I had the good fortune of traveling to Iowa last weekend in the lead-up to the caucus and worked as a volunteer for Bernie Sanders’ campaign. The first thing that struck me about Iowa was its immense natural beauty – open and expansive with forested hills and wide open plains.
We were stationed in Fort Madison, a quiet town with cozy cafes and picturesque neighborhoods that overlooked the Mississippi River. We moved between Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Burlington, all of which were small, rural towns in Lee County where we were just as likely to run into corn fields as human beings.
What was more striking than the gorgeous landscapes, however, was the immense grassroots support we encountered across rural Iowa. We encountered old and young people, women and men, who were excited about the upcoming caucus and only too eager to express their enthusiasm for the Vermont senator’s presidential bid.
We stayed at a Super 8 Motel on the campaign’s dime, and it quickly became a fortress of Sanders volunteers from across the United States.
People came from Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Illinois and many other states. In that area, we became known as the “Texans” and provoked looks of awe after telling everyone we drove eighteen hours to canvas in Iowa. We talked and laughed with other volunteers every morning over a modest breakfast of hot coffee and bread with sweet jam.
The hours passed by quickly, despite the freezing cold (which, I admit, I love), and we knocked on hundreds of doors – some friendly, others not so friendly, and still others not home or moved or Republicans. Between doors, we refueled in the car on trail mix and energy bars.
I realized early on that I had done a poor job of packing my bag: I had no change of clothes and no soap, so by the end of the trip, I was sweaty and sleep-deprived.
A few months ago, few people could have imagined that the white-haired Brooklyn-accented senator from Vermont would inspire a legion of people to descend on Iowa eager to volunteer, nor that he could become the effective representative of progressives everywhere.
The race for the Democratic Party nomination between Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, however, has exposed a fundamental rift in American progressivism.
The decision between Sanders and Clinton is not only a decision between two particular individuals for the White House, but a decision that will shape the future of the Democratic Party and American progressivism.
Sanders evokes the spirit of previous reformers such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson with his unapologetic progressive views and firm commitment to expanding public and social services.
Bernie Sanders is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate.
Sanders has shattered records when it comes to turnout, fundraising and young voter engagement. His campaign relies exclusively on contributions from ordinary Americans and does not rely on a Super PAC.
He has inspired not only Democrats, but independents and apolitical people alike – and that is his greatest strength. And it’s not difficult to see why; Sanders is the longest-serving independent congressman in US history.
He has a consistent progressive record, and is the only candidate in either major party drawing attention to serious issues such as income and wealth inequality, regulation of the financial industry, expanding healthcare access via universal healthcare, and addressing deep issues of racial and economic justice. He is often criticized for having much less foreign policy experience than Secretary Clinton.
Yet Sanders, unlike Clinton, voted against the Iraq War, which was arguably the worst foreign policy decision of the last two decades. Most presidents only acquire extensive foreign policy experience while in office – Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy and a number of others included.
Experience does not mean much without good judgment, and Sanders’ focus on multilateralism and diplomacy allows me to be confident in his ability to handle America’s international interests. He has decades of experience in local and federal politics, and now serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee, where he has worked to pass bipartisan bills that address the needs of American veterans. That’s why John McCain recently praised Sanders’ ability to work across the aisle to write and pass legislation.
There is good reason to believe that Sanders is not only electable, but the best general election candidate the Democratic Party has to offer. Electability depends on turning out independents and young people, and polling indicates that Senator Sanders does better with these categories and wins in head-to-head matchups against Republicans by wider margins than Clinton. His ambition is not a liability, but an asset.
The most beloved Democratic presidents include figures such as F.D.R and Lyndon Johnson who are remembered for their ambitious programs and sweeping social and political changes. If you lived in early 1930s America and you heard Roosevelt talking about Social Security or the creation of millions of jobs through the Public Works Administration, you might have thought the plan was too ambitious or unrealistic.
But F.D.R. passed and paid for his reforms because New Deal Democrats were able to mobilize millions of working Americans and utilized popular energy to force lawmakers to enact serious reforms in response to serious issues. The issues that confront America today are no less serious.
Bernie Sanders is not a wizard; he cannot single-handedly accomplish his goals and he has said as much. On the other hand, any Democrat, whether it’s Sanders or Clinton, will face obstruction in Congress. Only a candidate with the demonstrated ability to mobilize new voters will be able to help progressives make gains in the mid-term elections.
Without engaging young people and independents as well as addressing key issues of campaign finance reform and gerrymandering, nothing will get done – no matter who is in the White House. We have a unique opportunity to elect the most progressive and transparent candidate currently in politics. Let’s seize that opportunity.
Hayder Ali is a history and pre-medicine senior.
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“Guest column: The Bernie Sanders Phenomenon” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar