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Bernie Sanders 2020 Watch


Dropout

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10 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

This is complete bullshit, and I'll turn it around on you to see how it feels.

Berners think they are better than everyone else because they believe they care more about others. They can make snide comments about other candidates and any dissenting media types because they have "purer hearts".  They believe the right way to make progress is to shame others and basically say "fuck you" if you're not a full on progressive right now and side with Bernie on everything. 

Bernie is awesome. His message is powerful. Unfortunately his surrogates are really shitty messengers. 

 

Believe? The proof will be in the historical pudding. One candidate has fought against injustice his entire life. That’s fact not a belief. Sorry if you missed that.

No one thinks they are better than anyone. Nor am I trying to shame anyone. If you think that’s the point I’m trying to make I wonder why you feel that way. You can be indifferent. It doesn’t make me better than you.

The right way to make progress is to call out bullshit when you see it and form a majority. So when y’all come in here saying shit like Bernie’s taxing everyone to pay for college for all or that WaPo isn’t decidedly slanted against Bernie I’m calling that shit out bc it’s bullshit. That’s not me saying fuck you. That’s me calling out your indifference. 

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13 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Newsflash: the media sucks. They treat most of the major D candidates unfairly.  

 

Maybe, I'd like to see if MSNBC has ever used a anonymous twitter account against another Democratic candidate.

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1 minute ago, Dropout said:

Believe? The proof will be in the historical pudding. One candidate has fought against injustice his entire life. That’s fact not a belief. Sorry if you missed that.

 

It looks like you missed it. I wasn't talking about Bernie. I was talking about his diehard supporters. 

And it's not indifference. I voted for Bernie in 2016. Guess what, there are like 8 candidates better than Hillary Clinton this time around. Bernie has pulled the party left and there is more competition this time around. Like I said, he's done a ton of good. That doesn't mean everyone feels like they should "reward" him with the presidency. 

Regarding Bernie winning the presidency, what Berners don't understand is you can't force/make people vote for him. You promote your ideas, say why they're better, and let people decide on their own that he might be the best choice. By shitting on other candidates, shitting on the media, shitting on people that aren't progressive enough yet, naturally there will be a recoil and push back. 

 

 

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56 minutes ago, Dropout said:

 

It’s your indifference. As bt has eloquently pointed out it doesn’t really matter to you if Bernie is elected bc what he fights for will have minimal impact on the lives of the comfortable. You have room to make snide comments and move on w life. Others not so much. Could even be a matter of life and death in some cases. That is why he asked you to check your motivations.

Case in point. More indifference. Yes let’s calm down while the house is on fire. It’s funny. A good long joke.

See that's sort of the thing about a lot of Bernie supporters that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. It's the immediate assumptions that Bernie supporters jump to when they learn that you're not voting for him. 

Instead of being receptive to other people having different ideas, you immediately jump to that "they're just privileged and indifferent and don't recognize or care that we have serious problems in the country". Instead of understanding that people have a wide range of beliefs and emotional drivers and can support some of Bernie's ideas without him being their preferred candidate, you assume that they hate Bernie. If people don't agree with  some of Bernie's more "extreme" philosophies, you have a hard time processing that perhaps they recognize the same problems you do, but just have different ideas on how to get there. Instead, you assume that they are just laissez-faire silver-spooners who just aren't as enlightened as you believe yourself to be. That's not how you win people to your side, and it's the reason Bernie is seeing a slow slide while Warren, a more empathetic and big tent candidate, starts to take the reigns of the nomination. Neither her nor her supporters are like that. 

Your last sentence is really reflective of the whole thing. "Let's calm down while the house is on fire". You assume that you and your people are the only ones with the intellect to see that the house is on fire. Your complete unwillingness to consider that plenty of others recognize that the house is on fire, but that they prefer different methods to put it out, is why Bernie's supporters get the reputation that they do. You think that everyone else is too stupid to look at a burning house and think "we should put the fire out", and reject the notion that perhaps we all see the fire, but don't want to put it out by dumping a bunch of bricks on it.

Edited by BradInATX
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31 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

The notion Bernie has to win the Democratic nomination and win the presidency to advance his ideas is what irks me.  There’s some weird sense of entitlement among the Bernie Bros that we’re all supposed to fall in line because Bernie is god’s gift to America but we can’t see it because we’re too comfortable, or we think we are.

The “I and only I alone can fix it” vibe with Bernie is what rubs some people the wrong way.  As if he has a monopoly on his ideas or he’s the only one willing to fight hard enough to make them a reality while discounting the possibility there might be better advocates available with just as much passion and fire. 

I’ve come around on Bernie after giving him a lot of shit.  He’s a good guy in it for the right reasons with good ideas.  I’m not convinced he would make the best President but he would be light years better than most people running.  

Surely you can understand the populace has trust issues w their politicians and government. Bernie is the only one bc who else can I trust w 100% certainty. I’ll take the guy who has been fighting the fight all day every day for 40 plus years. It is rare or dare I say nonexistent. You discount the possibility there is no one else. We know more than anyone we are entitled to nothing.

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41 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Berners think they are better than everyone else because they believe they care more about others. They can make snide comments about other candidates and any dissenting media types because they have "purer hearts".  They believe the right way to make progress is to shame others and basically say "fuck you" if you're not a full on progressive right now and side with Bernie on everything.

I have no idea what your actual point is there. We get it, you are mad at progressives for having strong beliefs and judging other ideas against their own. We know.

Hank, you've been telling me how it's bad strategy for Bernie Bros to be firmly progressive and demanding. We've heard it. Thanks for saying it 20 more times, but it's really not necessary or adding anything new.

31 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

The notion Bernie has to win the Democratic nomination and win the presidency to advance his ideas is what irks me.  There’s some weird sense of entitlement among the Bernie Bros that we’re all supposed to fall in line because Bernie is god’s gift to America but we can’t see it because we’re too comfortable, or we think we are.

It is astonishing that you guys are so open about being driven by your own feelings of social comfort/discomfort. I would feel self-conscious admitting that.

30 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

That doesn't mean he would make a good POTUS.  I'd argue that he could accomplish more by continuing to fight the good fight as a U.S. Senator.

Cool, so stop whining about Bernie Bros and make actual policy/strategy arguments.

16 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Newsflash: the media sucks. They treat most of the major D candidates unfairly. 

So... what? We shouldn't point it out? Bernie should just take it and smile and promote the Big Lie? What is your point?

1 minute ago, Hank Kingsley said:

Regarding Bernie winning the presidency, what Berners don't understand is you can't force/make people vote for him.

Who is trying to force you or anyone else to do anything?

Stop crying so much. Jesus.

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9 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Your last sentence is really reflective of the whole thing. "Let's calm down while the house is on fire". You assume that you and your people are the only ones with the intellect to see that the house is on fire. Your complete unwillingness to consider that plenty of others recognize that the house is on fire, but that they prefer different methods to put it out, is why Bernie's supporters get the reputation that they do. You think that everyone else is too stupid to look at a burning house and think "we should put the fire out", and reject the notion that perhaps we all see the fire, but don't want to put it out by dumping a bunch of bricks on it.

That's the big debate - Incrementalism vs. Revolution.  Ambitious vs. pragmatic. 

There's definitely a divide in the candidates and a few who are straddling the fence.

But in reality, we have 2 ends of spectrum Biden (kind of pragmatic incrementalism) and Bernie (king of ambitious revolution). 

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8 minutes ago, Hank Kingsley said:

It looks like you missed it. I wasn't talking about Bernie. I was talking about his diehard supporters. 

And it's not indifference. I voted for Bernie in 2016. Guess what, there are like 8 candidates better than Hillary Clinton this time around. Bernie has pulled the party left and there is more competition this time around. Like I said, he's done a ton of good. That doesn't mean everyone feels like they should "reward" him with the presidency. 

Regarding Bernie winning the presidency, what Berners don't understand is you can't force/make people vote for him. You promote your ideas, say why they're better, and let people decide on their own that he might be the best choice. By shitting on other candidates, shitting on the media, shitting on people that aren't progressive enough yet, naturally there will be a recoil and push back. 

 

 

I know who you were talking about. Does your vote not dictate what you believe in? We are his supporters bc of his lifelong record that is obviously unmatched as far as progressive values go. The notion that we as a country will reward Bernie w anything just because is absurd. He will have earned every vote with honesty and integrity.

I clearly understand I can’t make you do anything. Why would I think otherwise? All I do here is promote Bernie’s ideas. I expect the recoil and push back. That’s why I started posting.

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1 minute ago, Js1 said:

That's the big debate - Incrementalism vs. Revolution.  Ambitious vs. pragmatic. 

There's definitely a divide in the candidates and a few who are straddling the fence.

But in reality, we have 2 ends of spectrum Biden (kind of pragmatic incrementalism) and Bernie (king of ambitious revolution). 

Of course.

I think one of the things that a lot of Bernie folks get wrong is that they assume that those who are more in favor of incremental change have an order of preference of: Incremental -> Do nothing -> Revolution. Where I think for most, it's probably Incremental -> Revolution -> Do nothing.

I think everyone on this thread save the Swam4Texas types prefer Bernie to Trump or any Republican. Even Bernie's more radical ideas don't scare me, he's not going to get them passed if he wins. But it seems apparent that it's easier for the Bernie folks to process "they hate Bernie" vs. "they prefer other candidates and their policies, but still like Bernie". 

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22 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

See that's sort of the thing about a lot of Bernie supporters that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. It's the immediate assumptions that Bernie supporters jump to when they learn that you're not voting for him. 

Instead of being receptive to other people having different ideas, you immediately jump to that "they're just privileged and indifferent and don't recognize or care that we have serious problems in the country". Instead of understanding that people have a wide range of beliefs and emotional drivers and can support some of Bernie's ideas without him being their preferred candidate, you assume that they hate Bernie. If people don't agree with  some of Bernie's more "extreme" philosophies, you have a hard time processing that perhaps they recognize the same problems you do, but just have different ideas on how to get there. Instead, you assume that they are just laissez-faire silver-spooners who just aren't as enlightened as you believe yourself to be. That's not how you win people to your side, and it's the reason Bernie is seeing a slow slide while Warren, a more empathetic and big tent, starts to take the reigns of the nomination. Neither her nor her supporters are like that. 

Your last sentence is really reflective of the whole thing. "Let's calm down while the house is on fire". You assume that you and your people are the only ones with the intellect to see that the house is on fire. Your complete unwillingness to consider that plenty of others recognize that the house is on fire, but that they prefer different methods to put it out, is why Bernie's supporters get the reputation that they do. You think that everyone else is too stupid to look at a burning house and think "we should put the fire out", and reject the notion that perhaps we all see the fire, but don't want to put it out by dumping a bunch of bricks on it.

So be receptive to false narratives that WaPo is operating fairly or Bernie is taxing everyone for college for all? Those aren’t different ideas they are wrong. You can have a different idea on how to get things done great. It’s not great when you’re spouting outright lies to cut down Bernie’s ideas. That’s not debating ideas in good faith.

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3 minutes ago, Dropout said:

So be receptive to false narratives that WaPo is operating in fairly or Bernie is taxing everyone for college for all? Those aren’t different ideas they are wrong. You can have a different idea on how to get things done great. It’s not great when you’re spouting outright lies to cut down Bernie’s ideas. That’s not debating ideas in good faith.

I don't read WaPo nor do I care about any of the media bias stuff, whether against him or Trump or Hillary or whoever. I've never posted a single thing regarding any of that. I haven't followed it, and I usually skip posts by anyone discussing the media. It's boring. They're a for-profit enterprise doing for-profit enterprise things. WaPo probably does have an anti-Bernie lean. It's up to Bernie to get his message out, and it's up to the electorate to intelligently digest news and understand the biases of the source. So I'm not really your Huckleberry here.

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In the 2015/6 primary season, the people who whined about the Bernie Bros often said, "keep it about ideas, not personal attacks!" but to those people, ideas ARE personal attacks. Look at the emotional basis for so much of this criticism. Look how much of it is literally stated about how Bernie makes the media class "feel".

When Bernie very correctly points out the massive corporate bias in mass media, the individuals don't take it as an idea, they take it as a personal attack.

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2 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

All it takes to "rein in capitalism" in the way outlined by Bernie Sanders is 51% of the Congressional vote. And there's ample historical precedent for that and a lot more.

You are being melodramatic in an attempt to cover up your lack of a point.

It takes more than 51%.

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+1 in the House, +1 in the Senate (with a reformed/abolished filibuster), and a POTUS who will sign

That's enough for Bernie's stated plans and it's an attainable (but difficult) goal.

The path to get there is through the mass mobilization of currently-not-participating voting bases that are sympathetic to the needs of the working class. These people will vote in good Dems, primary bad Dems, and put pressure on Dems and Reps already in power.

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And y’all wonder why we don’t see eye to eye. This is before you factor race into the equation. Tell me again how Bernie goes too far.

https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-net-worth-versus-baby-boomers-generational-wealth-gap-2019-8

That means the wealth gap between older households and younger households has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, climbing from seven to twelve times the net worth. 

In that time frame, the average net worth for households ages 20 to 35 has declined by $2,600, while households ages 52 to 70 have seen a $452,400 increase in net worth.

Much of that debt takes shape in student loans, thanks to college tuition that has more than doubled since the 1980s— the national student-loan debt total is more than $1.5 trillion, and the average student-loan debt per graduating student in 2018 who took out loans is $29,800

According to a report earlier this year by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, 81% of early-adult households ages 18 to 34 carry a collective debt of $2 trillion, including student-loan debt and credit card debt. 

Meanwhile, as Mitra reported, rising housing costs also play a role. First-time homebuyers today will pay 39% more than first-time homebuyers did nearly 40 years ago, according to Student Loan Hero. That means millennials are less likely to buy a home, making houses an asset more boomers than millennials have. 

There's also the aftermath of the Great Recession, which created a financial domino effect for millennials that put them on a slow path to wealth accumulation. It hit millennials born in the 1980s especially hard: Their wealth levels are 34% below where they would most likely have been if the financial crisis hadn't occurred, according to a report by the St. Louis Fed.

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4 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

+1 in the House, +1 in the Senate (with a reformed/abolished filibuster), and a POTUS who will sign

That's enough for Bernie's stated plans and it's an attainable (but difficult) goal.

The path to get there is through the mass mobilization of currently-not-participating voting bases that are sympathetic to the needs of the working class. These people will vote in good Dems, primary bad Dems, and put pressure on Dems and Reps already in power.

Well, this election will prove whether or not Bernie can mobilize such a voting force.  If he can, he'll definitely win the primary. 

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Again this opinion that some are indifferent doesn’t make me better than you. I’m simply stating what the majority of younger Americans think. It’s not without merit. There is actual data  (like posted above) that gives us good reason to feel the way we do.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/polls-millennials-and-gen-zers-are-dystopian-socialists.html

Americans under 30 are also way more distrustful of their fellow citizens and government than any other age group. Some 73 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 say that “most of the time, people just look out for themselves,” while 71 percent believe “most people would try to take advantage of you if they got the chance,” and 60 percent contend that “most people cannot be trusted.” Among Americans over 65 — the most conservative cohort in the U.S. — those figures are 48, 39, and 29, respectively.

Sometime between the “end of history” and the onset of climate disaster, our nation ostensibly birthed a generation of “dystopian socialists” — Americans whose comfort with state intervention derives less from faith in human goodness than fear of our species’s rapacity. 

Life in late capitalism is nasty, brutish, and in the United States, increasingly short. Only Bernie Sanders’s Leviathan can save us from ourselves.

Or so a socialistic millennial misanthrope might hypothesize.

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7 minutes ago, Dropout said:

Again this opinion that some are indifferent doesn’t make me better than you. I’m simply stating what the majority of younger Americans think. It’s not without merit. There is actual data  (like posted above) that gives us good reason to feel the way we do.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/polls-millennials-and-gen-zers-are-dystopian-socialists.html

Americans under 30 are also way more distrustful of their fellow citizens and government than any other age group. Some 73 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 say that “most of the time, people just look out for themselves,” while 71 percent believe “most people would try to take advantage of you if they got the chance,” and 60 percent contend that “most people cannot be trusted.” Among Americans over 65 — the most conservative cohort in the U.S. — those figures are 48, 39, and 29, respectively.

Sometime between the “end of history” and the onset of climate disaster, our nation ostensibly birthed a generation of “dystopian socialists” — Americans whose comfort with state intervention derives less from faith in human goodness than fear of our species’s rapacity. 

Life in late capitalism is nasty, brutish, and in the United States, increasingly short. Only Bernie Sanders’s Leviathan can save us from ourselves.

Or so a socialistic millennial misanthrope might hypothesize.

So if Bernie isn't your #1 candidate, you are indifferent? 

 

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1 minute ago, Hank Kingsley said:

So if Bernie isn't your #1 candidate, you are indifferent? 

 

The choice is clear to me Hank. Idk how else to state it. You have a guy who has been doing this for 40 plus years and has championed every major idea for the D party. You have a choice to go with that guy or take your chances on someone else, Liz being the only other one who comes close imo. 

So to answer your question directly YES.

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1 minute ago, Dropout said:

The choice is clear to me Hank. Idk how else to state it. You have a guy who has been doing this for 40 plus years and has championed every major idea for the D party. You have a choice to go with that guy or take your chances on someone else, Liz being the only other one who comes close imo. 

So to answer your question directly YES.

So only Bernie as POTUS can save us. Got it. 

 

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1 hour ago, Bama Chick said:

This is gross.

Aiston's misrepresentation of what Brie was saying? I agree.

All Brie is saying is that people should know what a garbage troll HW is (which he is) and that Brian Williams must not already know that.

Nowhere in there is she calling for doxxing. That's BS.

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The brain-warped reality of shitty pundits and shitty posters:

Reality:

Bernie @ 1988 meeting with Abbie Hoffman and Dave Dellinger ... saying the exact same things because they're still true 31 years later.

Anyone who ISN'T critical of corporate media doesn't really want anything to change.

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Happy to see Bernie still evolving and being innovative. This is great.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/18/bernie-sanders-criminal-justice-overhaul-proposal-1466995

Bernie Sanders, who was criticized by liberal activists in 2016 for not focusing more on racial injustice, is unveiling a sweeping plan on Sunday aimed at slashing the country’s prison population in half and ridding the criminal justice system of "institutional racism and corporate profiteering."

The plan calls for banning cash bail, solitary confinement and civil asset forfeiture, which allows law enforcement officials to seize people’s homes and other property even if they are not convicted of a crime. The plan also looks to legalize marijuana and abolish the death penalty, a practice Sanders has long opposed.

The Vermont senator would legalize "safe injection sites" where people can use illegal drugs under medical supervision, a controversial practice that has been shown in several studies to curb the number of overdose deaths. 

Sanders' proposal promises the attorney general will investigate every time a person is killed in police custody. He would also establish a "Prisoner Bill of Rights," create a “civilian corps of unarmed first responders” to deal with mental health emergencies, and boost funding for public defenders.

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Good article that expands on and explains Bernie’s view of the media. It is not Trump like criticism hiding his own criminal activities. Bernie’s points are valid and this shit has to be fixed. A healthy media is absolutely vital to a healthy democracy.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/bernie-sanders-washington-post-media-complaint-872349/

The public is not stupid. It sees that companies like CNN and NBC are billion-dollar properties, pushing shows anchored by big-city millionaires. A Vanderbilt like Anderson Cooper or a half-wit legacy pledge like Chris Cuomo shoveling coal for Comcast, Amazon, AT&T, or Rupert Murdoch is the standard setup.

Media companies run by the country’s richest people can’t help but project the mindset of their owners, and they are naturally incompetent when it comes to viewing their own role in society. While we regularly congratulate ourselves for being protectors of democracy, we have difficulty admitting basic embarrassments, like that the news is a profit-driven consumer product that isn’t always good for the customer. The public sees through this with ease. The press is completely in denial about this.

 

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This plan got me thinking about an article I read a few days ago. I believe it is all connected. Bernie has the youth vote on lock because he actually encourages them to take their place at the table. Bernie listens to their voices and actually responds with significant ideas. 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/08/bernie-sanders-playbook-for-winning-the-black-vote

The old, white senator from Vermont has become an unlikely hero to black and Hispanic millennials in Los Angeles. At a private lunch last month in Hollywood, Sanders explained his vision for winning minority voters—and snatching the nomination from Joe Biden.

The presidential candidate, who remains a serious contender for the Democratic nomination despite having slipped in the polls, was having lunch with 25 or so creatives—writers, musicians, artists and social-media mavens, most of whom were African American or Latino.

During his last presidential bid, Sanders was accused by Black Lives Matter activists of neglecting race relations and criminal justice reform. He appears to be trying, this time, not to let that happen again.

Mensa, speaking from his home in L.A.’s upscale Silver Lake neighborhood, focused his criticism on Harris. “Kamala Harris is a cop,” he said. “She’s a tough-on-crime prosecutor. That’s like the opposite of a revolutionary, and I could never vote for her.… I’m not impressed because she’s a woman of color, because I recognize what neocolonialism is, and I recognize that token black people are propped up to positions within the imperialistic, patriarchal, white supremacist state that is America to enforce all of those ideologies. That is a prosecutor—to prosecute those who reject the white supremacist, patriarchal state.”

 

There are a massive number of hidden votes from young people and the disenfranchised in general that do not usually vote. The people who don’t answer phone calls or doors. This race is only just beginning.

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1 hour ago, F250 said:

I am very impressed by Bernie's criminal justice reform plan. I haven't had a chance to go through it in detail, does it mention decriminalizing sex workers?

He just dropped napalm on Kamala's brand in one shot.

After a quick glance I do not believe so. Both Bernie and Warren have stated they would be open to the idea. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449558-bernie-sanders-says-hed-consider-sex-work-decriminalization%3famp

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