Bernie Sanders vs Hillary Clinton

Linkage Institution: Voting

          Voting is a linkage institution because the vote for a representative connects the person directly with the government. An individual's vote allows them to directly influence how their government is going to run because they vote for representatives that best reflect their ideals. Without the elections, there would be no representation of the people's voice. I have chosen to observe the Election of the Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party which was between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

Candidate 1: Bernie Sanders

           Bernie Sanders is currently the senator for the state of Vermont, but in 2016, he ran for Presidential representative for the Democratic Party. During the election, Bernie Sanders seemed to be very, for the people. What I mean by this is that Bernie had a very progressive outlook on our society and was always advocating for change on a multitude of issues. Bernie believed in "a progressive economic agenda that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment and provides health care for all" (https://berniesanders.com/issues/). One issue that he was constantly preaching was the fair distribution of power among the social classes and the destruction of the big companies and the big banks. He wanted to do this because he understood that all of the power and influence in our society was attained by the top 1% of our population. This was a problem because the 1% did not represent the other 99% adequately, the 1% would push for the creation of legislation and the spending of tax dollars on things that would benefit them and allow them to maintain their position in the 1%. By breaking up the big banks and companies, more power would be distributed to the middle and lower classes allowing better representation of their needs and ideas in legislation.
          Below is a campaign ad that was produced by Bernie Sander's political party. The video is titled, "He's with us," and in it, Danny Glover, a popular American actor, narrates that he supports Bernie Sanders because he believes that Bernie is fighting for economic justice. I think that this article is a good representation of the ideals that Bernie holds because he fights for the common folk, the middle class. Economic justice is one of Bernie's main focus and this video not only shows evidence of his activism and concern for the issue, but we also see that others recognize what he is doing and appreciate him for that. Additionally, the ad shows that his campaign is advocating for change, change in the way the country's wealth and power is distributed.

Candidate 2: Hillary Clinton

          Hillary Clinton was a First Lady of the United States (married to Bill Clinton), was Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and was the Democratic Party's representative for the U.S. Presidential Election of 2016. Being that Hillary is also a Democrat, she too has a very progressive mindset and advocates for change. Previewing her campaign website, I noticed that her issues were ordered from top to bottom so inferred that the issues on the top are the issues that she is most concerned about. Based on this inference, Hillary is most concerned about a fair tax system, addiction and substance abuse, and creating an economy that works for everyone. What she means by a fair tax system is that she wants to ensure that the 1% are paying a greater amount of tax than someone that makes less thank the 1%. She also believes that instead of incarcerating people that abuse substances, we should instead be providing them with support and treatments to help put an end to their addiction. Lastly, Hillary wants to fix the political system that doesn't aid working Americans, and destroy the economy that encourages business to make short-term profits over long-term investments.
          The video below is a campaign ad produced by Hillary's political party. In the ad, multiple well-known African American figures speak about what Hillary is going to do as president. The figures discuss how Hillary is going to tackle,gun control, health care, women's rights and so on. Hillary responds to these issues with a progressive response. Hillary seems to be very progressive so this as is a good reflection of the ideals of Hillary. To add on, seeing these famous figures stand behind Hillary creates an allusion that encourages others to believe in Hillary's campaign.