Bernie Sanders has continued his steady march towards the Democratic presidential nomination. Some of the latest polls have him leading in Iowa, in New Hampshire and nationally.

Bernie leading CNN national poll

This momentum has come just as the coordinated attacks on him have become more focused and intense. In the last two weeks, Elizabeth Warren has portrayed him as a sexist in a he-said, she-said spat worthy of my four-year-old niece; Joe Biden has accused him of misrepresenting his social security record (Biden, as usual, is inaccurate); and Alternative President Hillary Clinton has said “Nobody Likes Him” and by nobody, she means the political establishment of course.

Thankfully, Bernie has hit back this time. He completely denies Warren’s charge and has receipts of him advocating for a woman president from forty years ago (whilst Warren was a card-carrying Reagan republican). He promptly pointed out Biden’s vast record of advocating social security cuts in Joe’s own words! Finally, he dismissed Clinton’s clout-chasing with self-deprecating humour.

“On a good day, my wife likes me”

As you probably know, this is not Bernie’s first presidential primary rodeo. He ran in 2015 against the “prohibitive favourite”, Hillary Clinton. Reluctantly.

He first tried to recruit his “friend”, Sen. Warren, to run. Then, he ran knowing he was most probably not going to win. With this in mind, he ran a very kid gloves’ campaign. He did not focus on Secretary Clinton’s many weaknesses. He famously refused to talk about her “DAMN EMAILS”, refused to talk about The Clinton Foundation’s many controversies, and he generalized his critique of the democratic establishment despite running against the embodiment of the establishment. All this to the chagrin of his most ardent supporters. Some refocused their platforms from cheering Bernie to almost exclusively criticising his timid approach.

The fact of the matter is that Bernie was looking at the general election. He did not want to “hurt” Clinton in the general. This time, things have changed. With light at the end of the tunnel, Bernie is fighting to win. He is fighting to ensure his big ideas are not watered down à la Warren. He is fighting to defeat the “Most Dangerous President in History”. Bernie is snarkier than customary and not taking any prisoners.

This fighting spirit is necessary, from the candidate and progressives as a whole. The Establishment stands in the way of the transformative, revolutionary agenda. They currently have all the power and he is coming for their supremacy. They won’t give up without a fight.