Socialist battle cry: Frustrated voters look to Sanders

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Along comes Bernie Sanders, sounding the progressive version of the Tea Party outcry, and suddenly voters long fed up with what they see as the greed of corporate America and a government that caters to the rich are thinking the time is right for — dare they say it? — some socialist-leaning policies.

"It's obscene that billionaires enjoy so many privileges. I think sometimes 'we the people' are left out of the political process," said former state senator Daryl Beall, a Fort Dodge Democrat who has endorsed Sanders. "Bernie is not going to be bought."

"I wasn't sure that a New England Jewish socialist would do very well among Iowa voters," Beall added, "but wow! They responded."

The Vermont U.S. senator, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, is riding the "up" escalator in Iowa polling, prompting catch phrases like "Feel the Bern" and "Bern-mentum."

Sanders' Iowa support isn't a protest vote — 83% of his backers here say they're supporting him because of what he stands for, not because they want to send Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton a message or deny her the nomination, a June 19-22 Bloomberg Politics poll found.

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"I think this is the best time yet to move forward with a democratic socialist agenda," said Nicole Schnittger, who was among the audience of 2,500 at a Sanders rally in Council Bluffs last week, where people applauded with hands over their heads, waved blue "Bernie for president" signs and responded to almost everything he said with ear-piercing roars of approval.

"I just believe people are more open to helping each other out, especially the younger generation," added Schnittger, a University of Nebraska student and the mother of a 16-year-old son.

The socialist vision isn't fixed, although its classic definition has meant public ownership of the means of production. If you probe Sanders on his vision for democratic socialism, and probe his Iowa audiences about how far they want to go, their agenda centers on reforming capitalism — not replacing it.

"You don't have to worry about the word 'socialist' — just look at what I'm talking about," he told The Des Moines Register in an interview last week.

SANDERS ON ISSUES, TAXES TO FREE TUITION

Sanders stands for an economy that works "for ordinary Americans," he said. He wants campaign finance reform that strips billionaires of their ability to "buy elections." He calls for an infrastructure program paid for by the federal government that would create millions of jobs. He cheerleads for better retirement benefits from the government, tax reforms that would levy more on the wealthy and big corporations, environmental reforms to deal with global warming, and free tuition at public colleges and universities.

None of those issues is "really socialist in any rigorous sense," said Michael Howard, a philosophy professor at the University of Maine who studies socialism.

But if by socialist one means restoring public investment in infrastructure, equality in educational opportunity, greater equity in our tax laws, and accountability for big banks and corporations, "then we are at a moment when the nation may be ripe for the pendulum to swing in that direction," Howard said.

Julie Whistman, who came from Kansas City just to catch Sanders in Iowa on Friday, said she became a fan after her college student son, Joe, who has studied socialist movements, showed her a YouTube video of Sanders.

"I think the term 'socialism' makes people nervous because they think it takes away from democracy," said Whistman, who was laid off in February and is now a self-employed consultant in the manufacturing industry. "Socialism is about making a society that people want to live in and that's equitable."

Gina Russ, an 18-year-old Omaha resident who will attend the University of Kansas in the fall, said she's drawn to Sanders' socialism because it's "about being more willing to share what you have."

"He's seen as very radical," said Russ, who was at the Council Bluffs rally with a pack of youths. "But he definitely is getting there. I think he can win."

VAST MAJORITY IN IOWA SEE CLINTON AS WINNER

National public opinion surveys in recent years — Rasmussen, Pew Center, Gallup — have shown 35% to 45% of young people under age 30 express a favorable view of socialism, said David Kotz, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of The Rise and Fall of Neoliberal Capitalism.

In Iowa, Sanders is viewed positively by 57% of Democratic likely caucusgoers, up 10 points since October 2014, the Bloomberg survey found. And the percentage with a negative view of Sanders is decreasing.

It's not just a matter of Sanders becoming better known, said Bloomberg's pollster, Iowa-based political guru Ann Selzer. The stronger evidence is that he's converting people who used to be turned off, she said.

But the big caveat is that 80% of Iowa Democratic caucusgoers think Clinton will be the nominee. Clinton still leads Sanders 50% to 24% as their most popular choice for president, the poll shows.

"It's going to be an uphill fight, certainly," Beall acknowledged.

But several politics watchers see signs that people are sufficiently unhappy with the status quo that they are now open to an alternative — namely Sanders.

"He's not personally ambitious, he has no corporate connections and he is saying what many people are feeling: Tax the rich, use the proceeds for programs that benefit the majority," Kotz said.

Howard said: "People are drawn toward the left, if not explicitly toward socialism, when the country tips too far in the direction of domination by capital."

SANDERS: MY VIEWS ARE MAINSTREAM POSITIONS

Sanders argues he's in the mainstream. A majority of Americans want government health care for all, despite the power of insurance companies, which have so far blocked this change, he said. A majority see the threat of greenhouse gas emissions, despite the clout of fossil fuel companies, which have blocked serious action, he said.

Social and economic justice activist Doug Paterson, who has a doctorate from Cornell University and teaches theater at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has considered himself a socialist for 50 years.

He envisions "a strong public economy." Right now, the country has a private economy, "and people of color will never catch up," said Paterson, who attended the Council Bluffs rally.

Whether Sanders' ideas take root depends partly on whether he gets a fair hearing in the news media, or if he's given slight coverage due to a lack of a campaign war chest the size of Clinton's, Howard said.

Clinton, in New Hampshire over the Fourth of July holiday, got coverage from national news outlets, while Sanders, despite setting an Iowa record for crowd size for any single candidate in the 2016 presidential election cycle so far, drew a small press contingent of mostly Council Bluffs-area outlets.

"Major media," Howard said, "play a role in shaping popular opinion."

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