Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s independent senator, attracted a crowd of over 2,500 in Iowa this Friday night, as part of his presidential campaign.
Sanders is hoping to win the Democratic party’s nomination . White House hopefuls he is competing against includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.
According to the Washington Post , this was the largest crowd drawn in Iowa by any White House hopeful. The crowd included many of Bernie Sanders’ fans from the neighboring state of Nebraska.
Sanders, by his own definition, is a democratic socialist. He condemns the “grotesque level” of income inequality prevailing in the nation. He also denounces the influence of the “billionaire class” on the politics of the country.
This Friday night, Bernie Sanders talked about important issues like making health care a national right. He also spoke in favor of guaranteeing sick leave and family time for workers.
Bernie also advocated raising the minimum hourly wage to $15 per hour and praised Pope Francis’ call for groundbreaking action to combat catastrophic climate change. So far, Bernie Sanders has been setting attendance records almost everywhere he goes.
Sanders’ campaign has great grassroots enthusiasm, yet the media gives longer airtime to other candidates. The ones on whom media focuses the most include Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump.
The issues Bernie talks about are seemingly the closest to the hearts of middle-class Americans. Sanders also pitched a need for policies strengthening the status of the American middle-class.
Bernie Sanders’ manifesto also included rolling out a massive program for federal jobs and free college for all.
On Saturday, Sanders said to reporters, “I think people want to see a change in the way we do economics, make our economic system work for working families and not just for billionaires.”
The Post reported that Sanders is an unlikely but real threat to Hillary Clinton. Burt Cohen, a former New Hampshire state senator, said, “He’s connecting in a way that Hillary Clinton is not.” Cohen added that Sanders was talking about the things that people want to hear about.
According to Cohen, Sanders is “different.” People no longer want to hear candidates with measured, calculated, and produced manifestos.
Sanders has acknowledged that as the campaign moves to larger states, money might become an issue. Advertising costs would be higher. Since he represents a state that is 95 percent white, there is also a strong need to connect with other racial demographics.
