Yes, there really is another person running in the democratic primary besides Hillary Clinton.
His name is Bernie Sanders and he is one of only two independent senators in the nation as well as a self proclaimed democratic socialist, according to CBS News.
His platform is founded on increasing minimum wage, equal pay for women, reversing climate change, taking on wall street corruption, and making college affordable for all.
However, unlike many other candidates, Sanders’ platform isn’t just empty words. Sanders has his previous actions as U.S. Senator to back it up.
Sanders has been fighting for LGBT+ rights since the 1990s. He has also been a big supporter of campaign finance reform, which is ironic since he’s running against Hillary Clinton. Clinton is the first democratic presidential candidate to fully embrace super PACs, which are independent groups that can accept unlimited checks from donors in support of Clinton’s campaign.
He’s even written a bill to improve veterans’ health care and lives after coming home, along with basic democratic ideals such as voting to punish crimes in alternative rehabilitative ways, and advocating for bettering public school education.
When it’s time for the presidential elections many Americans end up skewing away from their party if it means that they will be helping to make history. Many Republicans voted for democratic candidate Barack Obama on the 2008 ballot because he would be the first black president.
With the possibility of Clinton being the first female president it seems that someone else winning the democratic primaries would seem far fetched. However, if elected Sanders would be our first Jewish president, which is still a major step forward in changing the stereotypical presidential prerequisites.
Sanders seems to have an all around solid platform, appealing to the democratic voters. The only issue is that he doesn’t have the immense amounts of funds that Hillary does, so unless there’s some grassroots support he doesn’t have a chance.
If you would like to support Senator Sanders you can check out his website at https://berniesanders.com.
