Bernin’ Up: The Sanders Conquest is Real, and Only Beginning

Creative Commons: Photo by Phil Roeder/www.flickr.com

In the 24 hours after his stalemate with Hillary Clinton in Iowa’s caucus for the Democratic nomination (technically a loss, with a few honest-to-god coin flips at play), Bernie Sanders has shattered his old fundraising records and raised $3 million (1), with almost half coming from first-time donors (10). To show how earthshaking this amount is, know that Bernie raised $20 million in the month of January, a figure that broke records itself. USA Today described it as “an enormous haul”, with Bernie’s campaign manager Jeff Weaver saying they’re on track to eclipse Hillary’s goal of raising $50 million during the first 3 months of 2016 (2). Quick math shows that Bernie’s post-Iowa fundraising pace would have him raking in an astonishing $90 million in one month, though I doubt he’ll keep fundraising THAT fast. Still, this shows a man now raising sums of money so gargantuan that it must (internally) panic all his billionaire-backed competitors. Bernie is crushing the SuperPACs at their own game, with almost all his contributions coming from small donors, i.e. regular people. His average donation is $27, meaning his donors are likely well under the $2700 spending limit (so they can donate repeatedly) (2).

I bother to write this because of an undeniable fact, one that is happening right before our eyes: Bernie Sanders is firing up so many Americans and causing them to give a damn about their government, that there is a full reshaping of US politics. Love him or ridicule him, these shocking figures, along with his polling surges, prove that. Watching it unfold is fascinating; exhilarating for Bernie supporters, and probably pretty scary for his opponents. Anti-establishment anger is loud in both parties, but Bernie’s fundraising totals are so far ahead of any previous record that he now wields enormous power. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll still be in Congress, likely the most powerful member of them all (his top approval rating of 83% in the Senate doesn’t hurt) (4).

You still don’t think Bernie’s that powerful? He’s already broken the Democratic National Committee’s (the DNC) resolve to help Hillary, as they agreed to his demands for more than a measly six debates in the whole race (2008 saw 26 debates) (5). DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz refused to increase the number for months, threatening to ban any candidate from the six official debates if they participated in others. A cunning woman who held onto her job despite Democrats’ poor results in the 2014 midterms, Debbie doesn’t back down easily. In a stunning turn, Debbie recently relented, and is letting Bernie dictate the terms of future debates. This comes when huge numbers of people viewed Debbie as rigging the election in Clinton’s favour (it doesn’t help that Debbie chaired Hillary’s 2008 campaign). By exposing the DNC’s bias, Bernie unleashed the anger of so many people that Debbie had no other choice. It doesn’t end there, though. Debbie herself is now facing her first-ever challenger in her seat this coming November (8). It’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds.

Big money is very powerful, but in sufficiently massive numbers people can take back the power. It appears Bernie has reached that tipping point, as he steamrolls prominent politicians. From being a near-unknown just a year ago to matching the most powerful American dynasty in the polls, Bernie’s power is on overdrive. His herculean stamina and grit in the campaign magnify his edge, with Politico quoting Bernie as averaging nearly twice as many daily events as Hillary in Iowa so far (9).

Why is this happening? This election cycle, voters want huge change, and they hate America’s powerbrokers more than ever. They desperately want to knock the elite down a peg, and having an authentic, quirky underdog on hand to do it is very appealing (Donald Trump may be many things, but an underdog he isn’t). You can see this in Hillary’s “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” style, laying out lists of Bernie-esque proposals, and more recently shouting to audiences her burning desire to wrench back the economic scales of justice (6).

Bernie excels here, rattling off American woes that other developed countries solved some time ago (no full universal healthcare; no fixes for massive student debt; no restoring Glass-Steagall- which reined in powerful banks and was repealed by President Clinton before the Great Recession; incarceration rates that surpass China’s; mothers without paid leave who must return to work soon after giving birth; crumbling infrastructure that halts economic growth; no minimum wage increases while the rich get new tax cuts, etc. etc. etc.).

His speeches are full of statistics and figures laying out exactly how grave America’s problems have become, and how a Congress (and maybe also President) haven’t tried bold enough things to fix them.

We Canadians have universal healthcare, 52 weeks paid parental leave (Bernie’s 12-week proposal is pretty timid), higher minimum wages, much lower incarceration rates, and a lower GINI coefficient (which measures income inequality). We have our share of issues, but on the basic ideas of economic fairness and equality of opportunity for all, we agreed decades ago to tackle these issues and move on.

I know people say Bernie has his idealistic head in the clouds, but Canada proves that you CAN enact these policies and make them work for decades. These policies work because our government is not as corrupted by the megarich; we can give everyone better qualities of life while maintaining solid economies and smaller debt levels. It IS possible, as we and dozens of other countries prove every day.

Bernie talks of a “political revolution” in the US as the way to elect him and make real change. Of course he’d have to deal with Congress, though the massive levels of voter enthusiasm he now has (and Iowan proof that he is competitive) might be just enough to flush out enough obstinate members of Congress who love corporate cash. Banning corporations from pouring money into elections is the first step that must be taken before tackling the list of issues Bernie has his sights on. Otherwise, he’ll never face a cooperative Congress. There is some hope, as Bernie has led a ruthlessly effective political career. Don’t take my word for it, read this Hill article: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/264665-sanders-is-more-than-a-rebel.

Hillary brands herself as the “progressive who can get things done”. If she had huge enthusiasm from political newbies who could take back Congress for her, I’d agree. Also, how productive can you be if you have opponents who regularly call you a “criminal”? Hillary’s positions in this campaign do look superb, and if I believed she was consistent and would fight hard for them once elected, I could be a full-on Clinton supporter. Unfortunately, big money that she keeps receiving from names like George Soros makes me unsure (7).

The gripping soap opera that US politics has become looks set to get even more enthralling, and with Bernie likely to win New Hampshire’s primary next week, his current fundraising bonanza might pale compared to what’s next.

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