In a crowded Republican field, some conservatives have broken from the mess – for Bernie Sanders.
First, libertarians had the chance to feel the Bern and rush to the democratic socialist. Now, disillusioned conservatives who think the Republican Party has gone astray have given Sanders a serious look.
“The Republican Party of 2016 in no way advocates for Conservatism in America any longer,” Bill Norman wrote. The focus on tax policy for the wealthy, giving up the working class to the Democratic Party, and the failure to protect civil liberties since 9/11 pushed Norman away. He found hope in Sanders.
“The current Republican Party has transformed America into an oligarchy. We live in a nation where the politicians choose their voters, and where a corporation’s right to free speech overrides our individual right to have a government ‘for the people, by the people,’” he said.
Sanders has based a major part of his campaign on reforming how elections are funded. For those who believe the problem in America is the political system, that’s an attractive platform plank to pull them in.
The Sanders allure for conservatives isn’t so far-fetched. A rising populism and anti-establishment feelings have driven the 2016 election. Trump isn’t exactly a conservative standard-bearer, yet he leads the GOP electorate so far. Sanders has worked in the Senate as a independent. With ideologies and party loyalty scattered across the political map, why not cross party lines for an unorthodox candidate?
Norman isn’t the only conservative to turn to Sanders. They don’t adopt the complete Sanders platform, but he offers more that speaks to their anger, alienation, and disappointment in the Republican Party than any GOP candidates has so far. That sort of bipartisanship isn’t exactly what the GOP wants to see.
Trump, Norman wrote, “has channeled the anger and frustration of the disaffected into a frothy rage.” So has Sanders, and the Frankenstein’s monster of support behind both candidates makes analysis difficult. All that can be said with a degree of certainty is that both parties face a divide between their leaders and their voting bases.
