Calling Bernie Sanders “Bernie”

[Mr. Morden]

Seems like Bernie Sanders supporters tend to call him “Bernie”, rather than using the convention of referring to politicians by their last name.  It reminds me of Ron Paul backers calling him “Dr. Paul”.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Sure, he's most widely known as Bernie and I don't see what's wrong with calling him that. He wouldn't be the first politician to be mainly known by his first name.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Can't stand it. Same with "Hillary".

[Mr. Morden]

Sure, he's most widely known as Bernie and I don't see what's wrong with calling him that.

I'm not saying it's wrong.  I'm just saying that I've observed that it's mostly his supporters who call him "Bernie", whereas non-supporters call him "Sanders".  The latter is more in line with how most politicians are referred to by last name.  E.g., "Trump" is more common than "Donald" and "O'Malley" is more common than "Martin".  Or maybe it's a generational thing.  I don't know.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I refer to him as Sanders in mixed company, but if I'm around anyone who's likely to be sympathetic I tend to call him Bernie.

For comparison, I usually refer to the Democratic nominee as HRC, or Hillary if I'm in the company of her strongest supporters. Come to think of it, I don't even know what Bernie Sanders middle name is...

He doesn't have one.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Calling him "Bernie" implies either that I am unprofessional, or that I support him. I wish to communicate neither.

[Anna Komnene]

That's what his campaign wanted.

[MAINEiac4434]

Can't stand it. Same with "Hillary".

To be fair, there is another prominent politician with her surname. Not so with Sanders.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Sen. Sanders when I'm attempting to legitimize him, Bernie when I'm trying to familiarize him.

Fun facts: his staff is only allowed to call him Senator Sanders/The Senator, and his close friends call him Bernard. So he literally *only* hears himself called "Bernie" in a political context.

[SATW]

So I find myself calling different politicians different things:

Bernie Sanders = I call him "Bernie" when talking to his supporters and enemies alike.
Hillary Clinton = I call her "Hillary" to supporters and enemies.
Marco Rubio = "Marco" when around fellow Rubio supporters; "Marco Rubio" to enemies and "Senator Rubio" to people who are neutral about him or impartial.
Ted Cruz = "Cruz" when talking to conservatives; "Ted Cruz" to everyone else
Donald Trump = "President Trump" to his enemies or people who are neutral; "Trump" to conservatives or close friends of all ideologies.
Jeb Bush = "Jeb" to everyone
Barack Obama = "Former President Obama" when talking to liberals and moderates; "Obama" to conservatives

[Zioneer]

I supported Bernie, and I switch between his first and last name whenever I feel it necessary. I think I use "Bernie" and "Hillary" more often than their last names though, they just have a better "ring" to it than the last names. I have had a more positive view of Hillary after the primaries, but I continue that naming convention.

On the other hand I call "Barack Obama", "Obama", and Donald Trump "Trump", despite respecting Obama and hating Trump. I just do what sounds better to me.

[Indy Texas]

Can't stand it. Same with "Hillary".

Hillary had the problem of people otherwise not knowing which "Clinton" was being referred to.

And Hillary is a very unusual name for someone of her generation to have, so it's far more distinctive in a way that wouldn't work if her name was Susan or Karen.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Can't stand it. Same with "Hillary".

Hillary had the problem of people otherwise not knowing which "Clinton" was being referred to.

And Hillary is a very unusual name for someone of her generation to have, so it's far more distinctive in a way that wouldn't work if her name was Susan or Karen.

Less so regarding campaign signs. The tendency, however, to say "...why Hillary lost", or otherwise refer to her in a context where she is clearly the only Clinton relevant, implies a sort of personal association with her that I find odd. "Bernie would've won" has that same quality; who's Bernie? Your friend? I think the only reason I don't react to "Jeb!" the same way is that his name had recently been used mockingly or in the context of derision, which makes it amusing.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Makes him sound more like a relatable "guy next door" instead of a 74-year-old socialist and lifetime politician from Vermont who doesn't comb his hair. Probably a smart move.

I wonder if any Republicans will try this in the future.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Makes him sound more like a relatable "guy next door" instead of a 74-year-old socialist and lifetime politician from Vermont who doesn't comb his hair.

How are these things mutually exclusive?

[warandwar]

Makes him sound more like a relatable "guy next door" instead of a 74-year-old socialist and lifetime politician from Vermont who doesn't comb his hair.

How are these things mutually exclusive?

I think this poster is in for a startling realization about the popular appeal of leftist populism.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I call politicians by their last names, so Sanders.

[Torie]

I did not support the chap in the primary, and tended to be idiosyncratic in what I called him, sometimes Bernie, sometimes Sanders, and sometimes Bernie Sanders. I probably called him Bernie the most, only because that tended to be the most common appellation others with whom I came into contract called him.

Thanks Morden for bringing up this most important issue. What would we do without you?

[Modernity has failed us]

I call him "Bernie", "Sanders", or "Senator Sanders"

[Mr. Morden]

Thanks Morden for bringing up this most important issue. What would we do without you?

I ask myself that question every day.  The only possible conclusion is that you would all leave and do something else, because the forum would be boring without me.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

I call him "Bernie", "Sanders", or "Senator Sanders"

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Makes him sound more like a relatable "guy next door" instead of a 74-year-old socialist and lifetime politician from Vermont who doesn't comb his hair. Probably a smart move.

I wonder if any Republicans will try this in the future.

[angus]

I voted for Sanders in the primary.  I always referred to him as Sanders, whether talking to Sanders supporters, Trump supporters, Clinton supporters, or Rubio supporters, and as far as I know it didn't cause any confusion. 

[Enduro]

Did we really get to the point where we're making polls about politician's names?

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Makes him sound more like a relatable "guy next door" instead of a 74-year-old socialist and lifetime politician from Vermont who doesn't comb his hair. Probably a smart move.

I wonder if any Republicans will try this in the future.

Oh, yeah, good point.