The Bernie Sanders Appeal

Answering the Question - I am no fan of Sanders but I believe that his appeal is a function of several factors. these are:

1. He is honest about his position and is generally consistent with respect to his socialist stance;
2. Sanders stands outside the party mainstream which on the Left side of the political spectrum seems weak in light of GOP success;
3. He represents genuine progressive talking points untainted by Third Way politics;
4. His ideas have that “New Deal’ feel to them;
5. He did very well against Hillary Clinton despite having to fight against a system that seemed rigged against him from the get go;
6. Like Trump he has a voice that can potentially resonate with Blue Collar Voters;
7. He appeals to millennials who as a consequence of what is now mainstream US education don’t see his ideas as extreme (many are far removed from the Cold War);
8. In a more global world his ideas are not that extreme - for better or for worse (in my opinion for worse) he largely mimics most of the left of center political positions in Europe;
9. People see him as a politician with a difference who offers a low level of perceived corruption - has that drain the swamp take but in a much nicer way than Trump;
10. He talks in platitudes and universals about entitlements and Economic rights - this has its obvious appeal (who doesn’t love free stuff for example).