Who is sanders

Experts thought it unlikely that Sanders would be able to wrestle the Democratic nomination away from frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but Sanders wasn't worried about being an underdog. Sanders' platform focused on issues of inequality in the United States.

Economically, he favored tax reform to increase rates for the wealthy, greater governmental oversight of Wall Street and balancing the disparity between wages for men and women. He also advocated for a state-administered health care system, more-affordable higher education — including tuition-free public colleges and universities — and an expansion of the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid systems.

A social liberal, he supported same-sex marriage and pro-choice policy. One of the trademarks that defined Sanders' campaign was his call for a "political revolution," which asked for everyday citizens to become active in the political process and be the change they wanted to see on any given issue. The other trademark was his fight to take corporate money out of politics, specifically, overturning the Citizens United ruling, which allows corporations and the wealthy elite to pour unlimited amounts of money into campaigns.

Such money, Sanders vehemently argued, undermines democracy by skewing policies that favor the extremely rich. Of the ruling, he said: "As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other billionaire families.

These wealthy contributors can literally buy politicians and elections by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the candidates of their choice. We need to overturn Citizens United and move toward public funding of elections so that all candidates can run for office without being beholden to the wealthy and powerful.

Staying true to his principles, Sanders relied almost solely on small individual donations rather than Super PACs to run his presidential primary race. To the surprise of many and admittedly, to Sanders himself, he made an unprecedented mark on campaign fundraising in American politics. In December , Time magazine wrote, "Bernie Sanders has broken the fundraising record for most contributions at this point in a presidential campaign," even surpassing President Obama 's fundraising record for his reelection bid.

In February , it was reported that Sanders had "received 3. Sanders' Michigan primary victory in March is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in modern political history. He won 50 to 48, despite late polls showing he was trailing Clinton at least 20 percentage points. The only time such an egregious polling error was recorded came during the Democratic primary, when polls showed Walter Mondale leading Gary Hart by 17 percentage points.

Hart actually won Michigan by more than nine points. Sanders' shocking win was a testament that his liberal populist message could resonate within a diverse state such as Michigan and beyond. It was also a huge psychological blow to Clinton's campaign, which had hoped to seal her nomination with ease.

Also in March, Sanders won the Democrats Abroad international primary by 69 percent. Over 34, American citizens cast their votes in 38 countries, with 13 delegates for the taking. Sanders made more headlines as the first presidential candidate — and the only Jewish one — in the race to abstain from attending the AIPAC conference, an annual pro-Israel lobbying event.

Although Sanders cited his busy campaign schedule for preventing him from participating, some considered his absence controversial. Pro-Palestinian groups, to their satisfaction, viewed his move as a defiant political statement.

Despite the different interpretations, Sanders gave a foreign policy speech remotely as a way of expressing what he would have said at the conference. In the speech he stressed the need for mutual respect and a push for eventual direct talks between Israel and Palestine.

Sanders made history as the only presidential candidate ever to be invited to the Vatican to speak on moral, environmental and economic issues. Amid a contentious New York primary, Sanders flew out for a brief visit to a conference on social sciences in Rome in April Sanders and Pope Francis were often cited as carrying similar moral anthems in regard to the economy and the environment.

Sanders had the opportunity to meet the Pope briefly, but the latter stressed the meet-and-greet was purely out of courtesy so as to not politicize the event. As Sanders' campaign came to a close, along with the reality that the odds were stacked against him, the senator used his political clout to advance the DNC platform before putting his full support behind Clinton. Still, Sanders' overwhelming influence on the DNC platform was a huge victory for the senator and his legion of supporters and was touted as the most progressive platform in the Democratic Party's history.

On July 12, , in front of a rally in New Hampshire, Sanders did what many thought he would never do: He endorsed Clinton for president. It was a huge moment for both campaigns, but their resolve to prevent Republican candidate Donald Trump from becoming the next president superseded their differences. In July , on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Wikileaks published over 19, DNC emails that revealed how officials seemingly favored Clinton over Sanders and sought to undermine his campaign; in one email exchange, DNC staffers discussed how they could question Sanders' "faith to weaken him in the eyes of Southern voters.

The leak also showed the bitter tension between DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver, the collusion between the DNC and the media and the ways in which officials persuade big money donors. Meanwhile, U. Despite the leak, Sanders urged voters and the nearly delegates supporting him at the DNC to vote for Clinton over Trump. Many in Sanders' progressive base criticized him for his continued support of Clinton. After Trump's stunning Election Day win over Clinton, Sanders vowed he would continue to stand up to the new president when necessary.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. The Vermont independent would also cut off billions in subsidies to fossil fuel companies and impose bans on extractive practices, including fracking and mountaintop coal mining, while halting the import and export of coal, oil and natural gas. Sanders vows to recommit the US to the Paris climate accord, a landmark deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon.

The Sanders plan would also impose strict new guidelines on mega-mergers, while asking a revamped Federal Trade Commission to review deals pushed through during the Trump administration. At the time, proponents estimated the plan would create 15 million jobs. He had put forth a similar proposal during his first presidential campaign.

The plan has no eligibility limitations and would be paid for with a new tax on Wall Street speculation. Sanders has consistently voted for legislation that would ban so-called assault weapons and said he would seek to do the same for high-capacity magazines. He has taken this version of the plan one step further since its initial rollout to include long-term care at home and in the community for senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Unlike some of his presidential opponents, Sanders says there should be no private insurance option except for items not covered by his Medicare for All act, such as elective procedures. Sanders argues that the increase in taxes would be more than offset by eliminating the premiums, deductibles and copayments associated with private health insurance. Sanders has called for comprehensive immigration legislation, which includes providing a path toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Sanders has also called for restructuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Belarus-Poland border crisis traps thousands in "catastrophic" conditions. An Iraqi migrant has lost her unborn child in Belarus near the border with Poland, the Belarus Health Ministry said in a statement Thursday. Over the past 24 hours, Shcherbinsky said Thursday, 18 people from the camp turned to hospitals and clinics for medical help.

Talks initiated by the European Union between airlines and transit nations playing a role in transporting people to Belarus are starting to yield results, Germany said.

The EU and other Western powers have accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of creating a migrant crisis on the eastern edge of the bloc as retribution for sanctions over human rights abuses. Lukashenko's government has repeatedly denied such claims, instead blaming the West for the crossings and poor treatment of migrants.

Sasse's comments follow an announcement from Turkey, who said in a tweet earlier on Friday that they would ban Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni citizens from flying from Turkish airports to Belarus. Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the border crisis a "challenge to the whole of the European Union. This is the attempt of an authoritarian regime to try to destabilize its democratic neighbours.

This will not succeed," she said. As the humanitarian crisis on the border worsens, a group of residents in the eastern Polish town of Michalowo have decided to step in to help people who have managed to cross the frontier into the European Union.

Basic medical aid and food supplies are also available, Ancipiuk said. The center, which was opened on October 4 in response to the situation on the border, has received donations from people around Poland and abroad. It also provides supplies to organizations that are helping people stuck on the border.

Ancipiuk said that the center also had a good relationship with the local Border Guards unit, who they donated food and clothes to. Volunteers are also teaming up with local hospitals to help fill any gaps in services there too, donating food, medication and clothes to injured migrants. Russia and Belarus are flexing their military might for a second time this week as they hold joint paratrooper drills near the Polish border on Friday. The exercises are being held "in connection with the buildup of military activity near the State Border of the Republic of Belarus," according to a statement from the Belarusian Defense Ministry Some 15, Polish soldiers have been deployed to Poland's border with Belarus recently, in reaction to the tense standoff there.

Belarusian and Russian paratroopers will perform a number of combat training tasks, it added. Russia, Belarus' largest and most important political and economic partner, has defended Minsk's handling of the border crisis while also denying any involvement in it.

On Wednesday, Russian and Belarusian forces performed joint military exercises over Belarus airspace. The two long-range Russian Tupolev TuM3 supersonic long-range bombers practiced "issues of interaction with ground control points" with armed forces of both countries, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is also scaling up security around border with Belarus. On Thursday, it announced it would hold military drills with some 8, servicemen and 15 helicopters in an area near its borders with Poland and Belarus to counter a potential migrant crisis. On Wednesday the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US is "concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity" and mentioned the possibility that Russia may be "attempting to rehash" its invasion of Ukraine.

And what if we stop the transit of natural gas there? Russia is a country guaranteeing the energy security of the European continent. Poland has accused the Belarusian regime of using migrants as propaganda tools, amping up a war of words as the humanitarian and geopolitical crisis on their border continues. Polish authorities also said Friday that border crossing attempts had been made by migrants on Thursday from the Belarusian side.

Over 4, people have tried to cross the border since the start of this month, it added. The Polish Ministry of Defense shared a video on their official Twitter account on Friday, purportedly showing migrants crossing the Kuznica border crossing on the Belarusian side.

For a typical candidate, the majority of respondents are undecided about how they think they'd perform, but not Sanders: just shy of half of people who say they'll vote in the Democratic primary think he'd beat Trump, and about a third think he'd lose.

That winning percentage is more than twenty points points higher than typical, which is rather good among the contenders. Insider has conducted polling about how voters feel about candidate attributes or qualifications.

We asked respondents about a list of possible qualifications and if they made them more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate for president. We can then see how different candidates' resumes stack up compared to those preferences.

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