As Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., rises in the polls, it is becoming more and more clear that he could be the Democratic Party’s candidate for the presidency. Conventional wisdom about Sen. Sanders says that if he were to reach a general election he would lose because he is too socialist, too far to the left and too radical to win. Additionally, conventional wisdom says that even if he did win a general election, he wouldn’t be able to break the gridlock in Congress. I’m here to tell you that conventional wisdom about Sen. Sanders is wrong.
After months of trailing Hillary Clinton and being overshadowed by her emails and the Republican Party’s reality TV show, the American people are starting to “Feel the Bern.” With Sen. Sanders currently smoking Clinton in the New Hampshire primary (by as much as 27 percent in some polls) and gaining ground in Iowa (only down by an average of 6.4 percent across polls) it can no longer be denied that Sen. Sanders has a feasible chance of becoming the Democratic Party's candidate for the presidency.
Clinton has been the outright favorite to reach the general election since the start of the campaign cycle, and most people didn’t even know who Sen. Sanders was six months ago. He was largely an unknown independent senator from Vermont, and not many people could have predicted the amount of traction he has gained and the huge growth of his supporters. By overcoming what some thought were insurmountable odds, he has positioned himself in a favorable position to knock off Clinton, much like Barack Obama did in 2008. However, despite the momentum he has achieved, there are many people across the political spectrum who still question Sen. Sanders’ viability as a candidate. But why is that?
The main criticisms of Sen. Sanders that come from within the Democratic Party are that he won’t be able to win a general election and he won’t be able to get anything done if he were to make it to the White House. These knocks stem from the fact that he is further to the
Sen. Sanders has a consistent voting record throughout his entire career; and even though he is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, he was elected to the Senate as an independent and is fighting against the billionaire class, Wall Street, establishment politics and many other positions that resonate with people. On average, polls show him beating Cruz, Trump, Bush and other Republican candidates by more than Clinton. Based on these polls, he could clearly win in a general election. Additionally, it would be hard-pressed for any candidate to realistically get anything done in Congress. No one person will be able to fix all of our problems, and it is unfair to hold Sen. Sanders to that standard. Obama hasn’t had much luck, especially since Republicans took over both houses of Congress, and Clinton is basically running as a third term of Obama. So what makes anybody think Clinton would be able to do any better than Sen. Sanders?
The main criticism of Sen. Sanders from the Republican Party comes from the fact that he identifies as a democratic socialist. The very word “socialism” seems to terrify a lot of people in America, especially in the Republican Party. This, I think, stems in part from the Cold War era where we were fighting the spread of communism and in an arms race against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Republicans wrote Sen. Sanders off a long time ago and haven’t taken him seriously until very recently. Now, however, as he rises in the polls, the Republicans are taking note. Donald Trump recently referred to him as a “commie” and a “maniac.” I can’t help but consider it very ironic that Trump would call Sen. Sanders a maniac. It takes one to know one I guess. Trump is exactly the kind of person who Sen. Sanders is trying to defeat, a billionaire. A showdown between them in a general election would be one for the ages.
Just as with any candidate, there are reasons not to vote for Sanders. However, the argument that he is too far to the left to win a general election or get anything done is not a valid claim. Like it or not, Sen. Sanders is here to stay, and he just might be able to pull off what President Obama did in 2008.
Thomas is a junior majoring in history and psychology. What do you think about Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign? Would you vote for him in a general election? Please send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
