A couple months back I saw a new candidate's name running for the 2016 election, Bernie Sanders. I didn't know the name, so I decided to look into what it was that he supported. Immediately I was hooked. Here was a candidate who advocated for the exact same liberal, socialist ideas that I always thought America should invest in. And on top of that, he was doing so supported by only people. Not corporations. No big money businesses were flooding his campaign with money, meaning he wasn't being controlled by the one-percent. Bernie runs supported by the people, for the people. As he said in his announcement to run for president, "Enough is enough, this great nation and its government belong to all of its people and not just a handful of billionaires." I don't know of any more admirable candidate in this election, let alone any recent election either.
As he begins to slowly overtake Hillary in the polls of New Hampshire and Iowa, I get more and more hopeful that he will one day be our nation's leader. Here's why.
1. Bernie has worked his way up.
Growing up in a middle-class family with a Polish immigrant as a father, Bernie knows what it's like to live in the lower classes of America and therefore has the ability to represent all of America. By slowly gaining popularity and success, he moved his way up starting off as the Senator of Vermont, mayor of Burlington, and then Congressman. His time in government proves that he has taken the strides necessary to ensure that he is ready to be the leader of our vast country.
2. He has experience in Washington.
Winning elections to serve in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Bernie holds the capacity to also serve in the White House. After spending years in Washington, he has the experience to prove that he legitimately knows what it takes to work with everyone in Washington, as well as to know what it takes to get legislation passed.
3. I trust him because he's campaigning without corporate money.
Bernie is running a low-budget campaign, supported by unions. On the first day of his campaign, Bernie raised $1.5 million from thousands of donations that averaged less than $50 each. The fact that his campaign money comes from middle-class workers proves his legitimacy because he isn't getting financial support from only a few big corporations. It also proves that he won't just be fulfilling the wishes of billionaires when he gets into office because that's not who is investing in him.
4. He's for orientation equality, so I know he actually wants to represent everyone in the U.S.
His support for race, religion, and sexual orientation equality are admirable and are attributes I wish to see in the leader of our diverse nation. He has specific goals in place for police, such as getting police forces to accurately racially represent their territory in order to decrease discrimination and police brutality. Supporting equality is a huge deal to me because I know that everyone in our democratic nation deserves rights, and someone that doesn't give minorities the rights they deserve is not an appropriate leader for our "salad bowl."
5. Bernie also supports gender equality.
As a woman in college, this is a big priority to me. I want to be able to graduate from college and receive an equal salary to that of my male peers. I also want to receive the right to birth control included in my health care, which is a point that Bernie supports, as opposed to some of his Republican rivals. He supports Planned Parenthood as well, which proves to me that Bernie understands the fact that women deserve to make their own choices.
6. He has an agenda that includes socialist policies which will improve our country.
A range of political ideologies must be used together in a country to make a government successful, including socialism. Being a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Bernie understands this. These policies include raising minimum wage, which makes me hopeful that poverty will begin to decrease. This also includes putting acts in place that will fight climate change, which proves that while Bernie is investing in the present, he's also thinking about the future. His fight for universal health care makes me feel cared for, and would help every single citizen live better lives. One of his other plans, college for all, particularly appeals to me because I know firsthand how terribly expensive it is to pay for college.
7. He's against tax breaks, so I know he realizes how important taxes are to running a strong federal government.
The fact that he advocates for policies instead of tax breaks proves that he is a respectable candidate. It is far more important to have a government that looks out for its citizens and creates fair, equal policies, instead of just trying to save money.
8. And finally, Bernie knows what he's talking about.
Along with his campaign financial reform, Bernie wants more debates between the candidates. It is evident that he knows the issues of the country much better than anyone else, since he is the only one hoping for more debates to prove why he would be a better president than the other candidates.
Bernie Sanders is starting a political revolution. He wants to save America and add policies to our government that will target the current issues we currently have in our nation. Join me in voting for Bernie in 2016 because he is the best man out there to be the new leader of our great country.
