Bernie’s Revolution
After years of fiscal centrism, Bernie Sanders is refocusing Democrats on a platform of economic progressivism
Portsmouth, NH — “We need a country where people watch out for each other,” says one avid Sanders supporter, holding up a homemade “Feel the Bern” sign. Other supporters seem to agree that the real problems with are country are economic. They rave about his healthcare reform proposals, his education plan, and most of all, his campaign finance reform — but they are eerily silent on the issues that at one time dominated the Democratic Party.
I am talking about social liberalism. Ever since the rise of Clinton, the Democratic Party has been a bastion of fiscal centrism. On the other hand, it has embraced a decidedly liberal platform on social issues. Bernie Sanders represents a break from this trend. Don’t get me wrong, Bernie Sanders’ record of social liberalism is illustrious. He has favored legislation on full LGBT equality for years. He is vehemently pro-choice, and he has beefed up his support for gun control. But of the twenty or so people I talked to at his rally, only one cited a social issue as a main reason for their support. Only two even brought up social issues without direct questioning on the topic. The others talked about campaign finance, income inequality, healthcare, and education — in that order of frequency.
Bernie Sanders himself mirrored the focus of his audience. When he stepped up on a stage at 2:10 PM, with “Burn, Baby, Burn!” blaring in the background, he immediately identified the problem: “the corporate media, who decides what’s important,” “the big banks,” who plunged the nation into a recession, and “corporations,” who have come to drown out the voices of the middle class.
Sanders spoke for a little over an hour, and he spent almost all of his time elaborating on his plans regarding income inequality, campaign finance, healthcare, and education. By contrast, he relegated his positions on abortion and LGBT equality to two five minute segments. The first of these portions concluded in a “mission accomplished.” The second concluded with an assertion that it is now time to apply what we learned from those fights to the economic plight of the middle class.
It is clear that Sanders’ entire message is centered around empowering and elevating the middle class politically and economically in the face of mounting corporate greed. He characterized big banks and big corporations as the villains. The two stories he told centered around the Waltons and Goldman Sachs, and their mention drew the greatest boos of the afternoon.
His focus — and the focus of his supporters — is consistent with that of the broader American electorate. A recent gallup poll on the issues Americans find most important puts “government” and “the economy in general” at the top of the list. Meanwhile, social issues lie in the single digits. There is dissatisfaction with the government because many Americans feel they are being ignored by career politicians in favor of special interests. There is dissatisfaction with the economy because people in the middle class aren’t sharing in the income from relatively rapid growth and the well-paying jobs that many affluent Americans enjoy. As one Sanders supporter put it, “the middle class needs to share in economic advances.”
These are the voters that have enabled the rise of Bernie Sanders, and with him, the rise of his economically progressive agenda. These are also the voters who care less about social liberalism than they do about economic progressivism. They want a say in government and an opportunity to succeed. Social issues, on the other hand, seem passé to his audience.
A former Republican turned Sanders supporter said that Sanders is admirable because he “is empathetic to those needing a hand.” And a hand is just what the middle class needs.
