Outsider in the White House

I now know why so many young people got behind Bernie Sanders after reading his book Outsider in the White House.  It is a “book within a book” in which he wrote many years ago, 1997, while he served in Congress and then an added intro and conclusion as he enters the race for President of the United States.  This memoir focuses on his political ideology as a progressive with strong socialist views.   Sanders presents all of his various campaigns for office, from his early losses as Mayor and Congressman, to his wins as Burlington mayor and later as Congressman for Vermont. Sanders serves as the first independent elected to the office of Congress in more than 40 years.  He is clearly a pioneer who fights for the benefit of the poor.  Much of the book shares the intricacies of his campaigns in which he fights big-financed challengers, always in the pockets of companies willing to have a political candidate keep the rich-richer.  Sanders advocates for campaign finance reform where there are caps in how much a candidate can raise for an election.  But his major focus always comes back to the poor, where he believes that if the poor realized their ability to impact an election, they would vote more for candidates who cared for them.  Minimum wage increase, welfare support, education enhancements, and other initiatives that impacted the poor to be more advantaged in our society has always been his main pursuit, ensuring there is more economic equity among all Americans.  Additionally, he describes how he fought the Persian Gulf War, always fearing that innocent men and women in the military would die for fights not worth fighting.  He also has been strong on immigration reform, environmental focus to save our world, voter registration initiatives, improving and focusing on key international world relations, and education affordability.  He is a staunch believer in equal rights from a gender, sexual-orientation, and religion/cultural basis.  His platform and when he presents his ideas suggest he is usually ahead of mainstream thought.  During the Clinton (Bill) Presidency, he argued for more and faster movement on many of the issues listed above.  While he clashed with many during his run for office, he always seemed to present a congenial and respectful disagreement.    The book is timely and helps reinforce this platform, but also a chance for one to compare it to the two current political front runners for President of the United States.  If you aren’t into politics, Sanders presents a case why you should.  I enjoyed reviewing his history and all of the challenges that a third party politician faces.