Remember when Hillary Clinton was the undisputed frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president? And Bernie Sanders was an obscure socialist-leaning senator from Vermont with no way of beating her? How things have changed, and this Uproxx video shows us that evolution.
Sanders would go from growing up in a working class family to “the longest standing independent in Congress.” He has made a career out of criticizing America’s class structure: “What you got on top is incredible greed,” Sanders tells Killer Mike. “Greed is their mantra, it’s what they believe, and we got to change that.”
The presidential candidate has espoused some controversial policies by American standards, such as advocating for paid medical and family leave in the workplace. He’s had a spotty record as senator on voting for gun control bills, but says that people who are criminals or who have mental health issues shouldn’t be able to own guns.
And after some trouble with Black Lives Matter at the beginning of his campaign, he now speaks confidently about “combating institutional racism,” and fixing our criminal justice system so that it doesn’t target people of color disproportionately.
“I got into politics because I give a damn,” says Sanders, not because he wanted power. It’s a message that seems to have resonated in Iowa. Let’s see if it does the same in New Hampshire and beyond.