Feel The Bern

By Matthew Valenzuela-Serrano

​As the presidential election comes around next year, Bernie Sanders, the Independent/Democratic Senator from Vermont, has announced his grassroots campaign to run for the presidential office. The term ‘grassroots’ means a public funded and envisioned campaign. Bernie Sanders was the underdog in the 2016 election, the year when he slowly built a closely knit following around his ideas such as a federal minimum wage of 15 an hour, free medicare, free public college, and higher taxes on the wealthy. 

These ideas have been sitting on the minds of the middle class ever since then, and now he announced that he will run again in 2020, which excites not only myself but many people around the country. So far Senator Sanders is the only candidate from 2016 that has decided to run again in 2020, thus giving him an edge in support over candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. 

Polls have shown that Sanders had more popularity with Latinos, Blacks, and other minority voters than Hillary Clinton and Trump combined. People want social and economic reforms and Bernie Sanders promises just that. In the news you’ll hear him be called a socialist, which scares many people in older generations, but really it’s the ideas that he stands for. Our social norms and economic value need to adapt to the times we live in. 

Of course, being against big pharma, the NRA, and Trump could prove difficult. But the voice of the American people is stronger.