Is Bernie Sanders a Leftist or a Moderate?
It depends on the spectrum that voters use to assess his candidacy.
When The New York Times’ popular podcast The Daily broadcast an episode about the field of Democratic presidential candidates, the political reporter Alex Burns described a “full spectrum” of contenders “running from sort of quasi-Marxist to avowedly moderate,” with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont situated on its left flank.
In his telling, the debate about whether Democrats need to move to the left or to the center is “almost entirely about the economy,” while “when it comes to matters of identity and different social-justice issues,” there’s little disagreement. For example, there’s near-consensus on gay marriage, abortion rights, and gun control. “When it comes to stuff like health
