Bernie Sanders will be the next president of the United States, according to Salon. The Vermont Senator will require the help of young people and working class people to achieve his ambitious plans, and he is likely to get it.
“It is my belief that Sen. Bernie Sanders will be the next president of the United States — a belief I’ve held since he first announced. Bernie is one of the most gifted politicians I have ever observed.”
This is the key to Bernie Sanders’ political revolution: Here’s how we beat GOP obstruction https://t.co/gVuETZl7ze pic.twitter.com/1poYuB90gI
— Salon (@Salon) February 21, 2016
Bernie Sanders has called on young people to turn out and vote following his loss in the Nevada caucus, 47 percent to Hillary Clinton’s 53 percent, as reported by the NY Times.
Bernie has said that he hoped more people would turn out to the Nevada caucus. The Vermont senator believes the low turnout contributed to his loss to Hillary Clinton, according to the Washington Post . About 80,000 people showed up for the state’s caucuses, a significant drop-off compared to 2008, when 117,600 people participated.
“We do not do well when the voter turnout is not large. We did not do as good a job as I had wanted to bring out a large turnout.”
Bernie has long said that he will not achieve his goals alone — he needs the support of the American people. The Sanders campaign is not only about putting Bernie in the White House, it’s about building a movement that will fuel change once the white-haired senator is president.
“What I’ve said over and over again, we will do well when young people, when working-class people come out.”
Bernie will also need support to get his ambitious reforms through congress.
“What this campaign is about is building a political movement, which revitalizes American democracy, which brings millions of people together. … [W]hen millions of working families stand together, demanding fundamental changes in our financial system, we have the power to bring about that change.”
Sanders can accomplish all he promises and more, if the extraordinary movement he has inspired continues to acquire steam. The New Yorker has just reported on Sanders’ success, marveling about how Bernie had so many things going against him but still managed to prevail.
“What Bernie Sanders is trying to accomplish is ludicrous. His age (seventy-four), political label (socialist), disposition (grumpy), and aesthetic (rumpled) make him the most improbable Presidential candidate of 2016 not named Trump.”
The Nevada loss could actually fuel a winning streak for Bernie now, according to statisticians. #FeeltheBern activists will not slacken — the Nevada loss has reminded them not to rest on their laurels after the New Hampshire win.
Salon notes that roadblocks have helped Bernie in surprising ways in the past.
For example, the media “Bernie Blackout” may actually have helped Sanders at the start of his campaign, because it allowed him to build his movement underground.
“[Bernie is] a person of great integrity and very clever. Many thought that calling himself a democratic socialist doomed his presidential candidacy, initially causing ‘the powers that be’ to dismiss him. It turned out to have been an asset because this lack of national attention from opinion-makers permitted Bernie to grow his movement below the radar.”
Salon also warns that Wall Street and the media establishment are likely to up their attacks on Bernie now that he is so close to success, particularly by by calling him “naiive” and “idealistic” and scoffing that he will not be able to get anything through congress.
The publication tells Bernie supporters that this is a trick, and they must not be discouraged.
“Bernie is now going to face an incredible assault by the Wall Street clique, which controls the American and global economies…These attacks on Bernie will attempt to marginalize him as a naive idealist, with an agenda he will be unable to get enacted in the next Congress.”
The attack are likely to come from a number of sources: “by the Democratic Party establishment, beholden to Wall Street money; by mainstream media, largely owned by six Wall Street corporations and defenders of the status quo; and by Hillary and Bill Clinton, who cater to Wall Street’s interests.”
#Bernie2016 Robert Reich: Bernie Sanders’ economic proposals would spur growth https://t.co/PSTxAJGUJg via Salon #FeelTheBern
— Raffi Cavoukian (@Raffi_RC) February 22, 2016
[AP Photo/Jae C. Hong]