To the Editor:

Bernie Sanders. To many, he’s a throwaway side candidate for the Democratic Party, with no chance of beating Hillary Clinton or facing off against Jeb Bush or Donald Trump. To others, he’s not even a viable presidential nominee, being a self-proclaimed democratic socialist and appealing to a very far-left branch of the Democratic Party.

Ever since he was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he has sent the exact same and undiluted message: that the United States is controlled by corporate greed, that the wealthy get richer while the working class gets poorer, that the two-party political system is fundamentally broken, and that our present interpretation of the American dream is askew. He addressed these problems and implemented policies to counter them thirty years ago, changing the city of Burlington forever as its mayor. It would slowly evolve until the business frontier no longer consisted of large corporations, but instead of worker-owned markets. Burlington became the first large American city to run entirely on renewable electricity, and would define itself as the prime example of what Bernie Sanders’s policies can do for the United States.

Since he left mayor in 1989, Bernie has held a seat in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and is the longest-serving independent senator in American history. Even at the national level, he’s sent the exact same jarring message: raise the minimum wage, lift working people out of poverty, work towards a universal healthcare system, and reduce income inequality until the top 1% no longer owns 42% of the national income. He supported same-sex marriage forty years ago, when the majority of the country did not even know what homosexuality was. In 2002, he voted against the war-mongering effort to invade Iraq. In 2010, he spoke clearly of how the Citizens United ruling would slowly turn the United States into an oligarchy.

Now, he’s running for president on the exact same platform.

One of Bernie’s defining characteristics is the cleanliness of his record. He has never flip-flopped on any issues, his entire campaign is funded through private contributions from working Americans (no super-PACs), and he’s been sending the same message as he has been for the last three decades. There’s a reason why he’s attracting tens of thousands of people to his speeches. Listen to one today, and see if you also think Bernie Sanders is the solution America needs.

Jennifer Zhang

Potsdam