Bernie Sanders Announces He Is Running For President In Democratic Primary

Independent US Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders has formally announced that he is running for president in the Democratic Party primary. The issues Sanders plans to run on should surprise no one - fixing an economic and political system rigged for and by plutocrats. Those are issues Senator Sanders has spent his entire career trying to ameliorate.

Though an independent, Senator Sanders caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate and has a voting record that is likely to sit well with many Democratic Party voters. Though Sanders says he has never run a negative ad and has no plans to in the 2016 race, he was willing to note to the Associated Press the clear distinctions between himself and Hillary Clinton.

While Hillary Clinton backed imperialism in the Senate and as Secretary of State, Senator Sanders opposed military adventurism in the Middle East. And while Clinton is sucking up to multinational corporations, Sanders is offering sincere opposition to money in politics.

The 73-year-old Sanders starts his campaign as an undisputed underdog against Clinton. Sanders said he has known the former first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state for more than two decades. "I respect her and like her," he said. He noted he has "never run a negative ad in my life," but still drew a distinction with Clinton in the interview, promising to talk "very strongly about the need not to get involved in perpetual warfare in the Middle East." "I voted against the war in Iraq," he said. "Secretary Clinton voted for it when she was in the Senate." 

Clinton is hosting a series of fundraisers this week, starting what could be an effort that raises more than $1 billion. Sanders said he will make money and politics a central theme of his campaign, including a call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which he blames for unleashing a torrent of money from wealthy donors into politics."What you're looking at here is a real disgrace," he said. "It is an undermining of American democracy.

Despite a solid voting record on progressive issues Senator Sanders will have a hard climb to the nomination. Hillary Clinton remains the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination even with recent scandals.  The silver lining some offer is that Sanders may drive Clinton to the left - don't bet on it.

Clinton is no mystery and though there may be opportunities through social movements to scare a President Hillary Clinton into making concessions, her heart belongs to Wall Street and the corporate technocrats of DC and Davos.

So on the plus side, no surprises if she is elected - a widening wealth gap and the encroaching police state necessary to protect it. Are you Ready for Hillary?