I find that there are two questions commonly aimed at the Bernie Sanders campaign: 1) Do you really think he’ll win? and 2) Would electing him actually accomplish anything?
To answer the first question, Yes. Yes, he can win. His stance on most major issues is practically a mirror image of what most Americans believe. He’s raised millions of dollars from small donations that come from everyday people and has an incredibly pervasive presence on social media, which shows an enormous amount of support rooted in regular voters. He’s trailing Hilary just a little in the polls, but his level of support has consistently been climbing forward and I predict will continue to spiral even higher as more and more people learn about what he stands for. So of course he can win. [As of now, Sanders and Hilary are too close to call at the Iowa Caucus, stay tuned… Whether Sanders beats Hilary by a hair or loses by a hair, this is the most powerful piece of evidence supporting his electability yet]
The second question, though, is much more difficult to answer. People point to the mostly Republican Congress we have now and (rightly) ask, “Could Bernie actually get anything done with these people?” To which I say: The next President will have the power to do things like issue executive orders, so having who we really want in the White House is still important. Besides, Hilary is not likely to have any more success with the present Congress than Sanders, so who needs her?
Besides, Sanders would handle Congress differently than Obama. I think Sanders would call for people to take a more participatory role in government, by asking them to call their senators and asking them to vote yes or no on relevant pieces of legislation, addressing the people and explaining why it was important.
No stopping Train Sanders.
Soon I’ll do a follow-up about the reasons I’m voting for Sanders.
