I agree with Bernie Sanders on almost every issue, and think it would be amazing if he were President.  It will never happen though, and I’m not naive enough to think that it could.   

That doesn’t mean I would object to him running in the primaries.  He could move the Democrats to the left and prove that it is possible to do so without alienating voters.  While it is true that “the votes are in the middle” and if you run a candidate too far to the left or right you will lose the election, the problem is that politicians are wrong about where the “middle” is.  They think it is far more conservative than it is in reality.

A majority of Americans support Obamacare.  A majority thinks gay marriage, abortion and marijuana should be legal.  A majority supports more gun control.  A majority want to raise the minimum wage and do something about campaign finance reform.  A majority wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and do not believe that “corporations are people.”

These positions are not radical dreams of the left.  They are mainstream.  For Democrats to shy away from what a majority of Americans want is ridiculous.  Having Senator Sanders in the race might help toughen up the other candidates and bring them away from the center-right and perhaps lure them to the center-left.

The problem is this:  For all Sanders has said about wanting to enter the race, I am waiting to hear that he will be running as a Democrat.  Because he isn’t one.  He’s an Independent Socialist who caucuses with the Democrats.

If there’s one thing we definitely don’t need, it’s another spoiler who will siphon off votes from Democrats and allow a Republican to win the Presidency in 2016.

So here’s hoping his plan is to enter the Democratic primaries and not run as an Independent.  Otherwise, we could end up with President Ted Cruz.