political system.
Even former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt criticized Sanders for his support for communist countries.<ref>Chasmar, Jessica (February 25, 2019). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/25/swedens-former-prime-minister-rips-bernie-sanders-/ Sweden's former prime minister rips Bernie Sanders' Soviet Union praise]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved February 25, 2019.</ref>
=== Estimated number of victims ===
According to the chapter, the number of people killed by the Communist governments amounts to more than 94 million.<ref>Werth, Nicolas; Panné, Jean-Louis; Paczkowski, Andrzej; Bartosek, Karel; Margolin, Jean-Louis (October 1999), Courtois, Stéphane, ed., ''[https://archive.org/stream/TheBlackBookofCommunism10/the-black-book-of-communism-jean-louis-margolin-1999-communism_djvu.txt The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression]'', Harvard University Press, p. 4.</ref> Most of these murders occurred within Bernie Sanders lifetime, and even during his collegiate years when Sanders first committed his life to this vile ideology. The statistics of victims include deaths through executions, man-made hunger, famine, war, deportations and [[forced labor]]. The breakdown of the number of deaths is given as follows:
[[File:COM.FIG1.gif|right|350px|thumb|Communist megamurders, 1900-1987. Source: Prof. R.J. Rummel. Two-thirds were killed by governments, quasi-governments, and guerrillas.<ref>https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM</ref>]]
* 65 million in the [[People's Republic of China]]
* 20 million in the [[Soviet Union]]
* 2 million in [[Cambodia]]
* 2 million in [[North Korea]]
* 1.7 million in [[Ethiopia]]
* 1.5 million in [[Afghanistan]]
* 1 million in the [[Eastern Bloc]]
* 1 million in [[Vietnam]]
* 150,000 in [[Latin America]]
* 10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power"{{r|Courtois_et.al_1999|p=4}}
According to Courtois, the crimes by the Soviet Union included the following:
* The execution of tens of thousands of hostages and prisoners
* The murder of hundreds of thousands of rebellious workers and peasants from 1918 to 1922
* The Russian famine of 1921, which caused the death of 5 million people
* The Decossackization, a policy of systematic repression against the Don Cossacks between 1917 and 1933
* The murder of tens of thousands in [[Gulag|concentration camps]] in the period between 1918 and 1930
* The [[Great Purge]] which killed almost 690,000 people
* The deportation of 2 million so-called "[[kulak]]s" from 1930 to 1932
* The death of 4 million [[Ukrainian]]s ([[Holodomor]]) and 2 million others during the famine of 1932 and 1933
* The deportations of Poles, Ukrainians, [[Moldova]]ns and people from the Baltic states from 1939 to 1941 and from 1944 to 1945
* The deportation of the [[Volga Germans]] in 1941
* The deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1943
* Operation Lentil and deportation of the Ingush in 1944
=== Communist leaders ===
Sanders has praised several left-wing dictators during his career.<ref>Lott, Maxim (April 29, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sander-nista-archives-show-bernies-past-praise-of-socialist-revolutionaries Sander-nista? Archives show Bernie’s past praise of socialist revolutionaries]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved April 29, 2019.</ref>
Sanders supported the so-called 'Democratic' 'People's Republic' of 'Korea' during debates with Clinton, saying that [[Russia]] was a worse threat to American security than North Korea (or himself), an objectively false statement full of typical [[liberal claptrap|liberal-socialist claptrap]]. The [[Kim Jong-un]] of North Korean fame said of Sanders: "I have greatest confidence in Senator Bernard E. [''sic''] Sanders in holding the lackeys of the U.S. administration to account".<ref>John Nichols (21 March 2011). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TxVsPrMD0dkC The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism.]'' Verso. ISBN 978-1-84467-679-8.</ref><ref>Patrick Martin (WARNING: SOCIALIST WEBSITE) [https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/08/27/sand-a27.html Bernie Sanders: Silent partner of American militarism] ''World Socialist Website''. 27 August 2015.</ref> Comrade [[Fidel Castro]] also praised the eminent "socialist transformation of America" under Sanders, adding falsely: "Americans have witnessed the utter failure of Capitalism, the destruction of its middle class and is tired of the endless wars. The Cuban model has proved its superiority and Americans now see through the government propaganda and now praise our country’s centralized economy, our health care system, our education system: Americans are hungry for Socialism."<ref>[http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/fidel-castro-bernie-sanders-will-bring-socialism-to-america/ FIDEL CASTRO: “BERNIE SANDERS WILL BRING SOCIALISM TO AMERICA”] October 29th, 2015 by Bob Flanagan</ref>
Sanders praised China for making "more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization" even as he admitted the country was becoming "more authoritarian."<ref>Hanchett, Ian (August 27, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/08/27/sanders-china-has-made-more-progress-addressing-extreme-poverty-than-anyone-else-sadly-theyre-more-authoritarian/ Sanders: China Has ‘Made More Progress’ Addressing Extreme Poverty Than Anyone Else – Sadly, They’re ‘More Authoritarian’]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved August 28, 2019.</ref>
Sanders fawning over communists and communism earned him the nickname '''Breadline Bernie.'''
===DNC email leak===
===[[Eugene Debs]] documentary===
In 1979, Sanders wrote, directed, and lent his voice for Debs' dialogue<ref>Shamsian, Jacob (September 18, 2015). [https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-loves-eugene-v-debs-documentary-2015-9 "A documentary that Bernie Sanders made about a socialist politician 36 years ago says a lot about his politics today"]. Business Insider website/Politics.</ref> in a documentary which shows a long-standing respect on part of Sanders for what Debs stood for.<ref>Kurtz, Stanley (October 20, 2015). [https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/425839/bernie-sanders-documentary-eugene-debs "Bernie Sanders’s documentary on Eugene Debs"]. ''National Review'' website. See [[National Review]].</ref>
In July 2016, a leak of the Democratic National Committee's emails appeared to show DNC officials favoring Clinton over Sanders. Staff repeatedly discussed making his irreligious tendencies a potential campaign issue in southern states and questioned his party loyalty. DNC chair [[Debbie Wasserman Schultz]] called his campaign manager "an ASS" and "a damn liar."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/us/politics/dnc-emails-sanders-clinton.html |title=Released Emails Suggest the D.N.C. Derided the Sanders Campaign |work=The New York Times |date=July 22, 2016 |first1=Michael D. |last1=Shear |first2=Matthew |last2=Rosenberg |access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref> Speaking with [[Jake Tapper]] on [[CNN]], Sanders responded to the leak, saying, "it is an outrage and sad that you would have people in important positions in the DNC trying to undermine my campaign. It goes without saying: the function of the DNC is to represent all of the candidates—to be fair and even-minded. But again, we discussed this many, many months ago, on this show, so what is revealed now is not a shock to me."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/22/politics/dnc-wikileaks-emails/index.html |first1=Jeff |last1=Zeleny |first2=MJ |last2=Lee |first3=Eric |last3=Bradner |title=Emails released by Wikileaks raise questions of DNC's impartiality |work=CNN |date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=February 9, 2020 }}</ref>
===Primary loss and endorsement of Hillary Clinton===
== Bernie Sanders' religious views and atheists/agnostics support of Bernie Sanders ==
''See also:'' [[Essay: Bernie Sanders is a closet atheist]] and [[Atheism and socialism]]
In many religious countries and even irreligious countries there is a stigma related to [[atheism]] and as a result many atheists are reluctant to: call themselves atheists and/or be outspoken atheists (see: [[Stigma of atheism]] and [[Views on atheists]] and [[Closet atheist]]).
Jon Green wrote about Bernie Sanders:
{{cquote|Bernie Sanders is, as he’s suggested before, Jewish with an emphasis on the ish. His Jewish heritage has informed his morality and his politics, but he doesn’t claim to be observant in any officially religious sense.
In February 2018, Special Counsel [[Robert Mueller]]'s investigation into [[Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections]] concluded that Russians had communicated false information during the primary campaigns to help Sanders and Stein and harm Clinton.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/17/indictment-russians-also-tried-help-bernie-sanders-jill-stein-presidential-campaigns/348051002/ |title=Indictment: Russians also tried to help Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein presidential campaigns |work=USA Today |first=Michael |last=Collins |date=February 17, 2018 |access-date=February 24, 2018}}</ref> Sanders rejected the investigation's conclusion, saying that he had seen no evidence that Russians had helped his campaign.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/21/bernie-sanders-trump-russia-interference-420528 |first=Edward-Isaac |last=Dovere |date=February 21, 2018 |title=Bernie blames Hillary for allowing Russian interference |work=Politico |access-date=February 24, 2018}}</ref> Furthermore, he blamed the Clinton campaign for not doing more to prevent Russian interference.<ref name=":6"/> He later said that his campaign had taken action to prevent Russian meddling in the election and that a campaign staffer had alerted the Clinton campaign.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/24/bernie-sanders-russian-trolls-false-story-423413 |title=Bernie Sanders promoted false story on reporting Russian trolls |work=[[Politico]] |date=February 24, 2018 |first=Edward-Isaac |last=Dovere |access-date=February 24, 2018}}</ref> ''[[Politico]]'' noted that a Sanders campaign volunteer contacted a [[political action committee]] (PAC) that supported the Clinton campaign to report suspicious activities but that the Sanders campaign did not contact the Clinton campaign as such.<ref name=":7"/>
In an interview with the ''Washington Post'' published this morning, Sanders went a step further, making that point as clearly as he ever:
:“I am not actively involved with organized religion,” Sanders said in a recent interview.
:Sanders said he believes in God, though not necessarily in a traditional manner.
:“I think everyone believes in God in their own ways, “ he said. “To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together.”
==2020 presidential campaign==
As atheist blogger [[Hemant Mehta]] pointed out, that’s basically a really [[Political correctness|PC]] way of saying you’re an atheist. Sanders may have used the word “God” to describe his belief system, but it’s pretty clear that his version of God isn’t an old man in the sky. There’s no actual deity involved — no theism — just a generalized interconnectedness.<ref name="americablog.com">[http://americablog.com/2016/01/bernie-sanders-mainstreaming-atheism.html Bernie Sanders is mainstreaming atheism in American politics]</ref>}}
''Deseret News'' declared:
{{Cquote|Speculation about Sanders' religious views ramped up last October after an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" during which he was directly asked whether he believes in God.
It was the nature of the candidate's response that piqued the interest of some viewers.
[[Jimmy Kimmel]] [https://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/10/23/did-you-catch-how-bernie-sanders-responded-when-jimmy-kimmel-asked-do-you-believe-in-god/ cited Sanders' claims] that he is "culturally Jewish" and that he doesn't "feel religious" and then asked about a belief in God. He also questioned whether Sanders thinks it is important for Americans to embrace a higher power.
"I am who I am and what I believe in and what my spirituality is about is that we’re all in this together," Sanders responded. "That I think it is not a good thing to believe that as human beings we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people."
He continued, "This is not Judaism — this is what Pope Francis is talking about — that we cannot worship just billionaires and the making of more and more money. Life is more than that."
A few months later, speculation once again raged after Sanders did an interview with ''The Washington Post'' in which he said that he doesn't necessarily believe in God in a traditional sense.
"I am not actively involved with organized religion," he told the outlet. "I think everyone believes in God in their own ways. To me, it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected, and that we are all tied together."
His brother Larry Sanders also [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-finally-answers-the-god-question/2016/01/26/83429390-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html told the outlet] that the candidate was "quite substantially not religious."<ref>[Is Bernie Sanders an atheist?] by Billy Hallowell, ''Deseret News'', 2016</ref>}}
The ''Religion News Service'' states: "Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders dashed the hopes of some atheists when he declared he had 'very strong religious and spiritual feelings' at a Democratic town hall."<ref>[http://religionnews.com/2016/02/04/bernie-sanders-disappoints-atheists-strong-religious-feelings/ Bernie Sanders disappoints some atheists with his ‘very strong religious’ feelings], Religion News Service</ref>
Sanders denies he is an atheist.<ref>[https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/289002-sanders-i-am-not-an-atheist Sanders: ‘I am not an atheist’], ''The Hill'', 2016</ref>
Sanders identifies as "Jewish", though admits he's "not particularly religious".<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2015/0611/Bernie-Sanders-I-m-proud-to-be-Jewish]</ref> This is consistent with many others on the [[secular left]], and indicates that Sanders is culturally Jewish, though actually an [[agnostic]]/[[Atheism|atheist]]. [[Liberal intolerance|He has shown strong intolerance]] for theologically orthodox, conservative Christians and Christian beliefs.<ref>Starnes, Todd (June 9, 2017). [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/06/09/bernie-sanders-attacks-trump-nominee-for-following-teachings-christ.html Bernie Sanders attacks Trump nominee for following teachings of Christ]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved June 9, 2017.</ref><ref>Berry, Susan, PhD (June 10, 2017). [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/10/omb-top-post-nominee-berned-stake-christian-faith/ OMB Top Post Nominee ‘Berned’ at Stake for Christian Faith]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved June 10, 2017.</ref>
Atheists seem to like Bernie Sanders, for some reason. The might have something to do with the connection between [[atheism and communism]], as the atheist [[Karl Marx]], the author of [[The Communist Manifesto]], once stated: "Communism begins from the outset (Owen) with atheism; but atheism is at first far from being communism; indeed, that atheism is still mostly an abstraction."
[[CNN]] hosted the first 2020 debate in January with six candidates remaining. Co-moderator [[Abby Phillip]] questioned Sanders and Warren about an allegation Warren had made that he had privately told her that a woman could not defeat Donald Trump. Phillip asked Sanders, "Senator Sanders, CNN reported yesterday, and Senator Warren confirmed in a statement, that in 2018 you told her that you did not believe that a woman could win the election. Why did you say that?" Ignoring Sanders's strong denial, Phillip asked Warren, "What did you think when Bernie Sanders told you that a woman couldn't become president?" In an interview after the debate, Sanders called it ludicrous to believe that he would doubt a woman's ability to win the presidency and noted that a woman already ''had'' won the national [[United States presidential election#Popular vote|popular vote]], saying, "After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Derysh |first1=Igor |title=Elizabeth Warren: Bernie Sanders "disagreed" with me that a "woman could win" the presidency |url=https://www.salon.com/2020/01/14/warren-says-sanders-disagreed-that-a-woman-could-win-in-2020-bernie-denies-it/ |website=Salon |access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref>
After Sanders' [[heart attack]] on the [[2020 presidential campaign]] trail,<ref>https://apnews.com/eab21e66d7734867b8620fe9efaeb8a2</ref> the was a notable lack of Sanders supporters offering "thoughts and prayers".
===Suspension of campaign ===
=== Atheists/agnostics support of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary ===
''See also:'' [[Atheism and socialism]]
==== The Amazing Atheist ====
[[File:Hemant Mehta at Skepticon 7.jpg|thumbnail|right|300px|[[Hemant Mehta]] ]]
TJ Kirk, self-called [[The Amazing Atheist]], has pled to all Hillary supporters to stop supporting her, and to support Bernie, instead, because he believes the Socialist has integrity.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQINZ7N1Ses]</ref>
==== Hemant Mehta ====
The atheist Hemant Mehta voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1UVEho82Y Bernie Sanders Was Wrong to Punish a Nominee for His Religious Beliefs] by Hemant Mehta</ref>
===Economic issues===
==== David Pakman Show ====
David Pakman, of the David Pakman Show, is an [[agnosticism|agnostic]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONxAuq1nAxw Caller: Does David Call Himself an Atheist?]</ref>
Pakman hints at Bernie support while portraying Hillary negatively, where he shows his bias,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/user/MidweekPolitics/videos]</ref> and calls the Best of Conservative politicians "the Best (Worst?)", indicating his negative bias toward [[conservative]]s. David Pakman often pretends to be unbiased, but is, in fact, biased against conservatives.
==== The Humanist Report ====
Mike Anthony of The Humanist Report has produced many videos in favor of Bernie Sanders, against Hillary Clinton, and against Donald Trump.
===Gun laws===
==== Jaclyn Glenn ====
[[File:Kyle Kulinski.jpg|thumbnail|220px|right|[[Secular Talk|Kyle Kulinski]] at the political convention Politicon 2018. Kulinski is the individual on the left.]]
Jacklyn Glenn, a militant atheist, vegan, angry feminist, and closet lesbian, makes fun of people who are voting for Hillary just to put the first female President in the White House (while wearing a Bernie Sanders t-shirt),<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GHyDl6WXLk]</ref> and endorses Bernie Sanders.
===Social issues===
==== Secular Talk ====
Kyle Kulinski is an atheist who describes himself as a [[New Atheism|new atheist]] and a [[progressivism|progressive]] atheist.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As67_rhvTVY New Atheists Vs Progressives | Proposing A Ceasefire] by Kyle Kulinski (video)</ref>
Kyle Kulinski, of [[Secular Talk]], promotes Bernie Sanders in several of his videos,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/user/SecularTalk/videos]</ref> attacks Hillary Clinton and Republicans, and compared [[Barack Obama]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf_H3pyayB0 to a Republican.]
==== The Secular Vegan ====
Isaiah, of The Secular Vegan, tells atheists to vote for Bernie, merely because he would be the first non-Christian President.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoMyiaOb6rE]</ref>
==== The Young Turks ====
Cenk Uygur, of [[The Young Turks]], is a self-described "fervent agnostic".<ref>Uygur, Cenk (April 29, 2008). "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/six-degrees-of-barack-oba_b_99110.html Six Degrees of Barack Obama]". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2011. I am a fervent agnostic. I have argued vehemently against religion .... I went to school in Turkey until I was eight."</ref>
Cenk Uygur speaks highly of Bernie Sanders,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2vdD0CMUI]</ref> while dismissing [[Hillary Clinton]] and Republican politicians as "robots", and practically every week, they release a video disrespecting Conservatives.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFitmOTSok]</ref>
=== Bernie Sander's antipathy towards evangelical Christians holding public office ===
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/bernie-sanders-chris-van-hollen-russell-vought/529614/ Bernie Sanders's Religious Test for Christians in Public Office] by Emma Green, ''The Atlantic'', June 8, 2017
*[https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/watch-bernie-sanders-unconstitutionally-impose-religious-test-public-office/ Watch Bernie Sanders Attack a Christian Nominee and Impose an Unconstitutional Religious Test for Public Office] by David French, ''National Review'', June 7, 2017
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjQSwYV5Qzs Bernie Sanders Applies Religious Litmus Test on Nominee] - video
Related article:
*[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/16/u-s-evangelical-christians-are-chilly-toward-atheists-and-the-feeling-is-mutual/ U.S. evangelical Christians are chilly toward atheists – and the feeling is mutual], Pew Research, 2014
==Personal==
Bernie was born on September 8, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>[https://observer.com/2016/04/bernie-sanders-heats-up-hipster-crowd-in-brooklyn/ https://observer.com/2016/04/bernie-sanders-heats-up-hipster-crowd-in-brooklyn/]</ref> His mother was Dorothy Glassberg Sanders, his father was Elias Sanders, and his grandfather was Benjamin Glassberg.<ref>[http://spectator.org/articles/66102/my-hunt-bernie%E2%80%99s-grandfather My Hunt for Bernie’s Grandfather], by Paul Kengor, [[American Spectator]]</ref> Sanders graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in political science in 1964. Sanders has one illegitimate son born in 1969.
During his college years, he was involved in a pro-[[Vietcong]] [[propaganda]] distribution ring within New York known as the Alternate U.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK5yB9-6O9A</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYcZoYWS2zE</ref> According to UV philosopher professor Richard Sugarman, Sanders would wake up every morning saying, "We're not crazy." Sugarman to ''Vox'', "Bernard, maybe the first thing you should say is 'Good morning' or something. But he'd say, 'We're. Not. Crazy.'"<ref>https://www.vox.com/2015/5/28/8682503/bernie-sanders-rape-fantasy</ref> In 1988, he ended up spending his honeymoon with his second wife Jane O'Meara in the USSR, with there being a video of him shirtless and singing "This Land is Your Land" with Soviet comrades while drunk.<ref>Multiple references:
* https://forward.com/schmooze/418282/footage-of-shirtless-bernie-sanders-singing-drunkenly-with-soviets-in-88/
*Jasper, William F. (February 4, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/31375-exposed-fake-news-ignores-video-of-drunk-naked-bernie-sanders-singing-with-soviet-comrades “Exposed”: Fake News Ignores Video of “Drunk, Naked” Bernie Sanders Singing With Soviet Comrades]. ''The New American''. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
*Dorman, Sam (May 3, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/details-of-sanders-soviet-honeymoon-exposed-as-entourage-member-recalls-shock-at-bernies-america-bashing Details of Sanders’ Soviet ‘honeymoon’ exposed, as entourage member recalls shock at Bernie’s America-bashing]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
*Vogt, Bailey (May 3, 2019). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/3/bernie-sanders-local-80s-tv-show-resurfaces-he-ask/ Bernie Sanders local '80s TV show resurfaces; he asks kids about drugs: 'Anyone ever see cocaine?'] ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 4, 2019.</ref>
Also, in the 1980s, Sanders publicly praised the USSR and other leftist dictatorships and called bread lines a "good thing."<ref>Shaw, Adam (February 22, 2019). [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vintage-bernie-footage-shows-now-presidential-candidate-praising-breadlines-communist-nations Vintage Bernie footage shows now-presidential candidate praising breadlines, communist nations]. ''Fox News''. Retrieved February 22, 2019.</ref>
===Communist background===
Im 1963 Saunders spent time at a commune with the Hashomer Hatzair movement in [[Israel]]. The movement was a Marxist organization founded in 1913 and saw the Soviet Union as a model, and often flew the Red Flag at events.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/us/politics/bernie-sanders-kibbutz.html?_r=0 Bernie Sanders’s Kibbutz Found. Surprise: It’s Socialist], By STEVEN ERLANGER. ''[[New York Times]]'', FEB. 5, 2016.</ref> The commune's founder eulogized [[Joseph Stalin]]'s death , writing how shocked he and his comrades were, {{quotebox|"to hear of the terrible tragedy that has befallen the nations of the Soviet Union, the world proletariat and all of [[progressive]] mankind, upon the death of the great leader and extolled commander, Josef Vissarionovich Stalin. We lower our flag in grief in memory of the great revolutionary fighter, architect of socialist construction, and leader of the world's peace movement. His huge historical achievements will guide generations in their march towards the reign of socialism and [[communism]] the world over."}} [[Noam Chomsky]] wrote that he was fairly close to "Hashomer Hatzair, but couldn't join because it was split between Stalinists and [[Trotskyite]]s."<ref>''Al Hamishmar'', the movement's paper, had a headline which read, "The Progressive World Mourns the Death of J.V. Stalin/" [http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/261724/bernie-sanders-spent-months-marxist-stalinist-daniel-greenfield#.VrPxsICO11M.Facebook BERNIE SANDERS SPENT MONTHS AT MARXIST-STALINIST KIBBUTZ], Daniel Greenfield, '' Frontpage,'', February 4, 2016.</ref>
===Accusations of draft dodging===
Sanders was of age to be drafted into the [[Vietnam War]]. However, he filed for [[conscientious objector]] status on religious grounds.<ref>Vespa, Matt (December 28, 2015). [http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2015/12/28/apparently-bernie-sanders-would-be-a-lousy-commander-in-chief-and-hes-sort-of-an-ahole-to-his-staff-n2097445 "Apparently, Bernie Sanders would be 'A lousy commander in chief' and he's sort of 'an a**hole to his staff'"]. Townhall.com website.</ref> Sanders does not belong to any organized religion,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanders-finally-answers-the-god-question/2016/01/26/83429390-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html? Why Bernie Sanders doesn’t participate in organized religion, WaPo, January 15, 2016]</ref> dismissing criticism because he has strong religious feelings.
Sanders's elder brother, [[Larry Sanders (politician)|Larry]], lives in [[England]];<ref>{{cite news |title=The Sanders brothers: A tale of two underdogs |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33254500}}</ref> he was a [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] [[county councillor]], representing the East Oxford [[Electoral division (UK)|division]] on [[Oxfordshire County Council]], until he retired from the council in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--none given--> |date=June 4, 2009 |title=Election results for East Oxford |publisher=Oxfordshire County Council |url=http://mycouncil.oxfordshire.gov.uk/%28S%2833rhih553gpijinuki3kvf55%29%29/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=27 |access-date=May 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!--none given--> |date=June 8, 2013 |title=Green County Councillor Retires |publisher=Oxfordshire Green Party |url=http://www.greenoxfordshire.com/news/green-county-councillor-retires.html |access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> Larry ran as a Green Party candidate for [[Oxford West and Abingdon (UK Parliament constituency)|Oxford West and Abingdon]] in the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 British general election]] and came in fifth.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hansen |first=Lauren |date=May 8, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders' brother lost his longshot bid for British Parliament |work=The Week |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/554052/bernie-sanders-brother-lost-longshot-bid-british-parliament |access-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Collinson>{{cite news |last=Collinson |first=Stephen |date=May 7, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders' brotherly love |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/07/politics/bernie-sanders-brother-larry-sanders-uk/index.html |access-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> Bernie Sanders told CNN, "I owe my brother an enormous amount. It was my brother who actually introduced me to a lot of my ideas."<ref name=Collinson/>
===Greed===
Sanders constantly complains about the rich 1% but [[Liberal hypocrisy|he doesn't live like a common man]] – he himself is a member of the 1%.<ref name="1%er"/> Bernie [[Limousine liberal|is a millionaire]] with three homes,<ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/randy-hall/2016/04/13/millionaire-bashing-bernie-sanders-millionaire-three-homes Billionaire-Bashing Bernie Sanders Is a Millionaire With Three Homes, MRC Newsbusters.org, April 13, 2016]</ref> one in D.C., one in his hometown in Vermont, and a summer ''dacha''.<ref><small>"One cannot fully understand Russia without understanding the cultural context behind Russian dacha....October Revolution of 1917 brought with it a law, which forbid private ownership of land in Russia “forever”....Stalin figured that granting such privilege as summer dacha to his closest people in the government and to the VIP people from culture and science élite will be very motivating for them. ...Distribution was merit-based, one needed to fully comply with the ideology and wait in a long line, sometimes for many years....getting a dacha became one the dreams of Soviet people, in the same line as getting an apartment or a car. There were many manipulations – how to get dacha quicker. In Russia law and rules were always particularistic, so if you knew somebody, you could get to the desired dacha much quicker.<br>https://understandrussia.com/dacha/ </small></ref> Together, Bernie and Jane's 2014 total unadjusted gross earnings was $205,617.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/15/politics/bernie-sanders-jane-sanders-taxes/index.html Bernie and Jane Sanders earned nearly $206K in 2014, tax returns show, CNN, April 15, 2016]</ref>
===Health===
==Awards==
Sander shared Maurer-Stump Award from the Reading-Berks Democratic Socialists of [[Pennsylvania]] with DSA founder [[Michael Harrington]] in 1988. Sanders told Deidre Riley of the ''Reading Times'', "Revolution can be done through the government, if you raise the right issues." <ref>Socialist tells of need to expand awareness, Deidre Riley, ''Reading Times'', 1/3/88.</ref>
==See also==
*[[Sam Farr]]
*[[Linda Evans]]
*[[Kit Wisdom]]
*[[Atheism and human rights violations]]
*[[Digital brownshirt brigade]]
*[[List of dictators]]
Essays:
*[[Essay: Bernie Sanders is a closet atheist|Bernie Sanders is a closet atheist]]
* [[American Left]]
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.sanders.senate.gov/ Senate site]
*[https://berniesanders.com Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCoR6UYs1k&feature=youtu.be (Full Video) Bernie Sanders on the Soviet Union Press Conference 6/13/1988]
* [https://www.sanders.senate.gov/ U.S. Senate website]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82pFvUq3o8 Bernie Sanders' 1979 Eugene Debs Documentary]
* [https://berniesanders.com/ Campaign website]
*[http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW05571.pdf Trade Unionist, Socialist, Revolutionary - Eugene V. Debs, 1855 - 1926], Transcript of Sanders' documentary
*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=coVE0PDGSw4&feature=player_embedded Socialist Senator Sanders Hawks His Book Like an Evil Capitalist]
*[http://www.weaselzippers.us/236973-trump-ad-on-bernie-sanders-we-need-a-strong-leader-and-it-aint-this-guy/ "A lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive" Donald "People are praying for me" Trump Ad On Bernie Sanders: “We Need A Strong Leader” And It Ain’t This Guy]
===Other===
*[http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Mike-Rowe-Bernie-Sanders-college-tweet-knucklehead-6702291.php Mike Rowe calls Bernie Sanders 'knucklehead' over tweet]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2d3DMC6qyg Why Bernie Sanders' Communist Misadventures Still Matter]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c_PsUR1wvA "The Truth About Communism]" documentary narrated by Ronald Reagan, 1962
* [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/bernie-sanders/ Column archive] at ''[[HuffPost|The Huffington Post]]''
*[https://www.aim.org/aim-column/socialist-lobotomies/ Socialist Lobotomies]
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Bernie_Sanders.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
* [http://www.politifact.com/personalities/bernie-s Fact-checking] at [[PolitiFact.com]]
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