How Iowa’s Independent Streak Explains Bernie Sanders’ Meteoric Rise

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18773/Iowa_Caucus_Bernie-Sanders_Democratic-primary

Sanders has insisted, all along, that his campaign is about creating a “political revolution.” The outcome of the Iowa caucus depends on how many people are willing to suspend disbelief that a revolution is possible. There is no reliable way to capture the depth, breadth and durability of that faith, or to know whether it can prevail. But across the state, glimpses of it are visible—in the Beauchamps, in Kroeger, in Whitfield and in Rebecca Aguilar, who lives in the southeast Iowa town of Fremont and works at Country Kitchen, a chain restaurant in nearby Ottumwa.

Aguilar, 37, voted for Obama in the 2012 general election but didn’t caucus for him. This year, she will not only caucus for Sanders but is working as a precinct captain. It will be her job at the caucus to try to persuade Clinton’s supporters to change sides and support Sanders. In the meantime, she’s been blogging about Sanders, making phone calls, talking to people, writing newspaper editorials, taking part in “too many” Sanders-related local and national groups, and “getting creative.” When the town of Oskaloosa had a holiday parade in early December, for example, she and friends created a Sanders-themed float. For her, the key issues are healthcare, immigration and campaign finance reform.

Polls consistently show that Sanders’ strongest appeal is among voters 18 to 29, and in a narrow sense, the fate of his political revolution will largely depend on whether people like Aguilar turn out in strong numbers February 1. But in a larger sense, perhaps the moral of Aguilar’s story is that the campaign can’t be reduced to what happens at the Iowa caucus or during this election cycle.

“I work in a restaurant; I see a lot of young people,” she says. “They’re just now feeling like they’re being heard— like they do have an opportunity to make a difference in this campaign.”

Aguilar noted that two of her friends—college-age twins who work at the restaurant—have become politically engaged by working for the Sanders campaign.