Bernie Sanders (D) vs. Rand Paul (R)

[IceSpear]

The two Atlas Forum darlings square off. Who would you vote for?

[IceSpear]

I would never vote for Sanders if he ran as a Democrat, so I'm going to have to go NOTA here.

Why does it matter what banner he ran under? He's the same person either way.

[IceSpear]

I would never vote for Sanders if he ran as a Democrat, so I'm going to have to go NOTA here.

Why does it matter what banner he ran under? He's the same person either way.

That's pretty naive. If Sanders were to run on a third-party line, it would be as a left-wing protest candidate and he would be willing to take positions that he never would if he was nominated as a Dem and had an actual chance of winning.

So what, you think he'd disavow socialism if he got a major party nomination? I doubt his positions would change very much either way.

[IceSpear]

Sanders getting the nomination would require him to twist the few "left-wing" positions he holds rightward in order to secure the Democrats' Wall Street funding base, yes. I don't think that's really disputable. Of course, as a reliable funder of American imperialism, he probably wouldn't have a tough time securing funds from defense contractors, which could make up the difference.

Well he'd presumably win the primary in this scenario despite the best efforts of the Democratic-leaning Wall Street donors. In which case, he could just spurn them upon receiving the nomination. It would depend on how much principle he has.