Ah, Mr Bernard Sanders, the communist, misogynist, crude politician who only white people could vote for. Supposedly. While Sanders has never been too popular with the Hillary Clinton "Still With Her" crowd, he has managed to drum up an extremely high level of grassroots and young voter support, being seen as talking truth to the Democratic Establishment while not having the colossal levels of contradiction of Donald Trump's faux 'populism' - finally a politician who could see the strain that years of failed neo-liberal and conservative governance had put on poor and middle-class workers, and a credible, principled messaged to boot.
Sanders began as a fringe political figure, outside of Vermont state politics, Bernie wasn't a household name by any stretch of the imagination. All the while endorsing Socialism and attacks on Wall Street and tax-dodging corporations elevated the Vermont Senators message to the forefront of the US political limelight. His opponents however, have been using these stances as lines of attack, even as simple as using the term "Socialism" as a scare word in order to turn voters against Sanders, but with the vast increase of members to organisations like Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), these such attacks are proving ineffective as they are opening several new local and state-wide chapters, resulting in around 20,000 members, many inspired to join because of politicians like Sanders. A large increase in "New-Media" across Social Media platforms and YouTube, whether on the Left or Right, have been attracting large audiences of people who have become disgruntled with status-quo politics and are looking for real change, in either direction.
Bernie Sanders has been on a meteoric rise, raging against the establishment machine has now given Sanders the title of the most popular politician in the United States currently, so while there are people who dislike Sanders because he dared to campaign against Clinton and not fall in line, he is overwhelmingly popular among many demographics. Polls released show the amount of support of Sanders has garnered in a short amount of time.
The man who supposedly only appeals to white, old, male voters, has a 73% approval rating amongst African-Americans, kind of disproves the "Still With Her" groups talking points, doesn't it? Sanders also has a higher female approval rating than he does male and has has publicly supported women like Nina Turner and Tulsi Gabbard - disproving the "only appeals to males" viewpoint. The 62% approval rating among 18-34 year olds is also an important point, calling Sanders voters simply just old, couldn't be further from the truth, as young voters are making their feelings known about status-quo politics.
However, Sanders has made some decisions that have made some supporters begin to question their vote. The majority of progressives align themselves with the views of pro-peace, anti-war politicians, and Sanders signing the letter regarding the UN's "unfair treatment" of Israel, hasn't sat well with some, as Sanders base would rather he recognise Israel's actions for what they are, an Israeli occupation and Palestinian apartheid. Media has also suggested that Bernie is in favour of Trumps tough stance on North Korea and their nuclear capabilities, with the headline "Sanders: Trump on the right track with North Korea" which of course created disagreement with the Clinton loyalists, as they oppose anything and everything that comes out of Trump's mouth, and because of this, slam Sanders for 'agreeing' with the President. As writer Jamelle Bouie put it "oppose Trump even when you agree with him!" Essentially Jamelle is claiming that even when Trump does something the opposition considers to be correct, we should abandon all of our principles and disagree with him no matter what. Which is, simply.. absurd.
Sanders, for whatever faults we personally consider him to have, is an extremely rare type of politician, one who inspires people for the future and political revolution rather than simply voting for the party or team we agree with on major issues and preserving the status quo. He has stuck up for civil and worker rights for decades and has never wavered on what he and many others consider to be the correct pathway to a brighter future for America. As such, I consider myself a "BernieBro", you know, one of those whiney, "HE WOULD OF WON!" types, that is me in a nutshell.
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