Sanders Giving Hillary Clinton a Run for Her Money

Sanders Giving Hillary Clinton a Run for Her Money

When Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination², few people noticed.

Senator Sanders represents Vermont, a state with the second-smallest population in the United States. He is not even a registered Democrat¹, but an Independent, in Congress.

Senator Sanders has white hair. And he hunches³ his shoulders and his body when he walks and speaks to a crowd. There is a slightly rumpled⁴ look about him. At 74 years old, Bernie Sanders is also the oldest candidate for president.

But he seems to get bigger by the day. He fills large halls and stadiums. Nearly 30,000 people went to see him in Portland, Oregon; 27,000 in Los Angeles; 15,000 in Seattle; and 11,000 in Phoenix⁵, Arizona. His supporters use the phrase "#FeelTheBern" to promote him. It is a play on the word “burn” that sounds like "Bern," and means something is on fire.

And they are giving him money, plenty of it.

Bernie Sanders raised almost as much money as front-runner Hillary Clinton in the past three months. She raised $28 million. He brought in $26 million, mostly in small donations from individuals.

David Axelrod is a former advisor⁶ for President Obama. He tweeted that “Sanders fundraising is remarkable⁷.” He added, it is “very possible” that Mr. Sanders has more money available than Ms. Clinton.

Kyle Kondick is with the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He says Bernie Sanders appeals to Democratic voters for at least two reasons.

“And so he is, one, he’s not Hillary Clinton and two, he’s more liberal than Hillary Clinton, and there is certainly a desire for that amongst at least some Democratic voters.”

Most political observers, including Mr. Kondick, say Mr. Sanders probably cannot win the Democratic nomination. They say he is too liberal, too far to the left politically, and too old to win.

Early in the campaign, he had problems with supporters from the #BlackLivesMatter movement. That movement fights against racism⁸, especially how police sometimes respond differently to darker skinned people than lighter⁹. Since then he has reached out to black voters, a key voting group.

In recent months, Senator Sanders has climbed in the polls. They show him leading in New Hampshire, a small, northeastern American state next to Vermont. It will hold the first primary in the nation on February 9, 2016.

But across the nation, support for Hillary Clinton is still 16 points higher in the polls.

The process of nominating a candidate in the U.S. is complex. Not everyone in the U.S. understands how it works. About 4,500 delegates will attend the Democratic National Convention next July.

Among them are 700 party leaders, also known as “super-delegates.” The party leaders have more influence in the process to nominate a candidate for president. Ms. Clinton's campaign says she has the endorsement¹⁰ of most of those party leaders.

Mr. Kondick explains why Democratic Party leaders support Ms. Clinton:

“Hardly any of those people [party leaders] support Sanders because they don’t think that he could win a general election, and they think he’s too liberal.”

However, those super-delegates can change their votes up to the last minute of voting at the convention.

Why do people support Sanders?

Paul Heintz is the political editor for Seven Days newspaper in Senator Sanders’ hometown of Burlington, Vermont. He has covered Bernie Sanders for years. Like many people, he says Mr. Sanders is doing “far better” in this race than expected.

Mr. Heintz says not all Democrats¹¹ favor Hillary Clinton. Critics question why she used a private, unofficial email server when she was Secretary of State.

Many people like Mr. Sanders’ economic message, says Paul Heintz. Americans are still hurting from the 2008 financial crisis that caused unemployment and loss of assets.

 “And though the number of jobs are coming back, the amount that people are being paid hasn’t quite come back. So a number of people are feeling, many people, are feeling a tremendous economic insecurity. And Senator Sanders message has always been focused on that.”

Authentic¹² is a word often used to describe Mr. Sanders. People say he is “authentic,” which means real, and not a fake personality.

Kyle Klondick says that Bernie Sanders lacks the same style or positive messaging of successful past presidential candidates — candidates like Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

“Sanders’ speaking style is very blunt, very direct and his stump¹³ speech is almost just this big criticism of the country and how we have problems with income inequality and other issues of fairness that are legitimate¹⁴ points to make, but I think that his speaking style is frankly¹⁵ kind of a downer.”

Campaigning as an outsider

Bernie Sanders, like Republican front-runner Donald Trump¹⁶, has talked about improving the economy. Mr. Trump says he would cut taxes for wealthy people and businesses. Mr. Sanders says he would raise taxes on them. Both have captured attention by running as outsiders.

While Bernie Sanders appears to be an outsider, he has had a long political career. It started when he was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981, getting 10 votes more than his opponent.

In 1990, he was elected to the House of Representatives, representing Vermont. As a registered Independent, he did not belong to either party and had few successes. Mr. Heintz says:

 “In his time in Congress, he has never really been a major player. And that’s in part because he hasn’t been a member of the Democratic Party, and he hasn’t played by the conventional rules.”

He was elected to the Senate in 2006. As chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, he worked with Republican Senator John McCain to improve health care for military veterans.

Bernie Sanders grew up in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. He is Jewish, but says he does not follow the religion closely. If elected president, he would be the first Jew elected to the highest office in the U.S.

Debate to test Sanders’ appeal

On Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will debate with three other Democratic candidates. The news agency CNN hosts the debate in Las Vegas. The TV network says Mr. Sanders "will face his biggest test yet: going toe-to-toe with the former Secretary of State.”

The Sanders campaign says he is studying different subjects. But he is not rehearsing for the debate as other candidates usually do. With a national audience, Mr. Sanders is ready to discuss free college tuition, health care, and a $15-an-hour minimum wage. And he will need to answer how to pay for these programs.

The debate also gives Mr. Sanders a chance to compare his positions against Ms. Clinton’s. Supporters for Mr. Sanders use social media to show the differences between the candidates and their issues. Those include the death penalty and the U.S. government's bail¹⁷ out of financial institutions, but not average citizens.

With recent mass shootings in the U.S., Senator Sanders is sure to be questioned about his support of gun owners. Vermont is a rural state where many people own guns for hunting and recreation. He used to favor more gun rights earlier in his career. Now he favors more gun control.

Outside the debates, a wild card is possible: Vice¹⁸ President Joe Biden. He is the man missing from the debate stage. If the well-liked and experienced Mr. Biden announces that he will run, the race could change considerably¹⁹.

Words in This Story

hunch (es) –v;  to raise one’s shoulders and bend at the top of your body

rumpled –adj; messy, not in order

polls –n; public opinion surveys

delegate (s) –n; a person chosen to vote for someone else

influence –n; power to change someone or something

endorsement –n; a public or official support, approval

tremendous –adj; very large or great

authentic –adj; true, not false

conventional –adj; accepted or used by most people

going toe-to-toe –phrase; to fight in close combat

rehearse (ing) – v; practice

bail out –n; the act of saving something, from money problems

wild card –n;  an unknown factor

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 hunches   

预感，直觉( hunch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle. 一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。
• We often test our hunches on each other. 我们经常互相检验我们的第六感觉。

4 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

5 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

10 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

13 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

14 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

15 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

18 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

19 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。