When presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders attracted 5,500 people to an early campaign kickoff at the University of Denver (Tseng) on June 20th, 2015, an echoing common gripe with the Senator was whispered throughout the crowd. People in attendance felt a commonality amongst themselves both in their support for Bernie Sanders but also in their doubt of the so called ‘electibilty’ of a self-proclaimed democratic socialist from Vermont (Kilgore), and I was amongst them. However, by February 2016, Sanders was attracting the largest crowds amongst all presidential candidates, in excess of thirty thousand at a Boston Rally just months later. This dramatic change and substantially shifted the outlook of the race, as the momentum led Senator
…show more content…
Bernie Sanders is vying for political office by way of Weber’s third justification, charisma. As NBC’s Saturday Night Live called him, Bernie Sanders is the “Cool Socialist Grandpa” that has delighted the youth of America by way of his ‘radical’ opinions on income inequality and the issues that stem from such a divide. Bernie Sanders has single handedly brought income inequality into the debate amongst 2016 presidential candidates, as he has exemplified Weber’s charisma classification, as “Charismatic authority is found in a leader whose mission and vision inspire others.” …show more content…
While Charisma is enough to propel Sanders to notoriety, his campaign platform is where the populous makes their decision on electability, regardless of how true the Weberian models on legitimacy may be. Many Americans are not familiar with Socialism or how deeply rooted it already is in our country, and many more consider socialist a dirty word, without considering the true meaning. Even more difficult still for the Senator, the term democratic socialist is one that Sanders coined himself, confusing the general populous to an even greater degree, which has yet to be exploited by the republicans in attack ads. These socialist ideals however, fall most strongly on the ears of the young, as the Daily Caller
Bernie Sanders is vying for political office by way of Weber’s third justification, charisma. As NBC’s Saturday Night Live called him, Bernie Sanders is the “Cool Socialist Grandpa” that has delighted the youth of America by way of his ‘radical’ opinions on income inequality and the issues that stem from such a divide. Bernie Sanders has single handedly brought income inequality into the debate amongst 2016 presidential candidates, as he has exemplified Weber’s charisma classification, as “Charismatic authority is found in a leader whose mission and vision inspire others.” …show more content…
While Charisma is enough to propel Sanders to notoriety, his campaign platform is where the populous makes their decision on electability, regardless of how true the Weberian models on legitimacy may be. Many Americans are not familiar with Socialism or how deeply rooted it already is in our country, and many more consider socialist a dirty word, without considering the true meaning. Even more difficult still for the Senator, the term democratic socialist is one that Sanders coined himself, confusing the general populous to an even greater degree, which has yet to be exploited by the republicans in attack ads. These socialist ideals however, fall most strongly on the ears of the young, as the Daily Caller