I'm Putting My Money on This Message

The two headlines below are why Bernie Sanders is different -- and why he's the Real Thing.

• Why the Most Liberal Candidate for President Opposes Strict Gun Control
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• Bernie Sanders Again Links Low Wages With Immigration

Bernie Sanders's policies were not invented last night, and he is not running away from them.

This is someone who knows who he is, where he stands, and why he stands there.

For more than 40 year Bernie Sanders has stood for American workers, rural America, the elderly, and community.

He has never sold out to D.C. lobbyists, whether they represented big banks, big pharma, big war, big insurance, or Wall Street profiteers.

Tonight I did my part to decide the next election by doing exactly what I did 8 years ago when I pledged to give $100 a month to help get Barack Obama elected.

Back then, no one knew who Barack was.

They said a young black Senator with that name could not get elected, and that Hillary was the Chosen One.

To be clear, I was not against Hillary.  

I was FOR Barack Obama.

I put my money down, and I have never regretted it.

It's hard to remember how grim it was 8 years ago

The economy had cratered, with trillions of dollars in home value lost, unemployment skyrocketing, the American car industry about to collapse, U.S. banks about to collapse, houses being repossessed all over, and Osama Bin Laden directing two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So what did my $100 a month do 8 years ago?  

Quite a lot.  It helped get Barack Obama elected.  Since then:

• Unemployment has plummeted.
• The stock market has soared.
• Home values have rebounded.
• The U.S. auto industry, once near collapse, is now the largest in the world.
• Our allies have been forced to step up to the plate in international conflicts.
• We invested in fuels for the future: solar energy, electric cars and long-lasting batteries.
• Our troops are back home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• The rapid hemorrhage of money for endless war has abated. 
• Osama Bin Laden is dead.
• Drone strikes have devastated Al Qaeda.
• Moammar Gaddafi is dead.
• We avoided getting dragged into wars in Libya, Tunisia, Syria, and North Korea.
• We signed a nuclear treaty with Iran.
• We regularized our relationship with Cuba.
• We told Putin to stick it, and showed the world that Russia was a third-rate power.
• We ended water-boarding and torture.
• Our borders were made more secure, and illegal immigration has plummeted.
• Millions of people have health care that cannot be taken away due to a "pre-existing condition."
• More people are paying for their own health care rather than mooching off of taxpayers.
• Fewer people are going bankrupt due to lack of health insurance.
• Obama and Scalia agreed on the Second Amendment
• Everyone in America can still own guns and they can still hunt. 
• We put 2 million more acres into permanent wilderness protection.
• "Don't ask don't tell" was tossed onto the dust pile of history.
• Gay marriage was supported by the Supreme Court.
• Predatory banks were kicked out of the student loan program.
• The worst of the for-profit online university diploma mills were shut down.
• We avoided scandal of all kinds in the least corrupt administration in 100 years..

Has the Obama administration been perfect?

No, of course not.

It is with some irony that I note that the first black President and the first black Attorney General were not shy about giving the Big Wink to white collar criminals.

While scores of billions of dollars were recovered from crooked banks, mortgage companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and hospital fraudsters, almost no one went to jail.  Top executives were almost always allowed to keep their jobs, promotions, bonuses, and stock options. Stock holders paid the fines. Fraudulent defense contractors were barely prosecuted at all.

In fact, it's because of this failure of the Obama Administration that we need to elect Bernie Sanders now.  

Bernie has never given the "Big Wink" to corporate liars, cheats, and thieves.

He's not interested in signing treaties that send American jobs overseas.

He is not the best friend of Wall Street billionaires, and he's not chummy with hedge fund managers.

He's not going to salute corporate tax dodges that allow massive companies like Apple, Facebook, and Pfizer to benefit from U.S. protection and infrastructure while paying no taxes at all.

Bernie understands that Americans need a living wage, and the security and dignity of full time jobs and safe public schools.

Unlike the Republican candidates, Bernie Sanders has always worked to protect Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.

Unlike Hillary Clinton he has a long track record of support for the Second Amendment and for strong immigration law enforcement.  

That's why I am putting my money down on Bernie Sanders to win.

He's the real deal, and God knows we could use a little more of that!