Op-ed: Bernie Sanders, the anti-candidate

  • By Bob Franken
  • Saturday, May 30, 2015 6:06pm
  • Opinion

Let’s hear it for Bennie Sanders, who is running for president! Wait, what’s that? His name is BERNIE Sanders? Sorry. But either way, you’ve probably never heard of him.

All we really need to know is that he’s one of two guys who are running as an alternative to Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. The other is former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Sanders is not a “former” at all; he’s a U.S. senator from Vermont.

He’s also not really a Democrat, although he caucuses with them in the Senate. For most of his political life, he’s been listed as a socialist, which is just fine with the people in Vermont, variously described as “quirky” or “tree-hugging leftists.” Sanders, who looks like an orchestra conductor who has touched an electrical device, is 73 years old at the moment, compared with Hillary’s 67. So, age will not be an issue between them; although O’Malley, at 52, certainly will be hammering away at it.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

But it’s Sanders who will be campaigning from the left and dragging Hillary Clinton in that direction whenever the polls show her people that it’s probably a good idea to tack left. Sanders will argue that his proudly ultraliberal policies are lifelong principles for him, and he certainly was showing no hesitation when he officially declared his candidacy: “Today we begin a political revolution to transform our country, economically, politically, socially and environmentally.” His agenda included raising taxes for the rich, breaking up the mega banks, a single-payer health system and free public-college tuition.

If those ideas all sound familiar, we’ve been hearing them from Elizabeth Warren, the senator from down-the-New-England-road Massachusetts, who insists she’s not going to run. So it’s Bennie, uh, Bernie who’s off to the races, trying to tap into the Democrats’ progressive roots and provide a candidate for those in the party who think that Hillary Clinton is just too cozy with the plutocrat bad guys — or the ones who are concerned she doesn’t rate high in the honesty sweepstakes.

Never mind that Sanders trails Hillary in the polls by about 50 points. He relishes the underdog role. After all, he thunders, he overcame conventional thinking in Vermont, finally becoming one of the state’s U.S. senators. And while the Green Mountain State is not like much of the country, it does have a lot of similarities to the white mountain state, where the first primary will be held. In New Hampshire, polls show that 18 percent of Democratic voters support Sanders already and that he has a chance to win more of them over as he wages his campaign of disgust at the excesses of the few at the top of our economic dung heap.

So let’s gin up some pity for Hillary. She’s going to get abuse from the right, where Republican candidates have one thing in common: They’re dumping all over her — actually, make that two things in common, since they are doing the same with President Barack Obama. But he’s heading out while she’s trying to waltz in, and now she’ll also have to deal with potshots from the left flank in the person of Bernie Sanders, to say nothing of O’Malley.

What’s terrific about Sanders is that if someone in central casting were looking for the stereotypical candidate, he wouldn’t look the part. Also, he’s definitely not a glad-hander. Polished, he’s not. But let’s face it, slick politicians have combined with slick corporate leaders to slide this country into the ground.

Sanders is banking on the hope that Americans are tired of the neatly packaged, 8-by-10 glossy automatons who run their market-researched campaigns, pandering to the voters’ ignorance and prejudices. He’s running against those who pay to maintain the status quo. The question is whether Sanders can improve his name recognition so he can show he has what it takes and then whether those in power will let him succeed.

Bob Franken is a longtime broadcast journalist, including 20 years at CNN.

More in Opinion

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to Anchor Point residents during a community meeting held at the Virl “Pa” Haga VFW Post 10221 on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Big beautiful wins for Alaska in the Big Beautiful Bill

The legislation contains numerous provisions to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource economy.

Children are photographed outside their now shuttered school, Pearl Creek Elementary, in August 2024 in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo provided by Morgan Dulian)
My Turn: Reform doesn’t start with cuts

Legislators must hold the line for Alaska’s students

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Education and Early Development, discusses the status of school districts’ finances during a press conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The fight to improve public education has just begun

We owe our children more than what the system is currently offering

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo)
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Flattery played a role in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in