By Dan Murphy
In today’s age of apathetic voters, which includes many who do not choose to participate in their democracy other than by voting on Election Day, it is rare to see a group of Americans committed to a candidate and a cause.
Here in Westchester, People for Bernie, which has 1.4 million followers across the country, has a dedicated group of several-hundred volunteers who worked on Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president in 2016 and are ready for another chance to send Bernie to the White House.
We spoke to Kat Brezler, who is a co-founder of People for Bernie, to get an idea about the passion and support in Westchester for another “Sanders for President” run.
We asked Brezler: Is Sanders the frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for president, and why?
“He is the frontrunner – he has the most volunteers, the broadest infrastructure and the most donors, with the most dollars raised,” said Brezler, who is running for White Plains Common Council this year and is an elementary school teacher, who added that many of the same, core group of volunteers from 2016 remain in Westchester and remain committed to working for Sanders.
“Yes, this campaign will be different from four years ago, because in 2016 the movement was just getting connected and getting to know each other, and was about identifying allies and building trust. Now, four years later, a lot of trust has been built, and many people who were too young to vote in ’16 are now old enough to vote and very involved in the planning for the 2020 presidential run.”
Is there a media bias against Bernie Sanders?
“Of course the media ignores him because the media is profit-driven and motivated to print what their advertisers want,” said Brezler. “It is not fair and balanced. The other democratic candidates are less consistent on their messaging, unless it’s Elizabeth Warren, and they like to ignore her, too.
“The media loves to cover Beto (O’Rourke) jumping on a table but they won’t cover a bill about criminal justice reform. There are no stories about what ‘Medicare For All’ will look like and how it will benefit communities who need that right now. Imagine 30 million people not worrying about going to the dentist, or having access to mental health care.”
Other issues that Sanders ran on in ’16 and will run on in ’20 are support of tuition-free college, a $15-per-hour minimum wage, and a bill he recently introduced called “For the 99.8% Act” – which would sharply increase the estate tax, including imposing a 77 percent tax on estates in excess of $1 billion, raising an estimated $315 billion over a decade.
Brezler added that while the presidential campaign for Sanders will kick into high gear next year, “the best thing I can do to help Bernie Sanders in 2020 is to run for office in 2019. We have to fight those who put profit over people on every level of government.”
And while democrats across the country await the decision of former Vice President Joe Biden to run for president, Sanders has raised $18 million from more than 500,000 donors in the first few weeks of his campaign. This network of donors, and supporters, will allow Sanders to run active campaigns in all 50 states, including in California which is the most expensive state to run television ads in the many major cities and markets.
While national polls have Sanders in a statistical tie with Biden, who is waiting to announce his candidacy and who may have missed his chance to sit atop the field of democratic candidates as he deals with “touchy-feely behavior” accusations, an analysis of the early primary states shows Sanders with a chance to take a commanding lead and, many political prognosticators predict, wrap up the democratic nomination early next year.
Political journalist Mark Halperin, who was banished from MSNBC and the rest of the media from the #MetToo movement for his inappropriate behavior, made a mea culpa on the Michael Smerconish radio show on Sirius last week, and touted Bernie as the presumptive democratic nominee.
“I think Joe Biden is an extremely overrated candidate,” said Halperin, who co-authored the political book and movie “Game Change.” “He is an old face, and the fact that he is not supported by Barack Obama speaks volumes. I look at his track record of running for president before – he got 1 percent in 2008 in Iowa. He is horrible at fundraising and while he is a wonderful man and committed public servant, his latest problem if far from his only problem.”
Halperin added that he thinks the most underrated democratic presidential hopeful was Bernie Sanders.
“I don’t think anyone can come up with a scenario of winning the nomination and I think there is a scenario where Bernie could be the nominee by March 2020,” said Halperin, who apologized for his past behaviors and is attempting to re-enter the world of political journalism. “He has a base of support that no one else does, and he can build on the success he had last time. But he also has the money to go on TV in California, which has early voting. If he wins Iowa, he wins New Hampshire; if he wins New Hampshire, he wins California. And if he wins California, then it’s over. That is the most likely outcome.”
MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough also pointed to Sanders as the Democratic frontrunner.
“The one thing the media has been missing is that Bernie Sanders almost beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa and destroyed her in New Hampshire,” said Scarborough. “The media always underestimates Bernie Sanders, this is a reminder we are making the same mistake again. A lot of people who voted for Donald Trump said they would have voted for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Some of Bobby Kennedy’s supporters voted for George Wallace in 1968. Bernie could be in the same position as Barack Obama in 2008… If I win Iowa then all the dominos fall for me.”
The online power and support that People for Bernie has, with its ability to reach out to voters, donors and volunteers, cannot be understated. The hard work to build that network, by Brezler and others, might just make Bernie the democratic nominee for president next year.
