Bernie Sanders
Senator Sanders is, contrary to popular belief, highly equipped to compromise and achieve policy
When I tell my friends that I am supporting Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, the majority of them are shocked. Having gained the reputation as an individual who is extremely rational and analytical in my decision making process, they do not understand how I could vote for a candidate that is so “extreme” in his positions. Many expected me to support the more “pragmatic” Hillary Clinton, or even a moderate Republican. The most common response that I have received in regard to my support for Sanders:
“He is too far left to actually get anything done.”
Yet, the main reason why I support the Senator is because I believe that he will actually accomplish the most out of any candidate in the field. This is because he will change our political system so that he, along with future politicians, will be able to achieve policy and compromise without having to worry about special interest groups and the influence of money.
The Bernie Sanders Campaign is centered around one key issue that subsequently impacts everything else: Campaign Finance Reform. For the ordinary American, this is an issue that is not as flashy and exciting as, say, obliterating ISIS. However, its potential impacts are immensely significant. In our current political system, nothing plays a larger role than money and special interests. What politicians do and say is directly impacted by who and where they receive money from. One of the reasons that Republican candidates continue to reject climate change as a scientific fact is that, if they did acknowledge it, they would no longer receive campaign donations from wealthy oil companies and the fossil fuel industry. Our campaign finance system is the reason why no comprehensive gun-control legislation has been passed in Congress in the past decade, and it is the reason why Wall Street continues to reap financial benefits, while the middle class simultaneously shrinks in size.
Until we decrease the role that money plays in our political process, politicians will never be able to work across the aisle because of the detrimental effects it would have on receiving finances from partisan special interests. This is why the best way to achieve compromise and enact policy is through campaign finance reform. People that claim Senator Sanders is too far to the left to get anything done miss the central purpose behind campaign finance reform. The goal: get rid of the enormous power of money in politics so that politicians can achieve meaningful and necessary policy without corporations and special interests breathing down their neck.
While Hillary Clinton may say that she is in favor of campaign finance reform, her ties to Wall Street and other corporations show that she is not nearly as committed to the issue as Senator Sanders is. Furthermore, she may talk the talk, but she most definitely does not walk the walk. With donations of $825,000 from Citigroup, $760,000 from Goldman Sachs, and $700,o00 from JPMorgan Chase, it is hard to trust Clinton when she says that she is the best suited candidate to rein in Wall Street.
The Bernie Sanders Campaign has taken immense pride in not accepting money from a single Super-PAC. Since the polls closed last night in New Hampshire, Sanders has received a whopping $6million in individual contributions. In my eyes, this is how the political process should work — individuals donate to the candidate they believe in, rather than elite corporations. This is why I donated $15 to the Sanders Campaign just last night.
At the end of the day, I will always vote for a Democrat. I have no animosity towards Hillary Clinton, and would gladly vote for her if she receives the nomination. The Democratic Party is undoubtedly on the right side of history on the issues of marriage equality, the right to an abortion, healthcare for all, prison reform, immigration and the refuge crisis, climate change, and gun control. With the next president having the opportunity to appoint multiple new Supreme Court Justices, it is extremely important that we elect a Democrat to the White House. However, when choosing between the two candidates, Bernie Sanders is not only the best choice — he is the right choice.
Over the past four days, I have had the opportunity to see both Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton speak in New Hampshire. When I listened to Clinton speak, I heard a powerful voice that insisted that she is the best candidate for the job. However, when I heard Sanders speak, I heard a man that yearned to prove that he is the best candidate for the job. When Bernie speaks, there is a quality of authenticity that Clinton simply lacks. I truly believe that Bernie Sanders is running his campaign for the good of the American people. His message is one of courage and strength — both of which we need in order to take on the Republican Party.
There is no denying that some of Bernie’s plans will be difficult to achieve. However, that does not mean they are bad proposals; they are simply ambitious. For me, that is a positive characteristic. It is about time that America offers healthcare as a right, and not a privilege. If a 21st Century college degree is equivalent to a high school degree in the ’60s (in terms of its role in helping people to get a job), then why shouldn’t we offer it to all Americans. Public high school has never been labeled as “communist.” The Political Revolution is not about overthrowing our government, or turning America into a completely different country. Rather, it is about making sure our voices are heard, standing up to the 1%, and creating a political system that works for everyone.
I may be only seventeen years old, but I feel I have a moral obligation to support Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election. Some candidates want to push our nation backwards, while other candidates are content staying where we are now. In my eyes, Bernie Sanders is the only candidate that will work tirelessly to make real change in America — change that will have a profound effect on not just the next four or eight years, but change that will forever alter our political system for the better.
