In Mr. Sanders, voters have found a champion willing to not only fight but dream.
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Among the many mantras that guide my life, the one that says “Impossible is a matter of opinion” is one of my favorites. I’m of the breed that when told no, or explained why something can’t happen, I become all the more motivated to materialize my desire and to prove naysayers wrong. I believe wholeheartedly and have said many times publicly, that the sky is not the limit, it’s the starting point. That expression, if I had to assign it to anywhere other than my life, would be directed to the presidential campaign of Mr. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator who’s promising a political revolution, but whose critics cite his political platform as idealistic and not achievable.
Now that Mr. Sanders—an avowed socialist who, by collecting small donations from individuals rather than from PACs and billionaires has broken fundraising records—has won the New Hampshire primary after losing to Mrs. Hillary Clinton by minimal votes in Iowa, it’s assumed that the former First Lady will ratchet up, as a part of her attack strategy, the highlighting of her pragmatism while exploiting Mr. Sander’s idealism in hopes that his supporters and others will finally see him as nothing more than a mirage. In other words, Mrs. Clinton, who’s already struggling with the youth vote, is gearing up to be the ultimate Debbie-Downer.
During tonight’s Democratic debate, it’s expected that Mrs. Clinton will on numerous occasions tell the audience what’s politically impossible though it may be more of a nuanced utterance rather an assertive blurt. And in contrast, Mr. Sanders will point to, more than once, the fact that other countries already do what he’s describing, thus there’s no reason America, which sells itself as the greatest country in the world where dreams can come true, can’t mirror them. Mr. Sanders, like I, believes that what one considers impossible is nothing more than one opinion. For starters, the landscape of the 2016 Presidential race itself proves that anything is possible in American politics.
Mr. Donald Trump and Mr. Bernie Sanders, both who were written off as sideshows by the elite media, are now considered mainstream in politics and they’re garnering cult followings. Mr. Sanders raised $6.3 million in 24 hours after asking for donations during his victory speech on Tuesday night, a feat CNN suggested had never been accomplished by any politician. And moreover, with his victory, Mr. Sanders became the first Jewish American to win a presidential primary. So, as it appears now, Mr. Sanders is quite good at accomplishing the impossible, and that only makes his supporters that much more fanatic and his critics cringe.
What’s most ironic about Mrs. Clinton and others who repeat what’s politically impossible about Mr. Sanders’ position is that their critique itself is aimed at stifling one’s American dream, which, at its core, is what has both Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump’s supporters so riled up. Though they assign the theft to different villains, supporters of the somewhat alternative candidates are angry that their American dream—whether it be an election process that’s not ruled by money or quality manufacturing jobs that provide a ladder to the middle-class—has been stolen.
In Mr. Sanders, as is the case with Mr. Trump, voters have found a champion willing to not only fight but dream. And the more the dreamer is told their vision is unattainable, the harder that person and their supporters will fight to achieve it. Mrs. Clinton doesn’t seem to be a prolific dreamer and by reigning on the parade of those who are, she risks becoming a villain, the dream-killer in the flesh.
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