As President Donald Trump continues to implement and intimidate, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders fights for citizens who might be losing hope.
Sanders embarked on his “Fight Oligarchy” tour with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC. His goal is to have real discussions with Americans about how to attack issues involving the people with the most power and money in the country taking over. With that, more and more of the American Democratic Party has come to light with Sanders’s messages, spanning back to the day after the election.
“Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.”
Bernie Sanders
Sanders uploaded this to his Instagram the day after the election, Nov. 6, and received a lot of attention.
As Sanders says, “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.” Since the election results, it has become a clear beacon of a divided nation, specifically the divide between the rich and the working class.
The election results made it clearer that more and more people were upset with the current state of our country under the previous presidency. They saw this new presidency as an era of economic growth and change, but it has been far from that.
Sanders accused Trump of becoming an authoritative leader using illegal constitutional interpretation to dissolve departments, such as the Department of Education, through executive orders. With this, Sanders has drawn in large crowds during his nationwide tour “Fight Oligarchy” with AOC, some of the largest crowds in his entire political career. While he is not running for POTUS again, this raises questions about whether there should be a new era for the Democratic Party and who should represent them and the people.
Sanders’s rise in popularity comes from a trend in which the Democratic Party has an all-time low approval rate. Specifically, Sanders said that “the Democratic Party has no grassroots.” What exactly does this mean? This means that at this time, our government’s political state is focused on the powers held by our two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans, to thrive only due to the existing functions of uber-wealthy donors who fund these parties.
Interestingly, this brings into question the concept of “oligarchy” and how Elon Musk has come into play with our government. Musk spent over 300 million in financing for the Trump campaign and is now at the forefront of the Trump administration, overseeing and overhauling these government programs. Many elected officials, including Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, and Corey Booker, consider this to be the start of an oligarchical hierarchy in American politics, with the rich grouping together to control the working class and continuing to limit them through political and economic power.
While this is growing into a more significant concern due to the domineering voices of Trump and Musk, Sanders has been talking and warning us for years about these tactics. With the Trump administration, however, it has become a glaring and shocking display of power and influence in our everyday reality, specifically with more and more constituents having the rug pulled out from underneath them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing intense backlash from Democrats and the public alike for his decision to rally several Democrats to pass a Republican spending bill in opposition to a government shutdown — something he claimed was his “Hobson’s choice.”
With the public feeling dejected and isolated from the Democratic party, Sanders’ rallying and stepping up in leadership has raised the question of who will be the next Democratic candidate to turn the tide of the vote for the 2028 Presidential Election, or simply the next progressive who can stand on their own two feet and not bow down to the Republicans.
“This isn’t just about Republicans, either. We need a Democratic party that fights harder for us, too,”
Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez
Some believe that candidates could include AOC herself, as she is embarking on the “Fight Oligarchy” tour with Sanders and his outpouring of popularity due to the current state of our country. She might be the strongest and most allied contender to continue his mission and beliefs. Some also believe prominent names such as Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom could become the next Democratic candidate in 2028, but it is important to note that it is not always about looking toward the future for a formidable opponent. Instead, we must now try to exercise and fight for our amendments and rights, just as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been.