Politics

Bernie Sanders Is Running—and America Just Might Be Ready to Elect a Democratic Socialist

When Bernie Sanders launched his bid for the presidency in 2015, he was dismissed by political and media elites as an outsider with radical ideas that would prevent him from being taken seriously by Democratic primary and caucus voters.

Now, as Sanders mounts his second bid for the presidency, the same political and media aristocrats speculate about whether Sanders will have a hard time distinguishing himself in a field of candidates who echo his stances on issues ranging from Medicare for All to wage hikes to tuition-free college and implementing a Green New Deal.

Sanders won the ideas primary four years ago, an accomplishment he nodded to in his announcement on Tuesday of his 2020 bid: “Three years ago, during our 2016 campaign, when we brought forth our progressive agenda we were told that our ideas were ‘radical,’ and ‘extreme.’ We were told that Medicare for All, a $15 an hour minimum wage, free tuition at public colleges and universities, aggressively combating climate change, demanding that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes, were all concepts that the American people would never accept. Well, three years have come and gone. And, as result of millions of Americans standing up and fighting back, all of these policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans.”