A socialist from Vermont is on his way to capturing the Democratic nomination for president. What has led to his remarkable rise?
For years, Bernie Sanders was a curiosity. A socialist from Vermont sitting in the US House of Representatives, he waged a lonely crusade for the working man for eight terms.
Then, Senator Bernie Sanders — he won election to the upper house in 2006 — shocked the world by nearly besting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. If not for some power politics at the Democratic convention that year, it could have been Sanders vs. Trump.
And now we find Bernard Sanders, son of Eli Sanders and Dorothy Glassberg, absolutely tearing up the Democratic primaries. He tied for first place in Iowa, won New Hampshire, dominated his opponents in Nevada, and is nationally nearly ten points ahead of his closest rival, presumptive front runner and former vice president Joe Biden. There’s a real chance that Bernie Sanders, proud democratic socialist who still advocates for the working class in Marxian tones, will represent the Democratic party in a national election versus Donald Trump.
Sanders has made no secret of his socialist tendencies. He chose to honeymoon in the Soviet Union in 1988, shortly before the demise of the Communist regime. When he returned, he praised that country’s transportation system and its “palaces of culture.” He also visited Nicaragua in 1985, where socialist revolutionaries led by Daniel Ortega had overthrown the government. He later said he was “impressed” by that country’s leaders, who would turn Nicaragua into the Western hemisphere’s second poorest nation.
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