December 17, 2019 by Truthdig<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 15 Comments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n After he was hospitalized for a\u00a0<\/em>heart attack<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in October, pundits questioned whether Sanders should continue his campaign. Instead, Sanders has bounced back stronger than ever, according to two new polls.(Photo: Alex Edelman\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bernie Sanders refuses to be counted out of the Democratic primary field, and, based on two recent polls, it appears that voters are backing him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After he was hospitalized for a heart attack<\/a> in October, pundits questioned whether Sanders should continue his campaign. The Washington Post observed that the incident raised questions about his age<\/a>, reminding readers that he is 78. Politico media writer Jack Shafer wrote at the time that if America had a version of the 25th Amendment<\/a> that applied to presidential candidates (not just to presidents), \u201cwe would be talking right now about subtracting Bernie Sanders from the campaign trail until he proves himself physically fit to assume the powers of [the] chief executive of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, Sanders has bounced back stronger than ever, according to two new polls. An NPR\/PBS NewsHour\/Marist Poll released Monday shows that even in the crowded Democratic primary field, 22% of respondents<\/a> said they would vote for Sanders. Joe Biden came in first place, at 24%. Together, they have the support of almost half of Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent respondents. Elizabeth Warren came in third place, at 17%. Pete Buttigieg was fourth, at 13%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The survey wasn\u2019t the only good polling news for Sanders in the past week. In a survey of California Democratic voters by the University of California at Berkeley\u2019s Institute of Governmental Studies, 24% of respondents said they prefer Sanders over Warren (22%), Biden (14%) and Buttigieg (12%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley poll<\/a>, told the Los Angeles Times that \u201cthe race is really unusually fluid.\u201d In terms of specific candidate qualities, the Times observers, Sanders was respondents\u2019 top choice in three areas: \u201cbeing the candidate who would bring the right kind of change to Washington (28%), the one who comes closest to sharing voters\u2019 values (27%) and the candidate who best understands the problems of \u2018people like you\u2019 (28%).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Media outlets are taking notice of this upswing in public opinion, with BuzzFeed<\/a> and Politico<\/a> releasing Sanders-focused features on the same day. BuzzFeed\u2019s piece is a profile of the candidate; Politico\u2019s is an analysis of what a Sanders administration and governing style might look like. While it might seem early to plan a Cabinet, as David Siders explains in Politico, \u201cIf the 2016 election taught the political class anything, it\u2019s that the old limits of plausibility no longer apply, and the prospect of a Sanders presidency is worth taking seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BuzzFeed profile suggests that the Sanders campaign is deploying a strategy related to its new slogan: \u201cNot me, us.\u201d The plan, writer Ruby Cramer implies, is to get away from the perception that Sanders is focused only on himself, and instead present a message that emphasizes his campaign as a broader social movement aiming to fight economic inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s this idea that Bernie Sanders is \u2018a man of the people who doesn\u2019t like people\u2019\u2014just issues,\u201d Cramer explains. \u201cThat\u2019s not exactly right, though the precise balance between the two can be difficult to pin down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cramer recounts how, in 1990, Sanders told his press secretary, \u201cSome people say I am very hard to work with,\u201d according to that former staffer\u2019s memoir. \u201cThey say I can be a real son of a bitch. They say I can be nasty, I don\u2019t know how to get along with people. \u2026 Well, maybe there\u2019s some truth to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Cramer\u2019s conversations with Sanders\u2019 staff and supporters, as well as outside experts, he is countering that narrative by balancing the giant rallies typical of his 2016 campaign with more discussion-oriented town hall events, where attendees can share their stories not only with the candidate, but with each other, building a sense of togetherness and collective power. The campaign also is focusing on sharing people\u2019s stories of struggle under an unequal economic system, rather than simply Sanders\u2019 own. It is also releasing campaign ads and videos featuring stories of families struggling to pay their rent, deal with medical debt or pay for college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe stories he collects and broadcasts across the internet aren\u2019t just voter testimonials produced to validate the campaign or its policies\u2014they\u2019re aimed, in Bernie\u2019s mind, at people validating one another,\u201d Cramer writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for Sanders\u2019 governing style<\/a>, Siders writes in Politico that his aides imagine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 a government driven by impatience, one that sees itself with a mandate to confront climate change vigorously, to shore up the nation\u2019s labor unions and defend its immigrant populations. Maybe there won\u2019t really be Medicare for All, thanks to Mitch McConnell and a Republican Senate, but they at least see less expensive prescription drugs and health care for more people than currently have it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n With two months to go until the first primaries<\/a> and three until Super Tuesday<\/a>, there is plenty of time for the narrative to change, but whatever happens, it looks like the media might finally have to take Sanders seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ilana Novick<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a contributing writer to the\u00a0PolicyShop<\/a>\u00a0blog at\u00a0Demos<\/em><\/a>,a progressive think tank based in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 2019 TruthDig<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It looks like the media might finally have to take Sanders seriously. by Ilana Novick December 17, 2019 by Truthdig 15 Comments After he was hospitalized for a\u00a0heart attack\u00a0in October, pundits questioned whether Sanders should continue his campaign. Instead, Sanders has bounced back stronger than ever, according to two new polls.(Photo:… Continue reading ![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/views-article\/bernie_7.jpg?itok=fj18tBDX\")
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