Galindez writes: "During a recent three-day swing through Iowa, Bernie Sanders took the stage before 1800 supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and declared that he believes he can win Iowa and New Hampshire, creating a path to victory."



Bernie Sanders. (photo: Marius Bugge/The Nation)

Bernie Sanders: "I Am Getting a Really Good Feeling About Iowa"

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

uring a recent three-day swing through Iowa, Bernie Sanders took the stage before 1800 supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and declared that he believes he can win Iowa and New Hampshire, creating a path to victory.

“I am getting a really good feeling about Iowa. Last night we were in Sioux City and had about 1200 people out, tonight I think we have about 1500 people out here. [Official crowd estimate, 1800] … So keep it a secret, don’t tell anybody: I think we are going to win here, we are going to make history. And I think we have a great chance to win New Hampshire, and if you win Iowa and New Hampshire you have a path to victory.”

The media will not tell you this, but recent polling shows a path to victory for Bernie as well. If you watch the pundits you will hear them say Sanders will run into a wall after New Hampshire. They continue to say he is not connecting with non-white voters. They must not be looking at their own polls.

A new CNN survey shows that Bernie has demonstrated growing support among what the pollster refers to as non-white voters. In a survey last April, he had only 1 percent of voters in that category. As he has made a concerted effort to reach out to African-Americans and Latinos, Sanders’ support has grown to an impressive 32 percent in the most recent poll.





The poll also has Bernie gaining on Hillary Clinton among all voters nationally. Clinton has dropped 8 points to 50% and Sanders has risen 4 points to 34%. President Obama was down 28 points nationally 8 years ago. So Bernie has reason to feel good about Iowa. He should also be feeling good about his chances to win the nomination. Momentum is on his side even though the corporate media won’t admit it yet.

In the latest CBS poll of Iowa, Sanders was within 5 points of Clinton. Bernie has double digit leads in most polls of New Hampshire. He is right about what wins in both states would mean. It would shatter the belief among many that he can’t win. Obama didn’t start polling well nationally until he won Iowa.

Bernie also picked up 2 major endorsements last week, The Communication Workers of America and Democracy for America. CWA is one of the largest international unions and DFA is the group formed during Howard Dean’s presidential campaign and it now has 1 million members.

Sanders spent the last 3 days before Christmas in Iowa and capped off the swing at an event on immigration policy with Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in Chicago. At that event in Chicago, Sanders called on Rahm Emanuel to resign, saying that he is not seeking and does not want the embattled mayor’s endorsement.

Sanders continues to gain momentum despite a corporate media that refuses to cover him like a contender. There is no swarm of cameras at a Sanders rally. Seven cameras is a good turnout, and usually a few are from non-corporate media. Bernie told RSN that the corporate media is not enamored with his message but that he hopes they provide a free and fair discussion of the issues.

Bernie will return to Iowa on Tuesday closing out 2015 with a New Years Eve party in Des Moines. The Iowa Caucus will take place on February 1st,with New Hampshire going to the polls on February 9th.

There is only one more debate before the 6 early states, Sunday January 17th in South Carolina. That debate is sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. It is unfortunate that there haven’t been more debates and that they have been so poorly scheduled. Bernie is clearly running against Hillary Clinton and the DNC who has already anointed Clinton. I don’t think the DNC will get their way this time. Bernie may crash the coronation and take the nomination.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.