The Most Popular Senator in the U.S. Could Claim the Democratic Nomination in 2020

By: Chermo Toure

Sanders has a sufficient amount of support behind him for a presidential run.
(Credit: Vanity Fair)

Senator Bernie Sanders is undoubtedly one of the Democratic frontrunners to run against President Trump in 2020. Even though Sanders is one of the frontrunners, many still have doubts about his electability.

One of these doubts is his old age. However, those who do have doubts about Sanders’ old age don’t seem to be concerned about former Vice-President Joe Biden, who is also considered to be a Democratic frontrunner.

Biden is 76 years old, only one year younger than Senator Sanders.

Another doubt over Sanders’ electability is that most of the general public believes he is not practical and won’t be able to pass any legislation. This is far from the truth. On Capitol Hill, Sanders is known as the “amendment king.”

According to PolitiFact, Sanders has passed about ninety amendments from 1995 to 2016. Furthermore, from 1995 to 2006, he was a member of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives..

Most of the electorate claim that they want a politician that can compromise. Sanders was able to pass 49 amendments while in a Republican-controlled House. It seems like he’s the true “compromise king.”

One of Sanders’ signature policies is Medicare For All, or universal healthcare. Some may say that it would be too costly for the United States to have a universal healthcare system, but numerous academic studies have shown that the United States would actually save money. Even some conservative studies can attest to this.

A Koch-funded study conducted by Mercatus Center at George Mason University found that if the United States moved to a universal single-payer healthcare system, the US could save between $200 billion to $2 trillion over a ten year period.

Another one of Sanders’ signature policies that often gets criticized is the prospect of tuition-free college. Critics often say that the United States cannot afford this, as it is impractical, or representative of a socialist utopia that can never work.

Virtually every developed country on Earth has tuition-free college. Before and during the 1970s, most colleges in the United States were tuition-free or their tuitions were very low.

Tuition-free colleges are an investment in the future of the United States. Students that graduate debt-free will be future taxpayers.

Critics will continue to say that the United States does not have the money to pay for single-payer healthcare or tuition-free colleges.

This argument would make sense if the United States did not have about $6 trillion for the “war on terror” and $700 billion for the Wall Street bailouts, according to the Military Times. And these costs are conservative.

These two policies are very popular with the electorate. Single-payer healthcare is supported by 70% of Americans, which includes a majority of Republicans, according to The Hill. Tuition-free colleges are supported by 60% of Americans.

Recently, Sanders presumably made Amazon increase their minimum wage to $15 an hour. He is now targeting Wal-Mart to do the same.

While supporting some of the most popular policies in the U.S., being just one year older than Biden, and constantly fighting for average Americans, Sanders is a compelling choice for the Democratic nomination.

According to a poll conducted by Harvard-Harris in 2017 during an off-election year, Sanders was the most popular politician in America with a 54% favorability rating.

During the 2016 Democratic Primary, Sanders had little to no support. Although the Democratic establishment and mainstream media supported Hillary Clinton, Sanders still managed to gain a substantial amount of votes.

Imagine if the Democratic establishment treated Sanders fairly and gave him the publicity he deserved. Would Donald Trump be the president right now? Sanders’ presidential bid is very possible in 2020.