Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders

Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is a United States senator from Vermont who mounted significant presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 on the Democratic ticket. Sanders identifies as a democratic socialist and has voiced support for the legacy of Eugene Debs. However, his presidential platforms in both races were closer to 20th-century European social democratic policy proposals, such as single-payer health care, subsidized college tuition, free child care, and paid parental leave. His 2020 campaign raised more money than any other Democrat in the field with an unprecedented number of small donations, averaging $27 each, a model which others have emulated since. In both runs, Sanders faced obstruction from the Democratic party political machine and collusion against him, and both times lost the nomination to establishment favorites: Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Bernie's positions have faced criticism from radical leftists, including his lack of opposition to the capitalist system (making him a non-socialist) and his distancing from international socialists like Nicolás Maduro. Other criticisms stem from broader disagreements about social democracy, especially from impossibilist and accelerationist positions. However, many American leftists and organizers recognize the importance of Bernie's efforts in drawing attention to progressive policy proposals like Medicare For All and reintroducing the word "socialism" to the American political lexicon. The significance of the movement which drove his campaign, and the failure of its efforts, merit analysis in order to understand the fortunes of the political left in America.

Life

Personal and Early Life

Bernie Sanders was born September 8, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. 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 to 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".

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

Sanders is criticized for having supported US imperialism in such instances as the bombing of Yugoslavia and the demonizing of Chávez as a “dead communist dictator”, 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.