I first read about Bernie Sanders in In These Times (which was then an avowedly socialist publication) in1981. They hailed the narrow election of a socialist mayor of Burlington, VT. In a year when Reagan and his supporters were fundamentally altering our national political dynamic (and a year when Tweety could’ve analogized many Dems to the French army in 1940), I paid it little mind. In the context of that awful year, a mayoral election in a city that I probably couldn’t have found on a map at the time seemed to be of little moment.
During a generally bad political decade, I would occasionally read about accomplishments that Bernie was achieving as mayor. I vaguely recall an unsuccessful run for VT-Gov in 1986. I heard that he was running for VT’s open at large House in 1988. In that pre-internet political Pleistocene Age, I was surprised to read a Wall Street Journal article the Friday before election day that stated that he was locked in a tight 3-way race. I obtained an address for his campaign office and mailed in a contribution. He ended up losing by less than 4%.
He came back in 1990 and routed the GOP incumbent. On the same night, Paul Wellstone pulled off an epic upset over 2-term GOP incumbent Rudy Boschwitz in MN-Sen. In These Times put Wellstone and Sanders on its cover with the headline: “FINALLY, Something to Cheer About.” It briefly offered hope for a different approach after a decade dominated by the political ethos of an aging former “B” movie star.
After coasting to re-election in 1992, Sanders barely survived the GOP tide of 1994. I recall finding out about it in USA Today on Thursday morning after the election. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that, in Newt’s New House, Bernie would still be there.
After that near-death experience, Sanders was never again seriously challenged in 5 straight House races. He won his last 2 in 2002 and 2004 with 64% and 76% of the vote. After his last re-election, I was surprised to receive a fund-raising appeal for his planned US Senate race for 2006. I assumed that, having established a safe seat, he would serve as the House’s token socialist until retirement. Instead, with James Jeffords retiring, Bernie decided to risk a Senate run at age 65. He ended up winning with 65% of the vote.
After getting re-elected by an even more massive landslide in 2012, he announced for president in the spring of 2015. The MSM treated his announcement with a mixture of scorn and disinterest. The very idea of a fringe candidate from the Land of Ben & Jerry’s challenging a First Lady/senator/SoS who had millions at her disposal and the party establishment firmly behind her was utterly dismissed. I had serious doubts—I figured that Martin O’Malley was a much more serious potential challenger.
There’s not much point in recounting how Bernie surprised me and most everyone else with a serious presidential run in 2016. He ended up winning 23 states or territories. He energized young people and brought the likes of AOC into politics. He altered the dynamic of our national political debate—pushing issues like Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and climate change into the forefront.
We all know how his 2020 presidential run has gone to date. We also know that, even after his smashing triumph in NV, many in the punditariat and in the party still dismiss his presidential prospects. While they are entitled to their opinions, they might ask how and why a self-described socialist who spent the 1970’s as a fringe 3d party candidate in a fringe state has risen to become the 2020 Dem front-runner. Since first getting elected mayor in 1981, Bernie Sanders has run for mayor 3 times, for governor once, for House 9 times, for Senate 3 times, and for president twice. He has attained the office for which he was running 14 out of 17 times, and, in 2 of his unsuccessful runs (House ‘88 and president ‘16), he ran better than was expected.
Bernie Sanders clearly knows how to win elections. He has significantly out-raised any other 2020 Dem candidate while eschewing high-$ fund-raising events. His crowd sizes and level of enthusiasm are the envy of other campaigns. His campaign has a national framework. He has won the popular vote in all 3 contests to date, and his polling numbers for upcoming contests look good.
Go ahead—revive McGovern’s ghost. Deride Bernie Sanders as an out of touch and out of the mainstream socialist whose nomination would doom us to another 4 years of the Cheeto Benito. Given his track record, however, you are doing so at your peril.
EDIT: I wish that OPOL were still alive to witness this Sanders campaign.