It has become all too clear that the Trump administration is not the bastion of new-age conservatism that many of his supporters hoped for. However, could the working class find their savior in a New England socialist?
Trump’s previous calls for non-intervention has been replaced by foreign bombings carried out by a cadre of Republican hawks. His populist platform has been dropped in favor of tax cuts for the rich and corporations. Instead of focusing on faith and family, his reign has brought upon us a war on helpless refugees.
Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has been consistent for decades. He has never wavered from his support for universal healthcare and free college for the most Americans. His record in Congress speaks to his long standing support for a more diplomatic foreign policy. Meanwhile, his support for paid leave and free childcare programs will do more for working families than Trump’s ongoing negligence.
Indeed, the socially progressive Sanders may better understand middle America than he’s often given credit for. He’s open to endorsing anti-abortion candidates. He has led the fight to protect minor league baseball in small towns across the country. In the 2016 primaries, Sanders consistently won some of the most conservative counties in the nation, gaining the support of many voters that would pull the lever for Trump that November.
Sanders is by no means the ideal candidate for conservatives. However, faced with a Republican Party that will be running on a platform of tone deaf neoliberalism swaddled in a populist facade, the vote of the heartland may very well be stanched by the charming radical from Vermont.
