Samantha Bee runs head-on into an unshakable wall of Bernie Sanders optimism

Samantha Bee talks to a panel of ardent Bernie Sanders supporters

(Image credit: Full Frontal)

published 19 April 2016

"You know, it's easy for dried-up old crones like me to dismiss Bernie fans as naive kids who believe in wizards and unicorns — sometimes too easy," Samantha Bee said on Monday night's Full Frontal. "But I wanted to hear from actual Sanders supporters themselves." So she gathered an "impossibly diverse panel" of Sanders fans in a Greenwich Village folk music club and had a heart-to-heart — with herself as much as the Sanders admirers. "I'm not here to bash Bernie," Bee said. "I'm just here to understand your optimism, and stick my fingers in it, and just roll it around in my hands and restore myself to the person I used to be." "If you're feeling bad, we can all give you a hug," one of the Sanders supporters said, kindly.

Bee tried to talk a little sense into her panel, pointing out that Sanders will face the same obstructionism President Obama has faced. They responded that the Sanders movement will force Congress into compliance. "So are you literally saying to me right now that the difference between Obama and Bernie Sanders is that the people of America are going to continue to be motivated within the political process, and they're going to keep putting pressure on our elected leaders to make change?" Bee asked. The panel agreed emphatically. "Have you met people?" Bee asked.

Then the Sanders optimism briefly rubbed off on Bee, and she had a moment of hopeful introspection that ended only when the animated unicorn on her hand started to bite. "One thing I do know," she said. "I respect these people's unshakable willingness to dream big." And maybe that Bernie Sanders tattoo. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.