Let me preface this piece by saying three things:
1. I was a draft Warren supporter who migrated to Sanders as it became clear that she would not run.
2. I am a Bernie supporter who’ll vote for Clinton if she wins the nomination
3. I’m a socialist independent who lives in Virginia, so I vote for Democrats because, in general, I have nothing else to vote for.
There have been a lot of articles recently about what a tough time Hillary Clinton is having getting the younger generations to vote for her. Looking at the Iowa exit poll results, the results were fascinating and scary at the same time.
Age
17-24 — 10%
- Sanders 86%
-
Clinton 11%
-
O'Malley 2%
-
Uncommitted 0%
25-29 — 8%
-
Sanders 81%
-
Clinton 17%
-
Uncommitted 2%
-
O'Malley 1%
30-39 — 14%
-
Sanders 62%
-
Clinton 34%
-
O'Malley 2%
-
Uncommitted 2%
40-49 — 10%
-
Clinton 51%
-
Sanders 44%
-
Uncommitted 5%
-
O'Malley 1%
50-64 — 30%
-
Clinton 58%
-
Sanders 34%
-
O'Malley 5%
-
Uncommitted 3%
65 or over — 28%
-
Clinton 69%
-
Sanders 26%
-
O'Malley 3%
- Uncommitted
Its interesting that age seems to be one of the biggest factor that is currently splitting the Democratic Party? Why is that happening? I think the three reasons that I’m voting for Bernie help explain why there’s such a large division of voting preference. At least that’s my opinion, I could be wrong! If I am, here’s, at least, why I am voting for Bernie Sanders.
1. The War in Iraq — a lot of people talk about how they just don't ‘trust’ Hillary Clinton. Some of that is due to the right wing propaganda program against her, some of that probably has to do with the inherent difficulty of being a woman campaigning and sexism against women, but I think for a lot of Millennials, it comes down to the War in Iraq. A lot of people like to compare Bernie Sanders to Howard Dean in 2004, and I think they are very right in this respect, the Iraq War is still hovering over the campaign. I’m 32, I was 20 when we invaded Iraq, I have spent a third of my life with America embroiled in a seemingly endless conflict where ‘Friedman units’ of ‘peace and liberty is just around the corner’ have been the cornerstone to Democratic and Republican politicians trying to explain why we’re wasting money, man power, and resources propping up religious despotic regimes, kleptocracy, and oligarchies throughout the Middle East. Hillary Clinton can talk all she want about how she thought President Bush was going to follow the rules of engagement he laid out in his speech, and she was blind-sided by his duplicity, BUT a lot of Democrats were NOT though! During the Iraq War Resolution several amendments were brought up to curb the power of the Administration in how long and for what purpose they would be allowed to go into Iraq. One of the strongest amendments was written by Senator Durbin and it said that the purpose of the AUMF was to find Weapons of Mass Destruction only, and that beyond that the authorization would cut off. She voted against that amendment! I was vehemently opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning, and the Democratic party that voted for it, has pretty much been culled from the Senate and House. I think that is a GOOD thing, those Representatives let our country down. I don’t think people give credit to how much the Iraq War propelled Barack Obama to beat Hillary Clinton in 2008, if our minds were set then, why is now any different? I voted for Barack because of the Iraq War’s consequences to our country then, and I feel the same way now. Let me be clear though, this is the main reason why I’m voting against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primary, I wholly admit that I will overlook that if it is her vs. any of the Republican candidates. I would also like to add that I think that Bernie will be fine in terms of foreign policy because he will bring a strong foreign policy vice president in to support him, while he focuses back on our country.
2. Campaign Finance — I live in Virginia, and if you don’t know much about Virginia, we have one of the most backward finance systems in the country, where there are unlimited ‘free speech approved’ contribution limits to give to campaigns. For that reason, many of our local and state delegates and senators are also known as Senator ‘Dominion’ (power) or Delegate ‘Altria’ (tobacco). I am living in state that has created tons of ‘Public Private Partnerships’ wherein the government gives away large swathes of public roads/lands/etc…’ to private businesses so that they can try to run public property without the government having to pay for it. The Invisible hand will save Virginia from our low taxation! Looking at our U.S. representatives and Senators, I see them voting for the TPP, CAFTA, and another business-friendly legislation that increases outsourcing, while both of my parents and my cousins have lost their jobs to companies here in Virginia moving out-of-country. The average member of Congress is worth a million dollars or more? Why is that representative of the US? We talk about how Congress isn’t representative, in race or in gender, but it’s starting to be getting insanely out of representation in terms of the class status of its members? We’ve become a representative democracy where only the rich can represent us, and that limits what kind of legislation can be enacted. Hillary Clinton is not corrupt, she made money by giving speeches, and nothing is legally wrong with that. But whereas Republicans would like to tar her as in the pockets of Wall Street, I see it as something different. Hillary Clinton is not in the pocket of Wall Street, but she has a lot of friends and contributors who ARE on wall street. She is also a millionaire. I don’t think HIllary Clinton knows what its like to be poor in America. She is another politician who believes that 250,000 dollars makes you part of the Middle Class. She also said that her and Bill were struggling, after leaving the white house, with two million dollar homes. I don’t think Hillary Clinton gets what the middle-class is anymore. I think Bernie does, and has been fighting for the Middle Class and the working class all his life.
3. I’m a democratic socialist — A lot of my generation are okay with the idea of socialism, everybody pays into the system and we all benefit from it. That’s called community, everyone pitches in, each according to their means. I think free college tuition is a great idea, I think we can use the idea of it to start hammering out some of the excesses of colleges by having them provide more data on how the money is being spent. I thin medicare for all is necessary and if anyone wants to defend the private health insurance system here, please do? Why is healthcare something that needs cost-incentive to be effective? I’m a teacher, the education system has been under attack by BOTH the Democratic and Republican Party, and if anything makes me want to leave the Democratic Party for the last administration it has been the horrible tenure of Arne Duncan one of the most ineffective and corporatist Education Secretaries we’ve ever had, I believe equally as bad as Margaret Spellings. We need to do a better job as a country of funding our school systems, there is tons of racism inherent in the funding structure that we need a liberal to fight against, and I would really LOVE an education debate by the candidates, I feel like we have not had ONE discussion of education at all this campaign. Finally, I want our taxation to move in a sane and progressive direction before we become the next Kansas thinking tax cuts will save the economy. Strong trade agreements, investment in education and research and development, and a higher minimum wage will spur more job growth in my opinion, and it pains me to see that Hillary is pushing more tax cuts as a solution to the problems we have in our society. I’m willing to pay higher taxes if it means a better society, I think Bernie will finally be a progressive voice making that case to the American people.
So yeah, that’s why I”m supporting Bernie as the Democratic nominee, and I think some of those reasons are why a lot of people my age are supporting him too, feel free to tell me what you think, at this point I don't think I’ll be swayed from my vote, but I always like to hear some good pro-Hillary points to support her for in the future, if she is our nominee.