Bernie Sanders Campaign Has Growing Support From Millennials!
Why are so many Millennials excited about a 73-year-old gray-haired man running for the Democratic presidential nomination? Bernie Sanders, if elected, would be our nation’s oldest elected president. However, many of his supporters could be his grand-kids.
Millennial voters will make up 36 percent of eligible voters in 2016. The number of Millennials who are eligible to vote is increasing by about four million every year. This increase makes the Millennial generation one of the largest voting blocks by generation. In 2016, there will be just as many Millennials eligible to vote as Baby Boomers.
So, why does senior citizen Bernie Sanders have such a passionate fan base among 18 to 35-year-olds?
1. They are covered up in student debt.
Bernie Sanders has been a leader in pushing for free tuition at public colleges and universities. Many millennials who are of college age are inundated with student loan debt. Many college students will be paying off this debt for the rest of their lives.
2. They are progressive on social issues.
Millennials have expressed their appreciation to Bernie Sanders’ straight-forward approach and his progressive stance on social issues. Millennials adore Bernie Sanders track record over the years of working to help the everyday workers and people of America.
3. They hate the money in politics.
Millennials overwhelmingly support Sanders stance on making elections publicly funded and overturning Citizens United.
4. They hate Big Banks.
Millennials who made up a huge segment of the Occupy Movement are with Bernie Sanders on breaking up the vast banking monopoly in America today.
5. They have finely tuned bullsh*t detectors.
Also, the young voters in America feel that Bernie Sanders is honest and that he can’t be bought. His honesty and integrity is easy to see and they like that about him.
6. Bernie’s record is in line with his message.
Bernie Sanders is no newcomer to the political discourse in this country. Millennials are a smart voting base and are aware that Bernie Sanders has been fighting for the voiceless in this country for a long time.
He fought for racial equality in the 1960s. Bernie Sanders led a sit-in at the University of Chicago for dorm desegregation, for example, and marched with Rev. Martin Luther King.
Bernie Sanders came out in favor of Same Sex Marriage in the 1970s.
Bernie’s big jump from activist to politician came in 1981 when he was voted mayor of Burlington, Vermont — the time most Millennials were born in America. Bernie Sanders has been in Congress since 1991.
- He has been up front with leadership on the raising of the minimum wage.
- …and on exploring new alternative energy for this country.
- He has been outspoken in his support for the legalization of marijuana.
- He has been a champion of civil rights over the years.
- He has been a leader on the issue of climate change.
- No one has been more outspoken about the dangers of the growing wealth inequality in America than Bernie Sanders.
But Can He Win?
There is a big question looming over the political sphere today. No matter how famous Bernie Sanders has become can he overcome the corporate media bias and rank and file Democrat support for Hillary Clinton?
As Liberal America reported earlier this year, Bernie Sanders is confident he can overcome the Hillary Clinton bias. And, with his growing support from the Millennials, Bernie Sanders has good reason to be confident. Moreover, the polls and the huge crowds Bernie is drawing is only an accurate and practical verification of his confidence.
Back in March, polls recorded that Hillary Clinton would receive 64 percent of the Democratic vote with Bernie Sanders getting only about 4.9 percent of the vote. When you fast-forward to September, Bernie Sanders support rose to 24 percent while Hillary Clinton’s support dropped to just 42 percent.
What we do know is that not everyone votes in a primary; it’s the passionate voter who votes in the primaries. There is no denying that Bernie Sanders supporters — including the Millennials — are full of passion.
Over 100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders rallies, and we are still over a year away from election day. Those numbers are “Rock Star” numbers. Even with this growing popularity, Bernie Sanders is not a household name like Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump.
But what is winning over the American people and this new all-important voting block, the Millennials? Bernie Sanders’ integrity, honesty, and track record.
Bernie Sanders may be a senior citizen, but his views are shared overwhelmingly by Millennials. Frankly, these polls and crowds show clearly that age has nothing to do with Bernie Sanders’ surge. The polls show him leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire. The fact that Sanders is a very principled man and where he stands on the issues is what excites not only Progressive Democrats but the new chief Millennial Voters as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5rYbRJ55xs
Featured image by Phil Roeder via Flickr under a Creative Commons Attribution Generic License.
