Bernie Sanders

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Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is a U.S Senator from the state of Vermont who is a self-titled "democratic socialist", though he is actually a social democrat. He gained widespread popular support throughout the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primary elections, but was locked out of power by the corruption of party elites.

His policies and attitude have been criticized as only seeking to reform capitalism instead of pushing for class struggle and the overthrow of the bourgeois order, with his extensive social welfare plans only extending the life of capitalism, but he has been praised on the other hand for shifting the Overton window in what is considered to be a society in which capitalism is very firmly entrenched.

Life

Personal and Early Life

Bernie Sanders was born September 8th, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He is of Jewish-Polish descent. Sanders' family was not exceptionally wealthy when he was growing up.

He graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor's degree in political science.

While a student as the University of Chicago, he participated in the civil rights movement. He even participated in the March on Washington. However, his actual level of participation has been disputed.

Political Career

He was a member of the Liberty Union Party, which currently supports non-violent revolutionary socialism. The party has since denounced him as a warmonger and an imperialist lackey. They consider him a corporate sell-out.

He was mayor of Burlington, Vermont. As mayor, he formed a sister-city cultural exchange program with Yaroslavl, in an attempt to promote good-will between the USSR and the United States. He and his wife also honeymooned in the USSR, as well. Sanders also visited Nicaragua in 1985 to observe and learn from president Daniel Ortega. After this, in reference to the Sandinista movement, Sanders' supporters were known as Sanderistas.

Currently, he is a Senator for the state of Vermont, but prior to that he was a congressional representative.

2016 & 2020 U.S Presidential Elections

In both elections, the Senator enjoyed widespread support from the workers, young people, and people of color. In both elections the undemocratic and unfair practices of the primary locked him out of the nomination. It is projected that had he run against Trump he would have won a resounding victory, largely owing to his appeal to workers in swing states.

Politics

Political Views

Bernie Sanders was in the Democratic Party from 2015-2016 and 2019-2020, when he was seeking election, however otherwise has been an independent from 1978. Throughout both presidential elections, he was insistent that he would not be mistaken for a communist. At one point, Sanders even called such claims a "cheap shot".[2]

In his youth he supported the nationalization of major industries, including energy, banks, telephone, electric, and pharmaceutical.[3] He also, at one point, called for the democratization of the internet service.

Sanders is criticized for having supported US imperialism in such instances as the bombing of Yugoslavia[4] and the demonizing of Chávez as a “dead communist dictator”,[5] however some say that this was only something he accepted in order to get other favorable things passed that were included in the package he voted for, such as further environmental and educational funding.

References

    • Horowitz, Jason (July 24, 2015). "Bernie Sanders's '100% Brooklyn' Roots Are as Unshakable as His Accent". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    • "Bernie Sanders". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    • "Bernie Sanders Biography". Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
    • "Sanders, Bernard (1941 – )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives' Office of History and Preservation and the Office of the Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  1. Sanders: 'Cheap shot' for Bloomberg to attack 'democratic socialism' as 'communism'
  2. Before he was a Democratic Socialist, Bernie Sanders pushed for nationalizing major industries in the 1970s
  3. Bernie Sanders’ Troubling History of Supporting U.S. Military Violence Abroad
  4. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders: Hugo Chávez is Just a Dead Communist Dictator - See more at: https://web.archive.org/web/20160308203709/https://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-senator-bernie-sanders-hugo-chavez-is-just-a-dead-communist-dictator/5512498#sthash.UIGtx87Z.dpuf