Can A Socialist Ever Be Elected Our Next President??

Sometimes, parts of me thinks that all of the Presidents have a little Socialist in them.

Why not? We are standing on the cusp of having a man (Trump) who has better one liners than Bruce Willis in any Die Hard movie yet makes less sense than ET, and we have a possible inmate (Clinton, not really going to happen) running at the same time, a man who has no idea what he supports when asked, but did fight the unions and won in Wisconsin, another who's slicker than a wet willy (Cruz), Finally a fat candidate (Christy), the Christian Extremist (well he really has no chance) Huckabee, the Token Affirmative Action guy (Carson), The Twisted Sister Dee Snyder twin (Carly), and the rest of the "I think I can's but know I won'ts" So why not?

The same sentiment in the attached can be said about the possibility of electing a Socialist.

By the way, I think one has already been elected and he is in office now.

Part of this is the general misunderstand of what "Socialism" is, much like there is a general understanding of what being a "Liberal" or a "Progressive" is.

In general, these terms are often used as insults, or have a negative connotation, but that doesn't mean that "specific programs" are bad. Sometimes a "Socialist Program" is the most effective way to do something within the government. Sometimes it is the least effective way. If it's the least effective way, don't use it. If it's the most effective, or most efficient, consider it.

Now, as for Mr. Sanders, he subscribes to a different political philosophy than most of the members of this forum. Myself included. I disagree with him on about 90% of things. However, he is consistent in his message. He is consistent in his vision. And say what you will about his philosophy, I can respect someone I disagree with, as long as they have qualities worth respecting.

But I digress. Now, Mr. Sanders has specific goals. Those goals are no different than any of the other candidates. His METHODS are different. His methods are what most people disagree with. It's a nuanced difference. It's like getting a truck out of the mud. Conservatives want to go forward. Progressives want to go backward. Socialists want to pull it sideways. Everyone wants it out of the mud though, they're just arguing about how.

But the reason people are considering Mr. Sanders is that he is completely different than what has come before. He's not the Conservative Party (R), and he's not what the Progressives (D) are offering up (Ms. Clinton).

Socialism, as in true (American) Socialism, appeals to a very specific subset of society. Namely the 18-25~ crowd who (without living in the real wold first) think that the government can solve their (perceived) problems.

But, Mr. Sanders has a few very redeeming factors. He doesn't sling mud. He's been doing this for a long time. He's not actually a Democrat. He's an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Our current president is a socialists

No, because even though socialism is not communism, Americans as a group have too short of an attention span to tell the difference, and as a group we really don't care. We've been force fed media bullshit and don't want to listen to anything that contradicts that world-view.

Self proclaimed or not...pretty evident to most that it already happened

The question isn't whether we might elect a socialist but rather if we will elect *another* socialist. The only difference being that Sanders unabashedly owns up to the label. Many of our 20th-century presidents subscribed to one form of socialism or another, as has Obama. All of the current potential nominees on the Democratic side are socialists of one stripe or another. Half the Republicans are too: e.g., Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich, et al. America's Cold War victory was a Pyrrhic one if ever there was one. The enemy is firmly entrenched within our political body, and Americans lack the will to do what must be done to rid our country of that cancer. Ben Franklin, Ronald Reagan, and host of others warned us what would happen if we did not carefully guard our republic, and their words have been proven true. We are now a nanny state.

I don't think it really matters how he is doing, the DNC and it's super delegates will select the party Nominee.