Sadly enough, Bernie does better than the GOP crowd as far as tax policy. I grew up with the Republican party being the one of "fiscal responsibility".
That went out the window with the Bush tax cuts that added trillions to the national debt for vanishingly small benefit.
Supply side economics has become the GOP dogma, despite the mounds of evidence that it is an abject failure.
Kansas is the best example:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/gover...e54477390.html
http://www.kansasbudget.com/
http://www.usnews.com/news/the-repor...rty-of-red-ink
As a social liberal and fiscal conservative with a decent understanding of economics, I just can't really support a party with an abject disconnect from economic reality.
Many on the right like the strawman that democrats don't support or like free markets, but that is a myth that doesn't survive the mildest of scrutiny. The vast majority of Democrats, myself included, believe in free markets. We just want them fairly regulated. don't take my word for it, just ask them.
Sanders might not have the best fleshed out plans, but they do detail his priorities, and many of them are very worthwhile goals.
As a realist, I know they will end up being swampy pits to drain, with reality being far more stubborn than human intent, ala closing Gitmo.
But they are a uva lot more likely to make our lives better than a "wall on the Mexican border".
The big problem I see with the GOP is its utter lack of ideas. It is intellectually bankrupt. "cut taxes" seems to sum up the entirety of their policy idea arsenal, after making sure gay people can't marry (rolls eyes).