On the surface, Bernie Sanders is the long serving Senator of Vermont who has blazed his own trail as an Independent in government since 1979. At the moment he is traveling the country on a book tour to promote his new young-adult title Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution, thus, he is also a best selling author. But to millions of people young and old on the left, Sanders is on a deeper level, the father of what they foresee to be a Democratic Revolution in America. For millions of people, he is already their candidate for President in 2020.

During a special aired by Vice on Tuesday, August 29, the unique position Sanders stands in as the man most championed by the Democratic base, with the most access within the political establishment, is explored to give insight into exactly where Sanders’ commitment lies less than one year after he conceded his bid for office to the donor class’s selection of Hillary Clinton. It is not an easy situation to gauge, as Sanders has been avoiding the question of a potential run four years from now, all the while attempting to bring the more radical demographic of the party together with its moderates, with the sole objective of creating feasibility for a defeat over President Trump when it matters.

Whereas the 76-year-old politician from Brooklyn used the election primary pulpit to inject an anti-corporatist rhetoric and social programs approach into the usual cycle of buzzwords, issues, and agendas, he appears to now juggle his influence so that those on the left who love him maintain their passion, those of the moderate stripe who’d vote for him grow a sense of security in the risks he proposes the nation take in advancing policy with integrity, all the while getting both sides to drift together for a lasting power bloc within the framework of the system; one that moves in a more progressive manner than the mainstream political apparatus has ever seen.

VIA