Bernie Sanders Biography

On 26 May 2015, Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed Socialist Democrat, announced his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Sanders, a junior senator from Vermont, began his political career as an officer in the University of Chicago’s chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1981 he was elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont by a mere 10 votes. Sanders’ socialist views are not like those of Vladimir Putin or Raul Castro. For example, he believes in leveling the playing field when it comes to large companies paying their fair share of taxes, so that our government can pay a majority of the tuition for public colleges and universities. Since Sanders announced his intentions to run for president, he has lessened the gap between
He brings an active, bold voice in the area of economics, social issues, and he is not afraid to say what he believes. Possibly one of Sanders’ strongest qualities as a candidate is that his platform is extremely clear. Prominently on his platform is his plank on economics. Sanders’ is a major supporter of a higher minimum wage, which he calls “a living wage” (Sanders Introduces) in an address to low wage workers in July of 2015. The definition of a living wage, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a wage sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living.” Sanders’ believes that the opportunity
Vic Berardelli, a former Regional Director of the Republican Liberty Caucus, states in his article entitled, “Why Bernie Sanders won’t win the Democratic nomination,” that “Bernie Sanders cannot win the nomination” because, “Voters don’t know him.” Though Berardelli is correct, I would argue that there is plenty of time for Sanders to get his message out there and educate people on what he believes in. Additionally, if Sanders’ followers were to host grass root rallies to help support his campaign and motivate people to learn more about Sanders’ views, then the amount of time it would take for people to become aware of who Sanders is would be minimalized. Sally Kohn, a columnist at CNN, agrees in her CNN article titled, “Is America Bern-ing?” She writes that “Once Americans learn more about what Sanders brand of socialism looks like, they may like him even more.” This goes to show that Sanders has what it takes to get the nomination as long as he gets his message out to the