It’s Time to Hop on the Bernie Train

Let’s face it, there is only one candidate in the Democratic presidential primary that can collect a majority of the delegates by the convention and that is Senator Bernie Sanders. The party establishment is in full panic mode and is relying on a strong showing this evening, Super Tuesday, from anyone who is not the self-described democratic socialist. Sanders has a chance to run away with the nomination after tonight when about ⅓ of the delegates will be allocated. 

So far, he has won the most votes in the first two states by close margins over Mayor Pete, who just dropped out of the race after showing no ability to assemble a national coalition or support from people of color. Bernie then won in a landslide in Nevada by carrying every demographic, and was one of two candidates to collect delegates in South Carolina.

While it is true that Joe Biden had a very strong showing in South Carolina, we must remember that this was his “firewall” and put all his eggs in that one basket in order to keep his campaign alive. The New York Times recently reported that Biden had not campaigned in a Super Tuesday state in over a month, has little, if any campaign infrastructure in the fourteen states, and has only announced a six-figure ad buy. Compare that to the Sanders campaign, which has a bustling grassroots effort across the country, most notably in delegate-rich states like California and Texas where he leads the polls and has raked in over $46 million in February alone. Another pause for concern for the Biden camp is of course the unprecedented spending of over half a billion dollars in advertisements from the well-oiled Bloomberg machine. 

If the number one issue for Democrats this cycle is beating Donald Trump, it is imperative for the party to unify around one candidate, and quickly. The remaining Democratic opponents to Sanders are hoping for a contested convention in order to realign their statewide delegates on the second ballot and utilize superdelegates to secure the nomination. This would spell ultimate disaster for the general election against Trump by causing unnecessary chaos and division within the party.

Right now, we need the candidate that has proven themselves to have the most energized, passionate, and diverse base in the race to take on a faux populist like Trump. 2020 will be the most racially diverse electorate in history, with ⅓ of votes coming from people of color. Although Biden showed true strength among the older, Southern Black vote, it is also true that Sanders won among Black voters under the age of 30 in South Carolina and leads nationally with Latinx and Black voters. It is important to acknowledge that Democratic voters in South Carolina make up the 46th most representative state of the Democratic party, while Nevada, where Sanders won by a wide margin, is the 5th most representative. 

We must also consider other facts on electability. Sanders is the best positioned, according to polls, to beat Trump in critical states that Clinton lost in 2016 such as, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. It is also the case that Sanders has the overwhelming support from younger voters (18-23 years old), which has more than doubled in size from 4% of the electorate in 2016, to 10% in 2020. Not only does Sanders have strong support in the Rust Belt, his overwhelming support from Latinos, young people, and white non-college educated voters, gives the Senator viability in the Southwest states of Arizona and Texas. What’s more, for the first time ever in American history, there are fewer registered Republicans than there are registered independents. Bernie Sanders leads among independents against his Democratic opponents and President Trump. 

And for those that question the Senator’s ability to “get things done” or reach across the aisle, let us remember that during his time in the House, Bernie Sanders passed more roll call amendments in a Republican Congress than any other member, which led to Rolling Stone dubbing him the “amendment king” in 2005. Let us not forget the 2014 Veterans Affairs Bill co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders and John McCain that expanded veterans’ access to healthcare, or his ability to shift the entire overton window on national policies like healthcare as a human right, $15 minimum wage, Social Security expansion, and a Green New Deal.

People have been hungry for change for a long time. Obama ran on hope and change that did not ultimately pan out. Trump was elected because the neoliberal “status quo” has led to extreme wealth inequality, exacerbated climate change, and put healthcare and Social Security on the chopping block. He was the wild card that was supposed to buck the establishment and bring new economic opportunities for those left behind by free-market capitalism. Instead, Trump became the third president in history to be impeached, gave a tax break to his family and wealthiest friends, started a disastrous trade-war predominantly affecting middle America, divided Americans by the color of their skin, their religion and where they were born, and has left us unprepared for an impending pandemic that has caused the worst stock market drop since the 2008 financial crisis.

What better way to take on Trump than by unifying around a candidate with a multigenerational, multiracial working-class coalition that has created a national movement based on the principles of social and economic justice for all? Bernie Sanders not only represents a path forward for real substantive change to the way politics and the economy have been run for the past 40 years, but has the best chance of winning the White House, while saving the Democratic party by realigning the working-class and bringing in the entire next generation of Americans.