Bernie Sanders: Pretender or Contender?

Those on the far left of America's political spectrum may have found their champion and presidential candidate. Bernie Sanders, an Independent Senator and liberal firebrand from Vermont, officially announced his candidacy for president yesterday.

So what planks form the platform our nation's newest Democratic hopeful?

The independent now running for the Democratic Party's nomination has set his crosshairs on the top 1%, making income inequality perhaps the defining issue of his campaign. He even went so far as to declare that if redistributing the wealth to the lower and middle classes slows national GDP growth or outright lowers it, redistribution is still worth it because Americans will be better off fiscally and happier overall. He's Occupy Wall Street's dream come true.

The senator recently proposed legislation to make all public universities tuition free for under grads. Under his plan, federal government would pay 2/3 of the tuition costs with respective states funding the remaining 1/3. Whether you find this plan wise or even realistic, it has the potential to garner young supporters. After all, there's now more student-loan debt than there is credit card and auto loan debt in a materialistically driven society.

Environmentalists seem to have found a kindred spirit in Sanders. He's advocates that Climate Change is real and man made, wanting to tackle Global Warming and confront deniers head on.

(More on Sanders' stances can be found here.)

The merits and pitfalls of his and other candidates will be debated adnauseum for the next 15 months. In the here and now let's ask ourselves this: What are Senator Sanders chances at winning the nominations?

About a snowball's chance in hell at best.

The man publicly stated he views himself as a "democratic-socialist." In a nation were socialism is largely viewed as a derogatory word and often equated with Communism, claiming to be a socialist in any form is the political equivalent of swallowing a cyanide capsule. It was simply suicide. If his far-left stances weren't already enough to scare off the electorate and his own base, that socialist quote will scuttle whatever meager chances he had at the nomination or White House.

That's not to say he won't be consequential.

For now, he's the closest candidate America has to the prevailing leaders European countries are electing. Many point to downtrodden Greece as why we should avoid a European model of governance like the plague. Others look to prospering Scandinavian countries as a blueprint for success, Wherever you stand, Sanders will add a European flavor to the national debate.

Don't be the least bit surprise if the most memorable barbs launched during the Democratic Primary debates from from Sanders, aimed primarily at former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Clinton is posturing herself as something resembling a centrist, bringing plenty of baggage and is the clear frontrunner, making her Sanders' default target. His liberal firebrand might even force Clinton to move more to the left for the general election than she would like.

Unfortunately for Sanders, firing up the base only enough to make Hilary move left and not move him up to polls means defeat is inevitable. But hey, he'll have an endless supply of quality comfort food waiting for him back in Burlington, Vermont.

While Sanders will never get a foothold in the White House, he will make footnotes in history books.