Bernie Sanders’ run is no fairy tale

If you thought the political landscape couldn’t be more unsettled, think again. In the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders is surging. Hillary Clinton now faces not a coronation, but a contest — one she could lose.

Has there ever been aworse election to be an establishment candidate? Certainly not inmy lifetime. When a pitchfork- populist billionaire is leading one party’s race and a self- described socialist is rapidly gaining ground in the other, I think it’s safe to saywe’re somewhere we haven’t been before.

Formuch of the past year, Clinton led Sanders in national polls by more than 20 points. Now, according to the Real Clear Politics average, her lead has shrunk to less than nine points. And state polls should make Clinton even more nervous. Her once- comfortable lead over Sanders in Iowa is nowjust four points, pretty much a toss- up. And inNew Hampshire, Sanders leads Clinton by six points. It is within the realm of possibility that the presumptive Democratic nominee could lose both of the first two states. Thenwhat?

It’s tempting to look for parallels from 2008, but comparisons with previous election cycles probably don’t mean much. Instead, we should start by looking at Sanders and his message. All along, his campaign has enjoyed less media coverage than it deserves. I believe many journalists accepted the conventional wisdom that he is too unpolished and too far to the left to win the nomination— despite evidence that substantial numbers of Democrats disagree.

Sanders’ central campaign theme is inequality. Over the past four decades, he argues, “Wall Street and the billionaire class” have “rigged the rules to redistribute wealth and income to the wealthiest and most powerful people of this country.”

He proposes to do something about that— lots, in fact. He wants wealthy individuals and large corporations to “pay their fair share” in taxes. He wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour and put millions of people to work by spending $ 1 trillion over five years to renew the country’s aging infrastructure.

And Sanders supports truly universal health care. He describes it as “Medicare for all” and notes that every other major industrialized nation considers medical care a right.

Any Clinton supporters looking for a reason to panic should consider the way the campaign attacked Sanders on health care this week.

Sanders still has an uphill battle. But the Clinton campaign has a fight on its hands— and anything smacking of politicsas- usual is more likely to

lose votes than win them.