There doesn't seem to be a week that goes by in the political scene that Bernie Sanders isn't calling for a "political revolution," albeit more in the style of voter turnout and rising up against establishment politics than storming the Bastille and seizing the means of production.
Some political spectators have deigned to continue to pooh-poohing Sanders' insurgent campaign and rabble-rousing style of stumping on the trail, but with only a little over a week (as of this writing) until the Iowa caucus, Sanders has clawed his way closer and closer to changing the entire Democratic narrative. But what is the source of his appeal to Millennials like myself? Why is it that Bernie has lit a passion in the youth electorate that Hillary Clinton has failed to replicate?
Well a lot of why Sanders' style populism appeals to the youth isn't just about "free stuff," as much as many college-aged Americans want, among other things such as single-payer health care, the option to attend an institution of higher education funded by the public at large, Bernie has comprehensive policies on all aspects of American domestic life (even if he's lacking in progressive views on foreign policy, he's far less hawkish than his rival Secretary Clinton).
Bernie has committed his entire career to Fighting the Good Fight against the moneyed interests that are in control of American legislation. Consistently he's spoken out in favor of democracy as opposed to the growing tide of neoliberal oligarchy in the United States. More and more wealth is being distributed upwards instead of among the middle and working classes. This isn't a radical opinion, it's scientifically proven reality. And Bernie, at least to us young people, seems to the only guy who gives a damn about people of all colors, genders, and socioeconomic statuses. He's even amassed considerable celebrity support in the forms of Dr. Cornel West and Killer Mike. He's no Lenin or Assata Shakur, but his authenticity is undeniable.
It's honestly not really a mystery why so many young progressives have become enamored with the loud, angry Jewish senator from Vermont. He's not only managed to inspire hope and righteous fury in independents long felt disenfranchised by the political process, but he's (at least for some folks, my own skepticism remains in place) reignited a visionary path towards a better tomorrow. The idea of the American Dream is believed to be dead; although equality of opportunity and the inalienable right to pursue whatever path we felt is something ingrained in Framers' intent, it is doubtful that post-modern America represents anything close to what they laid in place.
Secretary Clinton unfortunately, failed to appeal to the optimism to the Democratic base, choosing rather to focus on a more cynical view of the continuing rightward shift of American politics. If she wants to cinch this nomination, then she will need to find a less opportunistic outlook that mirrors, but doesn't copy, Mr. Sanders.
