Sanders also addressed another potential rival, this time for the Democratic party’s nomination: Vice President Joe Biden.
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Then there’s the sense that “I like him, but he just can’t win”.
Sanders grew perturbed when a reporter asked him how he reconciled his position as the “anti-establishment candidate” with his experience as a “career politician”.
Sanders noted a steady climb in turnout to his rallies, bumping from 5,000 in Denver in June to a 28,000-person record Sunday night in Portland. In addition, he has been a vocal advocate of Pope Francis, claiming he feels “very close” to the teachings of His Holiness. Before a stop at the Iowa State Fair on August 15, the Sanders’ campaign released an e-mail clarifying their stance their candidate’s civil rights policy moving forward.
Sanders spoke Saturday about the need to close the inequality gap and double the federal minimum wage, now $7.25 an hour.
In my mind, the reason Sanders has been such a firestorm on the political scene since his announcement in May is because he has tapped into an ideal that resonates with many on the left. “If he does run, I promise him an issue-oriented campaign”. This principle rang true for exemplars of liberal politics – FDR, JFK, and LBJ, among others. Bernie Sanders is a real deal candidate who has been building his grassroots support outside of the media spotlight for years. On the other side, the independent-turned-Democrat Vermont senator still trails Hillary Clinton, but is gaining on her. And frankly, I still think that’s the case. NBC’s Chuck Todd raised the question over an email acquired by BuzzFeed in which Sander’s African American outreach staffer, Marcus Ferrell, issued an email apology for “not reaching out sooner” to Black Lives Matter.
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Sanders said his campaign is meant to get Americans to think big instead of small, and for them to have a mind-set of what America could become. “All of us have been nauseated, when we now have seen the movies, whether or not it is Sandra Bland or different individuals, we all know that if these people have been white they might not be dragged out of automobiles and thrown into jails”. Regardless of how the next several months play out, Clinton will need to pay close attention to Sanders and his devotees, as they will all push her to be her best.
