Bernie Sanders tells supporters he's no longer a 'fringe' candidate

(Image credit: George Frey/Getty Images)

published 23 March 2016

Not long after several media outlets projected Hillary Clinton will win the Arizona Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders spoke in San Diego, touting how far he has come over the past 10 months.

"When we began this campaign, we were considered a fringe candidacy," he said. "Now, who in America, the media said, could believe in a political revolution? Ten months later, we have now won 10 primaries and caucuses and unless I'm very mistaken, we're going to win a couple more tonight." Sanders was referring to caucuses in Idaho and Utah that had not been tallied yet.

The excitement people are feeling for Sanders stems from the fact that his campaign is "doing something very unusual in modern American politics — we are telling the truth," he said. "The truth is not always pleasant, but we cannot go forward as a nation unless we are willing to confront the real issues facing our country." He said it is "not acceptable" for the United States to have more people in jail than any other country, and to spend $80 billion a year to incarcerate 2.2 million people. He also spoke out against the "rigged economy," using the Walton family of Walmart fame as an example (and telling them to "get off welfare" and "pay your workers a living wage"). "Working people are paying more in taxes to subsidize the wealthiest family in this country," he said. "This is crazy. Together we're going to end that."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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