In August 1963, hundreds of demonstrators protested throughout Chicago for an end to segregation in the educational system. The Chicago Public School System intended on adding mobile classrooms at majority-black schools instead of sending black students to the white schools with open seats. During this massive protest, several demonstrators were arrested, Bernie Sanders being one of them. 

Sanders began his political career by fighting alongside minorities and targeted groups for justices, whether that be by leading sit-ins throughout his time at the University of Chicago to protesting housing discrimination. 

Meanwhile, in 1987, Joe Biden fabricated a story of leaving a diner when his black classmate was thrown out. The classmate later corrected this story, saying that Biden stayed and finished his meal. 

Biden repeatedly showed this lack of care towards injustices throughout his time as a politician. In 1985, Biden voted for the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which started the reign of harsh mandatory minimums and the notorious sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. In 1994, Biden voted for the Crime Bill, which is responsible for the mass incarceration that followed years after. 

According to Jacobi writer Branko Marcetic, while President George H. W. Bush started the war on drugs that targeted the black community and drastically increased the number of black individuals in prison, Biden furthered this war on drugs, proclaiming that Bush’s plan wasn’t “tough enough”. Furthermore, Biden pushed for an expansion of the death penalty, specifically voting for a bill that included 51 crimes in the death penalty and restricted inmates in appealing their executions. 

Biden may promise reforms to criminal justice, but as seen from his history with criminal justice, these are clearly empty promises. Time and time again, Biden shows his priorities and these priorities will not address the injustices that he has created. His main priority is to gain more votes, not to fix any problems. 

The American Civil Liberties Union spent $1 million on mailers to tell them that while all the other presidential candidates had taken a stance on criminal justice reform and immigration, Biden avoided taking any firm stances, showing his goal in simply gaining votes from both sides of an issue. 

However, Sanders doesn’t hesitate when it comes to taking strong stances on issues, unlike Biden who cowers away from such issues in fear of losing corporate funding. Sanders openly speaks about his views, which include raising taxes on the rich, increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour, forgiving student debt, and Medicare for all. 

Sanders’ opponents criticize his policies for their lack of plausibility. However, what they fail to account for is America’s massive amount of spending on military, economy and other unnecessary affairs. 

On Thursday, March 11, the Federal Reserve announced its plan to pump $1.5 trillion into the economy to fix the damage caused by Coronavirus. Ironically enough, this amount of money is equivalent to the current amount of student loan debt. The Federal Reserve’s plan will probably fail as the effects of Coronavirus are extensive. If the government used that amount of money in helping students in debt, homeless on the street, or the sick drowning in hospital bills, some of the many problems Americans face would be solved.

Furthermore, Sanders’ call for Medicare for all is not outrageous. Nearly every European and South American country has universal health care policies. And in a time where Coronavirus has spread rapidly, the U.S. will suffer immensely as tests for this virus are not free and costs can be anywhere from $160 to thousands, depending on where you take the test. 

An American citizen went to the emergency room to take the test and walked away with a $3,270 bill from just the hospital charges. The 33 million Americans without insurance plan to avoid the emergency room and other unnecessary costs as their medical bills will not be affordable. This lack of healthcare heightened the emergency state of Coronavirus and will only worsen the conditions as time goes on. 

Sanders plans to take action as president to avoid such circumstances in the future and to ensure that every American has access to healthcare. 

Many former presidential candidates like Hilary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren have also attacked Sanders by claiming he failed to act on his views during his years as Vermont’s senator. This attack is still used today by Biden supporters, despite having no validity.

In 2001, Sanders passed an amendment that increased funds to $100 million for community health centers. In 2004, Sanders passed a $22 million increase for a program responsible for heating homes of families in poverty. In 2007, Sanders changed the law so at least 30 percent of hot water in new federal buildings came from solar water heaters. In 2012, Sanders required the corruption of senior military officials to be available to the public. 

In 2018, Sanders went after America’s largest corporation, Amazon, which is something most presidential candidates would never even think of doing. Sanders introduced legislation that would tax corporations for every dollar of federal aid their workers received, which would push those companies to increase their minimum wage. 

Ignorance and fear fuels such claims and attacks towards Sanders. The establishments, the Democratic National Committee, the current Democratic politicians, and the rich do not want Bernie Sanders to reach the presidential campaign. Sanders reveals all the corruption and the problems in the government, the Democratic Party, and America. 

By addressing these problems, Sanders will change the lifestyles of the politicians and the rich, like the Clintons, Bidens, and even the Obamas. They will no longer be able to attend their fundraising dinners and be fueled by corporations. 

Sanders represents a legitimate candidate for office with his respectful and honest character. Sanders displays respect for every American, which is seen in his responses to other candidates and his condemning of supporters engaging in harassment and bullying. 

Biden, on the other hand, faced multiple allegations due to his interactions with women, whether it be calling a 10-year-old girl “good-looking” or attempting to sniff a former candidate’s hair and kiss her neck. Moreover, Biden lacks basic respect for people who don’t support his campaign. During his Michigan visits, videos captured Biden yelling in a worker’s face after the worker accused Biden of ending gun rights. Biden is seen telling the worker that he’s “full of sh*t”. Biden lacks the accountability and respect that the president should maintain, proving why he should not be the future president. 

Sanders prioritizes the needs of every American over the incomes of the corporations and the stability of the top one percent of Americans, changing the initiative of every politician to “not me, us.”