Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders upstaged by a bird in Portland
Born	Bernard Sanders 8 September 1941 Brooklyn, New York City
Alma mater	Brooklyn College, University of Chicago
Religion	Jew
Children	• 1 • 3 step-children
Spouse	Deborah Shiling
Party	Liberty Union, Independent, Democratic
United States Senator from Vermont,  serving with Patrick Leahy In office January 3, 2007 - Present  Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs In office January 3, 2013 - January 3, 2015  Member of the US House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large district In office January 3, 1991 - January 3, 2007  Mayor of Burlington Vermont In office April 6, 1981 - April 4, 1989

Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (born 8 September 1941) is an American politician and US Senator from Vermont, and is a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination in the 2016 US presidential election.

Bernie Sanders' comfortable margin of victory (13.3%) in the Wisconsin primary on 5 April 2016 marked his 7th win over frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the last 8 contests. If his winning streak continues and he takes the 247-delegate New York primary on 19 April 2016, Sanders could clinch the Democratic nomination.

Independent politician

Bernie Sanders became a member of the Democratic Party in 2015, having been the longest-serving independent in US congressional history, though his caucusing with the Democrats entitled him to committee assignments and at times gave Democrats a majority. Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015 and had previously served for two years as chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Social Democrat

Sanders favours policies similar to those of social democratic parties in Europe, particularly those of the Nordic countries, and has built a reputation as a leading progressive voice on issues such as campaign finance reform, corporate welfare, global warming, income inequality, LGBT rights, parental leave, and universal healthcare. Sanders has long been critical of US foreign policy and was an early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War. He is also outspoken on civil liberties and civil rights, particularly criticising racial discrimination in the criminal justice system as well as advocating for privacy rights against mass surveillance policies such as the US Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance operations.

Tax evasion

Hillary Clinton pushed through the 2011 Panama Free Trade Agreement but Bernie Sanders was strongly opposed, warning that it would strictly limit the government’s ability to clamp down on tax evasion by wealthy Americans and large corporations stashing their cash in offshore tax havens. Now with the release of the Panama Papers it appears Sanders was right. They show that over 214,000 offshore companies are using Panama to evade taxes. That is unacceptable, and that has got to change.

On 6 April 2016, The Independent reported: "The longer this scandal is kept alive the more beneficial will be for Sanders. And if any more skeletons in the Clinton closet see the light, it will parachute Bernie Sanders into the White House."

Love trumps hate

At an April 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign rally, attended by more than 16,000 people in St Mary’s Park in the South Bronx, actress Rosario Dawson explained to Democracy Now! why she supports Sanders for President over Clinton:

'Like, millions of people marched against the Iraq War before it happened. That’s historical. Millions of people marched against the bailout. Millions of people, students, walked out in 2006 against immigration reform. They texted each other and walked out of their high school classrooms. Like, we keep seeing these mass movements of people going, 'This is not the way things should be done,' and it gets ignored. The thousands of people who have been marching across America for Bernie, that doesn’t get any press coverage, because, Gil Scott-Heron said, 'The revolution will not be televised.' But it’s time for it to be televised. And thank you so much for televising it, because we need people to know how beautiful this moment is. No matter what, look at this. This is incredible. And we have a Jewish man who’s talking about Palestine. Like, do you know what I’m saying? Like, this is a really, really remarkable, huge moment, and we cannot gloss it over. You’re doing a disservice to people by doing so. This is something really beautiful. I’m doing this because love trumps hate, not because I need to vote against somebody, but because love trumps hate. This is a love movement. I’m so excited!