Bernie Sanders: Americans have a 'right to be angry'
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tried to tap into a deep vein of voter frustration as he made the case for a sweeping government expansion on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.
With polls showing Sanders in a nail-biter with frontrunner Hillary Clinton, the Vermont candidate earned cheers Sunday from the more than 1,700 who packed a Des Moines gym with promises of a massive federal jobs program, an expansion of health insurance, tuition-free public higher education and a new infusion of funding for infrastructure projects.
>>Read more: What is a caucus and why does Iowa have one?
“I’m angry. And the American people have a right to be angry,” Sanders said to wild applause. “They are working, in many cases, longer hours for lower wages … They’re worried about their parents. And meanwhile, most of the new income and wealth in this country is going to the top 1 percent.”
He’s tapped into a similar tide of voter angst that has helped fuel Republican Donald Trump to the top of the GOP polls in Iowa. But both anti-establishment candidates also face huge questions about whether they can translate the wave of voter enthusiasm into support at the caucuses on a freezing Monday night.
The raucous crowd that showed up Sunday night seemed eager to answer that question with a chant they repeated as Sanders prepared to speak.
“We. Will. Caucus.”
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
