Bernie Sanders is Feelin' Himself

How is Bernie Sanders feeling about the presidential race? Take a look at his media appearances.

 

Sanders, America’s favorite socialist, is feeling himself. Over the past week, he has made several strategic media appearances targeting moms who watch morning shows, intellectual liberals, stoners, and Stephen Colbert devotees. He appeared on the CBS Morning show and Rachel Maddow on the same day. The next two days saw appearances on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. Additionally, he was on the cover of Time, if anyone is still reading that.

 

This level of aggressive media participation can only mean one thing: His numbers are skyrocketing and he’s capitalizing on the upswing. Sanders shines in front of the camera and the more people see him, the more they love him. His message of equality for all races, genders, sexual orientations, and ages resonates with middle America. And his ability to couch issues such the tax code and the environment in morality alike give him the airtime necessary to approach Clinton name-recognition numbers — which happens to be one of Hillary’s only dwindling advantages.

 

 

As Clinton comes under fire for pretty much everything from her tenure as secretary of state to her general demeanor, Sanders is taking advantage of her dip in the polls by spending as much time in front of the camera saying, "This campaign is going to send a message to the billionaire class. And that is: you can’t have it all. You can’t get huge tax breaks while children in this country go hungry. You can’t continue sending our jobs to China while millions are looking for work. You can’t hide your profits in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens, while there are massive unmet needs on every corner of this nation. Your greed has got to end. You cannot take advantage of all the benefits of America, if you refuse to accept your responsibilities."

 

Particularly of interest are the polls coming out of New Hampshire. In June, 43 percent of respondents said they would vote for Clinton in the first democratic primary. That level of support has dropped to only 30 percent in the latest CNN Poll this month. 

 

In that same timeframe, Sanders’ numbers have done almost exactly the opposite, going from 35 percent to 46 percent support. 

 

Photo: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg/Getty

 

The most important factor to take into account when considering all this groundswell for the once-unknown outsider is this: the permission factor. The simple idea that the more support Sanders gets, the more comfortable people feel supporting him. He is no longer a long shot, an outsider or a fringe candidate with radical ideas. He is now someone who says things that resonate with swing voters, establishment democrats, and progressives at once. People who once thought that Clinton was the only realistic option to keep the White House are now rethinking that choice in favor of an old, white socialist from Vermont.

 

It is brilliant, inspiring, and exhilarating to watch a politician gain so much support from spending time in the public eye, saying, "There is a lot of sentiment that enough is enough, that we need fundamental changes, that the establishment — whether it is the economic establishment, the political establishment or the media establishment — is failing the American people," 

 

I, for one, am feeling the Bern.