Vermont’s junior U.S. Senator, Independent Bernie Sanders, has traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire, generating considerable buzz about a possible presidential campaign. On Tuesday evening, a group of progressive Democrats met in Iowa to form a “Draft Bernie Sanders for President” steering committee.
A national Progressive Democrats of America “Draft Bernie” petition has collected 13,000 signatures since May. A branch of the organization is starting a grassroots effort in Iowa to convince Senator Sanders to run as a Democrat in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, the official kickoff to the campaign. They held their second meeting Tuesday, and former Johnson County Democratic Chair Jeff Cox, the local convenor for the campaign, reports that attendance doubled. “Senator Sanders represents the democratic party wing of the Democratic Party. He supports the New Deal and President Roosevelt’s policies and I think that his petitions will have a very wide appeal among Iowa Democrats when their caucuses come around in January 2016. The notion that he is somehow marginal and won’t get any support - people who say that don’t understand the Iowa Democratic Party.”
Cox says he tends to hear three things from Iowans as he petitions for Sanders. “Here’s what I hear. One, I would like to support Elizabeth Warren. Two, I do not want a coronation for Hilary Clinton. And three, I do not want another fiasco like the Nader campaign, a third party campaign. And what I tell people is one, Elizabeth Warren is not running. And two, Senator Sanders appears to be interested in running as a Democrat. He caucuses with the Democrats. When I tell people those things they sign my petition.”
Senator Sanders was unavailable for comment on the Iowa petitions. But appearing on the NPR program On Point Monday, the former Burlington mayor and Congressman told guest host John Harwood whether he runs depends on if there is enough support to bring about what he calls a “political revolution”. “Can we engage those millions and millions of people who are working longer hours for lower wages? Who are maybe working in part time jobs. Who don’t have any health care. Who are disgusted by the growth of wealth and income inequality in America. Can we engage them in a grassroots political revolution? I don’t know. But that’s what I’m trying to find out. If I think we can, I will run. And if I think, at the end of the day, that really can’t happen, I won’t. But that’s the question that I’ve got to answer.”
Seven Days Political Columnist Paul Heintz notes that Sanders has visited New Hampshire, which holds the first primary, twice, and the September trek to Iowa will be his second visit. Heintz expects the Vermont Independent to be a presidential candidate. “I actually think it makes a lot sense politically for him because he does not have to give up his seat in the Senate. He does not have to win. He can get out there and focus on issues he really cares about. I don’t think anybody, including Bernie Sanders himself, is under the illusion that he is going to actually win, or come close to winning. But I think that this is an opportunity for him to get a bigger microphone for his issues, and I think that’s really important to him and to his followers.”
Sanders was in Iowa in May. He is scheduled to return for three town hall meetings in Dubuque, Waterloo and Des Moines on September 13th and 14th.
