NYT Editorial: Bernie Sanders and the Youth Vote

Mr. Sanders’s appeal to young people earned him imitation by his Democratic rivals, as well as the criticism that he is a one-note candidate short on workable solutions. For his young fans, the unchanging nature of his pitch has deepened their connection to him. His rallies feel like a combination revival meeting and rock musical festival, down to the funky vendors hawking rainbow-hued “Feel the Bern” merchandise.

Sunday at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Krissy Haglund, a doctor whose student debt tops $3,800 a month, had road-tripped from Minneapolis with her two young children to join in the movement. While Mr. Sanders spoke, Ms. Haglund made a handmade sign reading “Student Loan Reform” on a pizza box, then jumped up and down waving it until Mr. Sanders noticed. “Yes, the young lady there, we’ll get to that in a minute.”

Alongside Dr. Haglund, young people in college sweatshirts, a man with lots of piercings and a Sanders cap, a woman with a baby in a cloth sling, and a middle-aged couple called out “zero!” when he asked what the financing rate on an education should be. Many hands go up when Mr. Sanders asks who has student loans. When he ticks off the sins of big banks, the crowd boos. On Saturday night in Cedar Rapids, as he introduced another “international embarrassment” that must be stopped, somebody shouted “Trump!” and the place went crazy. Even when he expounds on something as potentially boring as offshore tax havens, people listen, which surprises him.

In a new Quinnipiac poll released Monday, Mr. Sanders was favored by a whopping 74 percent among 18 to 44 year-olds, compared with 23 percent for Hillary Clinton.

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/bernie-sanders-and-the-youth-vote/