Thank you, Bernie Sanders
On a crisp, sunny day in October 2019, I took the train into the city to attend a rally for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. I was struck by the palpable sense of hope that permeated through the crowd, hope that the diverse coalition Sanders had built could defeat Donald Trump in 2020. Convinced of the power of Sanders’ message, I purchased his merchandise, began to volunteer for his campaign and spoke to anyone who would listen about the virtue of his policies. I was thrilled to vote for Bernie Sanders in my state’s primary election.
So, to say I was devastated by his dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination would be an understatement. Bernie inspired me and millions of others who feel disappointed in the out-of-touch Democratic establishment. There is a widespread sentiment among Sanders supporters that Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is representative of a disconnected political elite which lacks the will to enact the lasting and radical change needed to improve the standard of living in this country.
Sanders was the best-equipped of any of the potential Democratic nominees to deal with the threat of Trump’s right-wing rhetoric. His slogan, “Not Me, Us,” encompassed the compassion and empathy that was the root of his campaign. Sanders’ comprehensive policy plans to tackle the most pressing issues of the current age, including dismantling cruel immigrant detention centers and ensuring climate justice for all, were the direct antithesis of the ignorance and divisiveness that the Trump administration espouses. For me, Sanders’ brand of democratic socialism seems to be the only remedy to the hapless destruction caused by Trump.
Sanders has been a champion for marginalized communities throughout his entire political career. In 1960s Chicago, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Sanders literally chained himself to a group of other activists in order to block the city from installing temporary trailers for black students, a practice that reinforced the inequality in education received by black and white children. As a U.S. senator from Vermont, Sanders has championed legislation to reform campaign finance laws, expand reproductive rights and increase the federal minimum wage. He has been a leader in the fight for a universal, single-payer healthcare system in the U.S. and even voted against the infamous Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which denied federal legal benefits to same-sex couples. More recently, he has vehemently criticized the Trump administration and voted to convict and remove the president from office.
Bernie Sanders has always fought for us. But when it was time for us to fight for him, we dropped the ball.
After Sanders won the earliest Democratic primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, a wave of other candidates dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden for the nomination. Biden’s moderate policies and the Democratic National Committee’s calls for party constituents to unite behind the most “electable” nominee in order to ensure the defeat of Donald Trump resulted in a resounding win for Biden on Super Tuesday. By the time Sanders chose to drop out of the race, Biden had clearly received the majority of the delegates awarded so far.
I recognize that I will have to hold my nose and vote for Biden in November. However, I will not do it enthusiastically. It’s hard to be excited to “vote blue, no matter who” when the Democratic candidate has a record of racism and sexual assault allegations lodged against him. Trump and Biden are different sides of the same coin, and I worry that this will cause many people to refrain from voting at all.
Though the Democratic Party turned its back on Sanders, there are young, progressive politicians who will continue to advocate for his policies. Congressional representatives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Mich., are currently fighting against the Trump administration and the moderate Democrats’ stranglehold on the party. Additionally, young people overwhelmingly support Sanders’ policies of democratic socialism, so I have to believe that his legacy will echo through the next generation of policymakers.
While he will not be our next president, I am truly thankful to Bernie Sanders for paving the way for a progressive movement that will hopefully empower ordinary Americans to fight for equality and justice in all aspects of our society.
Antonia Moffa is a freshman at Hofstra majoring in political science and global studies. She serves as an Assistant Copy Chief for The Chronicle and is from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
