In recent days Demorcrats and Republicans alike have questioned the powers of a President of the United States to commit an airstrike without the knowledge or consent of Congress, in this case that President Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian leader Qassam Soleimani through drone strike on January 3, 2020. Approximately two weeks prior to this action, President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 2019, on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Many believe, myself included, that these actions represent the dire need for a Democratic President to be elected in 2020 in order to re-establish America as a reliable, moral government and trustworthy global power. But how? Votes!

According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 60% of registered voters born after the year 1981 are either registered as a Democrat or are Democratic-leaning independents, and generating enthusiasm among this younger, more progressive base of the Democratic Party is crucial for Democrats to win the election in November. Millennials! However, there is a major challenge the Democrats face during this primary period of the election cycle: the ideological divide. 

Among millennials, people born between 1981-1996, approximately 69% support either Senator Elizabeth Warren or Senator Bernie Sanders. On the other hand, nearly half of Democratic voters above the age of 65 support former Vice President Joe Biden, the current frontrunner and clear favorite among the older, more moderate wing of the party. While the Democrats are more associated with being the more liberal party in America’s broken two-party system, over one-third of Biden supporters identify themselves as having some conservative beliefs. What is interesting and really kind of crazy up close, is that while these Democratic voters may think of themselves as conservative religiously or morally,  they are often mistaken!

What has shown to be more effective in winning an election are the policies a candidate proposes, not the political ideology that the corporatist media aligns them with. Therefore, while the media may tout Senator Sanders as a “radical socialist” who is “too far left” to get elected, his policy positions actually align with the majority of the American electorate across party lines. According to a survey conducted by the American Barometer, 70% of Americans support Sanders’ “Medicare-for-All” healthcare proposal, which would transition the United States healthcare system from a privatized structure to a single-payer, nationalized system similar to the ones implemented in just about every other developed nation in the world. According to a poll conducted last year by Data for Progress, nearly 60% of registered voters support the Green New Deal, a bold policy on climate action in which the federal government would create public sector jobs and invest in low-income communities by building energy efficient infrastructure, replacing lead water pipes, and updating America’s energy grid. A tax on the wealth of the richest Americans, which would affect those with a net worth of $32 million or more under Sanders’ proposal, is backed by 74% of voters. These economically populist policies proposed by Senator Sanders would achieve the promises that President Trump touted in his 2016 campaign but couldn’t deliver on, as outsourcing continues to rise and the debt and deficit skyrocket under his administration. The notion that the Democrats need to nominate a moderate such as Joe Biden in order to win this election is a fallacy. Biden’s campaign has failed to generate interest among the party’s young base, and is a mirror image of Hillary Clinton’s abysmally enthusiastic effort to win the presidency in 2016. As scandal after scandal plagues the Trump administration, it is vital for the Democrats to nominate a candidate who will not only bridge the party’s ideological divide and encourage young voters to turn out, but will bring an end to the present circumstance of American politics.