No matter how Iowa comes out tomorrow, Bernie Sanders has just done two important things.
Today his campaign announced that he has raised $20 million on-line in just one month! This is unprecedented. It could be the beginning of the end of fat cat funding across the entire political spectrum. The fat cats will die hard, as will their lazy recipients. But the day may be coming when the people will finance all the campaigns, local and state and Congressional, out of their own pockets and thus get the governing they want. It started with Howard Dean, continued with Barack Obama but never at this scale.
The second big achievement was announced today in the New York Times. Bernie Sanders is now drawing voters from the biggest block of all, the under $50,000-a-year income group. This is huge news about a huge voting block. Until now skeptics have said Sanders' base was too narrow, consisting of the young, educated, and affluent. The middle class and poorer voters have now begun to hear him and respond. This is good for Sanders' campaign but it's also good for these folks who have been getting squished by the rich. They need a champion and now they have one. You can see the article at http://www.nytimes.com/…/bernie-sanders-is-making-surprisin…
Meantime, a snowstorm threatens Iowa for tomorrow evening. If it arrives, will it suppress turnout?
And so we wait to see how this wildy interesting year progresses through Act One of the choosing of the president of the United States of America. Can a simple thing like a snowfall make the difference?
Footnote: The NY Times article alleges Sanders is losing some affluent people but offers no substantiation. If so, it's still better to gain from the bigger pool of under $50K per year.
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