If you have paid even the slightest bit of attention to the upcoming presidential election, you’ve probably heard the name Bernie Sanders. Dubbed by the current president as “Crazy Bernie,” Sanders is well known for his progressive, if not a bit socialist, ideas and his large youth-led following. Whenever I mention to people that I’m planning on voting Bernie in 2020, I’m always asked the question of “why?” There are so many different reasons Bernie is on my radar, and not just because he was endorsed by Ariana Grande and Lizzo. Bernie has been endorsed by all kinds of people, from Danny Devito to Ilhan Omar. Despite his high polling numbers, many media outlets (ahem, CNN) think Bernie “can’t win” against Trump if pitted against him in a general election. But a recent surge of support for Bernie has a lot of us thinking otherwise. Bernie not only has some good ideas, but he’s also got a crazy amount of support. He has the highest number of small-donor contributions out of any other presidential candidate in history. That kind of support speaks for itself.
The outrageous amount of support that Bernie has garnered isn’t the only reason I found myself feeling the Bern. Bernie’s war cry these past few weeks has been “healthcare for all”- and we know he means it. His voting record shows that he has been pushing for affordable, universal healthcare since starting his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives way back in 1993. In fact, health care isn’t the only issue Bernie has been consistent with. On almost every issue he preaches, he has the voting record to back up his views. He also has the experience to back it up. In fact, he has been protesting against injustice for so long that he was actually arrested and fined in Chicago while protesting against segregation in public schools in 1963 – the same year he attended Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Bernie’s connection to the youth is also something that should be a voting factor. For a man of his age (78!), he has been able to connect to the newest generation of voters in ways that his competition just hasn’t. It might be because of his idea to cancel all student debt, or his plan to legalize weed, but it is also the fact that he is the most transparent candidate. To many of us new, first-time voters, we’ve seen politics become a mess of scandals, lawsuits, and most recently, an impeachment trial. What I, and many other young voters, like about Bernie is that he is – to the best of our knowledge – honest. We don’t see that in many politicians today. Bernie has admitted to making mistakes during his time in the Senate, and he has released his tax records willingly. Not only is he honest, but it is also just a fact that younger people really like Bernie. He has bands Bon Iver and Vampire Weekend headlining his Caucus Concerts in Iowa. What better way to connect to younger voters than through music?
Personally, I’m voting for Bernie because of his long history of being an activist, his transparency, and the sheer amount of support he gets from people my age. So, yeah, I’m voting for Bernie. So what?