Bernie Sander |
Early
Life and Education
Independent
politician Bernie Sanders was born on September 8, 1941, in New York. He grew
up in Brooklyn as the youngest of two sons of Jewish immigrants from Poland.
His father worked as a paint salesman. As part of a struggling working-class
family, Sanders recognized early on America's economic disparity. As he told
the Guardian newspaper, "I saw unfairness. That was the major inspiration
in my politics," he said. Sanders also counts American socialist leader
Eugene V. Debs as an important influence.
Sanders
attended Brooklyn's James Madison High School and then went on to Brooklyn
College. After a year there, he transferred to the University of Chicago.
Sanders became involved in the Civil Rights Movement during his university
days. He was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE.
With CORE, Sanders participated in a sit-in against the segregation of
off-campus housing in 1962. He also served as an organizer for the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1963 he participated in the March on
Washington.
"It
was a question for me of just basic justice — the fact that it was not
acceptable in America at that point that you had large numbers of African-Americans
who couldn't vote, who couldn't eat in a restaurant, whose kids were going to
segregated schools, who couldn't get hotel accommodations living in segregated
housing," he told the Burlington Free Press. "That was clearly a
major American injustice and something that had to be dealt with."
After
finishing college in 1964 with a degree in political science, Sanders lived on
a kibbutz in Israel before settling in Vermont. He worked a number of jobs,
including filmmaker and freelance writer, psychiatric aide, and teaching
low-income children through Head Start, while his interest in politics grew.
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During
the Vietnam War, Sanders had applied for conscientious objector status.
Although his status was eventually rejected, by then he was too old to be
drafted.
Burlington
and Beyond
In
the 1970s, Sanders made several unsuccessful bids for public office as a member
of the anti-war Liberty Union Party, which he was a member of until 1979. His
first taste of political victory came by the thinnest of margins. In 1981, he
was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, by only 12 votes. Sanders was able to
achieve this win with the support of the Progressive Coalition, a grassroots
organization. He was reelected three more times, proving that the
self-described "democratic socialist" had staying power.
Known
for his rumpled clothes and untamed mane, Sanders made an unlikely candidate
for national office, but this political underdog scored a 1990 win for a seat
in the U.S. House of Representatives. As an independent, Sanders found himself
facing a dilemma. He had to find political allies to advance his issues and
legislation. As Sanders explained to The Progressive, he considered working
with the Republicans to be "unthinkable," but he did caucus with the
Democrats despite "a lot of opposition among conservative Democrats to my
being in that caucus."
Outspoken
on the issues, Sanders criticized both parties whenever he felt they were in
the wrong. He was a vocal opponent on the Iraq War, concerned about the social
and financial impact that the conflict could cause. In an address to the House,
he said "As a caring Nation, we should do everything we can to prevent the
horrible suffering that a war will cause." Sanders also questioned the
timing of military action "at a time when this country has a $6 trillion national
debt and a growing deficit."
Senator
Sanders
Sanders
sought to switch to the Senate in 2006, running against Republican businessman
Richard Tarrant. As a self-described "democratic socialist," he
managed to defeat Tarrant despite the latter's much more substantial funding.
Tarrant spent $7 million of his own personal wealth in this election battle.
In
2010, Sanders made the news with his more than eight-hour-long filibuster
against the extension of Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy. He felt that this
legislation was "a very bad tax agreement" between the president and
Republican legislators, he later wrote in the introduction of The Speech: A
Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class.
Sanders ended his time on the Senate floor with a plea to his legislative
colleagues to come up with "a better proposal which better reflects the
needs of the middle class and working families of our country and to me, most
importantly, the children of our country," according to a Washington Post
article.
During
his time in the Senate, Sanders has served on several committees on issues
important to him. He is a member of the Committee on Budget; the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Committee on Veterans Affairs and
the Joint Economic Committee. Sanders also champions campaign reform and
advocates for an amendment to overturn the Supreme Court decision on Citizens
United. Sanders has advocated for expanding voting rights and opposed the
Supreme Court decision to disband part of the landmark Voting Rights Act. He is
also an advocate for universal single-payer healthcare system. Driven by his
sense of protecting the environment, addressing climate change and interest in
renewable energy, Sanders is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Environment & Public Works and the Energy & Natural Resources
Committee.
Presidential
Ambitions
In
April 2015, Sanders announced that he was seeking the presidential nomination
for the Democratic Party. This longtime independent made the party switch
largely out of political necessity. "It would require an enormous amount
of time, energy and money just to get on the ballot in 50 states" as an
independent, he said to USA Today. "It made a lot more sense for me to
work within the Democratic primary system where it's much easier to get on the
ballot and have a chance to debate the other candidates."
Experts
think it is unlikely that Sanders will be able to wrestle the Democratic
nomination away from frontrunner Hillary Clinton. But, according to an
Associated Press report, Sanders isn't worried about being an underdog in the
race for the Democratic presidential nomination. "People should not
underestimate me." As a veteran independent, he has "run outside of
the two-party system, defeating Democrats and Republicans, taking on big-money
candidates."
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In
fact, Sanders has made impressive strides in challenging Clinton during the
presidential primaries and gaining favor in the polls. The most recent Quinnipiac
University poll (released in February 2016) shows that he was favored above all
the top running candidates and would even beat out Republican frontrunner
Donald Trump — 49 to 39 percent, respectively — in a general election.
(Sanders's numbers surpassed Clinton's 46 to 41 percent matchup with
Trump.)
Staying
true to his ideological convictions, Sanders's platform focuses on issues of
equality in the United States. Economically, he favors tax reform that
increases rates for the wealthy, greater governmental oversight of Wall Street
and balancing the disparity between wages for men and women. He also believes
in a state-administered health care system, more-affordable higher education —
which includes tuition-free public college and universities — and an expansion
of the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid systems. A social liberal, he
also supports same-sex marriage and is pro-choice.
Historical
Michigan Primary Victory
Sanders's
Michigan primary victory is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in
modern political history. He won 50 to 48, despite the latest polls showing he
was trailing Clinton at least 20 percentage points.
The
only time such an egregious polling error was recorded was during the 1984
Democratic primary when polls showed Walter Mondale leading Gary Hart by 17
percentage points. Hart actually won Michigan by more than nine points.
Sanders's
shocking win was a testament that his liberal populist message could resonate
within a diverse state such as Michigan and beyond. It was also a huge
psychological blow to Clinton's campaign which had hoped to seal her nomination
with ease.
Personal
Life
In
1964 Sanders married his college sweetheart Deborah Shiling, but the couple
divorced two years later. In 1968 he met Susan Mott and the two had a son,
Levi, in 1969.
Sanders
met his second wife Jane O'Meara right before becoming mayor of Burlington, Vermont
in 1981. A long-time educator, O'Meara would eventually become president of
Burlington College. The two married in 1988. O'Meara has three children from a
previous marriage. Between them, the couple has four children and seven
grandchildren.
Sanders'
older brother, Larry, is a British academic and politician, who is currently
the Health Spokesperson for the leftist Green Party of England and Wales.
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