A rousing candidate
I’ve previously written about Bernie Sanders’s impressive track record of accomplishment as an executive, legislator, and policy advocate; his adeptness at defining the terms of the debate rather than letting the GOP do so; and his potential to spur on a vigorous progressive movement to counter America’s conservative movement. Still, we know it’s not enough for a candidate to have experience, competence, and potential. Sanders has yet another critical asset — the enthusiasm factor: Vermont’s junior senator is a rousing candidate.
Like Jesse Jackson (whom Sanders endorsed in 1988), Bernie demonstrates the passion to lead a rainbow progressive movement. Rev. Jackson had a lot of experience as an organizer, but had never served in political office, while Sanders has decades of experience — 4-term mayor, 8-term U.S. representative, 3-term U.S. senator — and so has a long, demonstrable record of political acumen and achievement. But the ability to connect with an audience, to articulate a vision that generates excitement, is itself a powerful thing, which Jackson proved by winning an unexpectedly large number of primary contests. Michael Dukakis won the nomination, but a rousing candidate he surely wasn’t. In the past few decades, we’ve seen more than a few experienced, highly competent Democratic presidential nominees lose their general election bids, and each of these politicians was more on the staid side than on the rousing side. Al Gore actually used to joke about his reputation for being unexciting: when the “Macarena” was a fad in ‘96, he demonstrated the “Al Gore version” by standing motionless and stony-faced. He showed he had a good sense of humor, but ultimately this isn’t a laughing matter. We should recognize the importance of candidates having the “X” factor — the ability to generate a lot of excitement.
Now, the ability to excite is of course not the ability to make everybody favor you. No candidate has that magic! Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were exciting politicians, but the ‘92 and ‘08 primary seasons were competitive. That’s the nice thing about Democratic primaries — we have more than one talented person to choose from! The point is that the ability to excite is a very important asset, something that surely helped both Clinton and Obama to win the general election against Republicans who had longer resumes and war hero laurels.
It’s clear that Bernie 2020 is generating excitement — from massive rallies, to massive numbers of volunteers, donors and donations, to many polls (cited below) indicating Sanders’s support is the most solid and enthusiastic of the top-tier Democratic candidates.
I’ve included below excerpts from and links to numerous short videos made by Sanders supporters. Listening to their stories helps to illustrate why Sanders’s support is so solid: Whether folks’ biggest concerns are health care or climate, housing or education, discrimination or militarism, the common thread is that supporters trust that Sanders is truly committed to addressing their concerns.
None of this is to say you should switch from your favorite candidate to mine! I’m not here to convert anyone. If Sanders isn’t your first choice but he does win the nomination, I hope my diaries will provide you many solid reasons to feel positive about Bernie’s potential to win the general election and to be a good leader for our nation.
Evidence of Sanders’s solid, enthusiastic support
[Sanders] keeps his locked-in, enthusiastic base of support — a clear advantage over the other leading candidates: 49% of his supporters say they’re extremely enthusiastic to caucus for him — 17 percentage points higher than the share for his closest rival, Warren.
And, in what pollster J. Ann Selzer calls his best number of the poll, 59% of his supporters say their mind is made up. Warren is once again next, at 48%.
“For real, he could win the caucuses,” Selzer said. “His supporters are more committed and more entrenched.” —Des Moines Register, ”Bernie Sanders rides enthusiasm to top showing in latest Iowa Poll”, Jan. 10
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Apart from recent gains in New Hampshire, Sanders' support is still best characterized by its steadiness and strength compared to other candidates who have seen more volatility. Nearly half (47%) of his New Hampshire voters say they've definitely made up their minds. By comparison, just 15% of Biden's backers in the state describe their choice that way.
In New Hampshire, 65% of Sanders' backers call themselves "enthusiastic" about supporting him ahead of all other candidates.
Sanders also leads the field on these two measures in Iowa. Forty-three percent have definitely made up their minds, and 67% feel enthusiastic in a state where enthusiasm can be an important motivator for voters to go out and caucus. —CBS, “Sanders start 2020 in strong position in Iowa and New Hampshire — CBS News Battleground Tracker,” Jan. 5
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"42% of likely [California] Democratic primary voters say they would be extremely enthusiastic if [Sanders] were the nominee, compared with 35% saying so for Biden, 34% for Warren and 23% for Buttigieg," [CNN] reported. —Common Dreams, “New California and National Polls Show Sanders Crushing 2020 Rivals Among Voters Under 45,” Dec. 11
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When asked if there’s a chance they could change their mind before the primary, a majority (55%) of [New Hampshire] Democratic primary voters indicate they are open to a different candidate, and 45% are set in their current choice. Sanders supporters are the most committed to their candidate, with 65% saying they will definitely vote for the Vermont Senator. Warren supporters follow, with 47% pledging their vote to her. Buttigieg is next with 40%, and Biden trails behind, with only 36% saying they are committed to him. —Emerson Polling, “New Hampshire 2020: Sanders jumps to lead, Buttigieg surges while Warren and Biden slip,” Nov. 27
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Sanders has the firmest and most enthusiastic base of support in New Hampshire.
Fifty-seven percent of Sanders’s backers say their mind is made up and they’ll definitely vote for him. The next closest is Biden at 43 percent, followed by Warren at 29 percent and Buttigieg at 24 percent.
And 44 percent of Sanders’s voters say they’re extremely excited to turn out for him on Election Day, a 23-point advantage over Warren, who is at 21 percent. Only 19 percent of Biden’s supporters described themselves as very excited and 12 percent of Buttigieg’s backers said the same —The Hill, “New Quinnipiac poll finds Biden leading in New Hampshire,” Nov. 11
Personal stories of supporters
“The fear of getting into debt over medical bills ultimately led to [my mother’s] decision to stop her treatment…. When people are sick, their sole focus should be on getting better.” —Laura
“I got a bill for about $350,000…. We didn’t do anything wrong except for have the audacity of getting sick in a country that prioritizes the needs of corporations over the needs of its citizens” —Stephanie in Florida
“A lot of times I wonder if [my fiance] would be alive if he had health care sooner....I know I’m not the only one with stories like this. I’m one of hundreds of thousands of Americans who’ve watched their loved ones suffer or lost people they care about because they couldn’t see a doctor or their medicine was too expensive. We’re one of the most powerful and richest nations in the world, and yet we can’t afford to provide health care for all?” —Gina in California
“I trust that Bernie Sanders is going to fight for health care and to lower prescription costs and to make sure that other families don’t have to go through what we went through, living paycheck to paycheck and worrying about healthcare — or the lack thereof — all the time.” —Missy in Illinois
“I was ‘lucky’ enough to be ‘fully covered’ by insurance. Therefore, my family only had to pay $50,000 out of pocket.” —Elizabeth in Arizona
“Just last month my son’s eczema prescription had to be changed three times just to get it under $400 at the pharmacy because we haven’t met our $3000 family deductible yet.” —Brittany in Illinois
“There’s a lot of other people like me with mental illness and we don’t have much time left. We need access to health care, consistent health care, as a right.... I shouldn’t have to decide between putting myself and my husband in debt and going to a hospital for 72 hours so I don’t hurt myself.” —Kate in Colorado
“The challenge has been not having a stable income. It’s been pretty stressful at times. This is why I sought therapy. But therapy doesn’t come cheap. I spend $135 per session. Bernie believes health care is a human right. ...I will be voting for Bernie in 2020, because I hope that as president, he will build a more fair and effective health care system for all Americans.” —Sam in Illinois
“I was diagnosed with a rare form of uterine cancer and I live in western Massachusetts which is the rural part of the state and was told by all the doctors here ‘You need to go to Brigham Women’s Hospital for treatment’ — in the Boston area — and I put in that request to my insurance company and I was turned down.” —Sonia in Massachusetts
“Please, if you can, help us get Bernie elected so that the lives of [my son] Will, here, and thousands and thousands of other kids across the country can be improved and they can have that dignity that they deserve.” —Duncan in Michigan
“Finally [my mother] did have to go to a nursing home even though she didn’t want to, even though the nursing home cost was 6 times what we were actually asking for the [home care] services that she needed.” —Angelica in California
“I struggle with depression, severe anxiety...I stayed at a job where it was emotionally abusive for longer than I should have. I was scared that I would lose my health care and my mental health care.” —Michael in California
“My father became unemployed and with the loss of his job he lost his health insurance. He became ill and he was scared to go the doctor for help because of financial reasons. Eventually he went to the E.R. and after that, he had so much medical debt, and on top of not being able to pay his rent...he attempted suicide. He survived, but shortly after, he didn’t refill his blood pressure medication and he died of a heart attack at age 52. I was 19 and a sophomore in college. On top of that tragedy my mother and I then had to figure out how I would pay for college.” —Carol in New York
“They stayed in that house for three days and nobody had power. So it got really cold. And [my mother-in-law] got really sick…. And she was just one person out of so many who were absolutely devastated by that storm — that superstorm — Hurricane Sandy — and that doesn’t even count the people who were hurt by Katrina and other superstorms, and we all know that a major part of those storms is climate change.” —Lindsey in Washington State
“Last year we had the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in California’s history — the Camp Fire — 85 people were killed and over 18,000 building were destroyed. My family and I are lucky in that we didn’t live close to the fire, but we were still affected by it. I remember going outside and thinking it was just a foggy day...but then I realized it was darker and terrible smelling — smoke. I worry about my family and my friends and my community when we breathe in this toxic smoke.” —Brian in California
“We were faced with the reality that we were only able to afford this tiny apartment...and still the cost of this rent is equivalent to half of my salary” —Pablo in New York
“I finished graduate school with $90,000 in student loan debt. That year I worked seven jobs and made $13,000. Today with accrued interest I have $150,000 of student loan debt. I support Bernie Sanders because he believes we have a right to equal access to a proper education without the burden of student loan debt and that we have a right to a living wage.” —Keli in California
“My son struggles with attention and organizing his thoughts. I became his IEP advocate, which is an Individualized Education Plan for students with special needs. I remember the class sizes getting larger and the resources becoming more scarce. It took me 17 years to pay down my student debt and I was unable to save to send my own son to college.” —Jenny in California
“I’m a special education teacher in a small rural school district…we’ve accepted contracts where we took a zero percent pay increase because our district didn’t have the money. We’ve asked working families and farmers to put the needs of our students before their struggling families and vote yet again to raise their property taxes. We’ve endured program cuts where students lost learning opportunities and some of our staff have lost their jobs. This is all because public education is inadequately and disproportionately funded in our country.” —Angie in Minnesota
“Just like [Bernie Sanders] I am the child of an immigrant. My family migrated from Puebla Mexico. I am now a citizen and a veteran of the United States Army. ...I served my country to make it a safe place, because this is where my family lives. ...We are a nation of immigrants. Bernie believes that we should make the U.S. a safe place for immigrants — not a place where we’re separating children from their families and caging them up.” —Nathali
“I’m a 17-year-old student...The true weight of my identity as a Muslim American student didn’t come weighing down on me until the 2016 election—from proposed Muslim bans and mosque surveillance programs to the mislabeling of an entire faith, I knew that my identity was going to be misconstrued to fit a conservative, hateful, Islamophobic agenda. And that’s why I’m supporting Bernie Sanders for president. Bernie realizes that our rich diversity is what makes America so great.” —Mariam
“Bernie Sanders was standing beside us and fighting alongside of us as an activist even before he was in the public service and at most times at his own peril, you know, because in the 1960’s, chaining yourself to a black woman and saying to get to her you’re gonna have to come through me — that’s dangerous — and so it told me a lot about this man as a man, as a humanitarian” —Tyrel
“There hasn’t been a single day of my nearly 30 year life where the United States hasn’t been actively or covertly engaged in war.” —Michael in Illinois
“I first...heard about [Bernie Sanders] when I was a ‘really hip’ teenager watching C-SPAN...when Bernie was on the House floor at the time speaking out against the invasion of Iraq. I thought that was really impressive. And so I wanted to know who this crazy guy was from Vermont, so I looked him up and continued, you know, following him throughout the years, throughout my military career in the Navy…really felt like he had our best interests in mind when frankly most of the people in D.C. don’t. ...I grew up in trailer parks and dried creek beds with dirt roads, and we didn’t have a lot and I think he understands that — we may not come from the same places but he definitely understands that and he stands up for us in D.C. So following his presidential run, I was inspired to run for office. I ran for State House out in East Tennessee.” —Eddie in Tennessee