Bernie Sanders, I-VT., and Republican front-runner Donald Trump couldn’t be more fundamentally different. But somehow they have both obtained that pesky yet alluring populist label.
How could two political polar opposites both serve as populist candidates in the same election?
It’s because the country is bitterly divided. Trump and Sanders both represent the will of the common people. And that’s a problem.
They appeal to the two opposing fringes of the political spectrum. Sanders represents the disenchanted Left. Trump represents the indignant Right.
In most cases, Bernie Sanders is the “Anti-Trump.” But these two have some fundamental views in common. In these sparse but significant similarities, we find a few traces of a uniquely bipartisan American consciousness.
Both candidates appeal to the concerns of the lower and middle class, low wages, dismal job prospects and the increasingly agonizing financial pinch felt by the 99 percent.
But the Trump proletariat has a vastly different ideology about the cause of the problem. His followers blame China, immigrants and the incompetency of the federal government.
The Sanders camp blames the wealthy and the politicians beholden to them. Income inequality is their biggest concern, and without drastic progressive change, the U.S will become a dystopian oligarchy—one behemoth, sprawling ghetto dotted with a few gorgeous gated communities.
A more surprising similarity between the two unlikely political rock stars is that they both share a disdain for the farce that is campaign finance law.
Sanders has always been a proponent of campaign finance reform. After the McCain-Feingold Act was effectively upended by Citizens United v. FEC, he has remained one of the most vocal opponents to the corrosive influence of money in politics.
Trump agrees. In a surprising announcement, and to the delight of progressives all over the country, Trump just announced that he is disavowing all super PAC money made in his name.
“I am self-funding my campaign and therefore I will not be controlled by the donors, special interests and lobbyists who have corrupted our politics and politicians for far too long,” Trump said in a campaign statement last week. “I have disavowed all super PAC’s, requested the return of all donations made to said PAC’s, and I am calling on all presidential candidates to do the same.”
It turns out that Donald Trump may be the only willing and able messenger who can explain this issue to GOP voters—an unlikely ally among Democrats, who have been suffering from fundraising struggles caused by that controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision.
Sanders and Trump also share surprisingly similar views on taxation. They both support an increase in income taxes for top earners, although Sanders wants a far more progressive rate.
The sizeable populist appeal of these candidates is grounded in the bitter reality that is the plight of the American worker. Discontent is rising because wages are stagnating, and the perception of American exceptionalism has withered away into a shell of distrusting, unhappy and overworked citizens.
It’s a lazy comparison, though—likening the real estate/casino mogul with the esteemed senator from Vermont.
Bernie Sanders has a substantial congressional voting record. Donald Trump has no voting record. Sanders is running on his ideas as his campaign platform. Trump is mostly running on his personality.
The reason that these two long shot, aspiring nominees are polling so well can be summed up in one word: Authenticity.
The American people want a candidate who means what they say and says what they think—whether it is a repugnant, blanket statement from a multi-billionaire who disparages Mexicans, or a declaration of political revolution from a politician who intentionally alienates the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.
In this election, the voters crave genuineness. And that’s one more thing that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have in common.
