Bernie Sanders Rhetorical Appeal and Mobilization

Bernie Sanders calls for a political revolution, bringing with him millions of young people. His advertisements and slogans like “Feel the Bern” and “Bern Down for What” are aimed at young, hopeful Americans, and, accompanied with presidential goals like free education and a higher living wage, it’s working.

Sanders, or whomever pens his Tweets, is clearly gifted in the art of persuasion, using rhetorical appeals and a strong, unfaltering opinion on right and wrong to attract attention and voters. He makes few statements beginning with a passive “I believe” or “I think,” opting instead for strong and active persuasive statements that read as fact.

Bernie Sanders appeals to low involved individuals through simple, decisive statements on twitter like “One of five people in this country that get a prescription from a doctor cannot afford to fill that prescription. That’s wrong. #BernieInMN.” or “The fact that on any given night there are fifty thousand homeless veterans on the street is a national disgrace.” These short but emphatic statements appeal to the pathos of the reader, with little need for further evaluative cognition (perfect for a 140 character limit and a short attention span).

While Bernie does not ignore the “tough” and highly partisan issues such as gay marriage, abortion, wage equality, et cetera, he also includes statements that could appeal to undecided voters, or those with barriers to persuasion. These appeals are intended to inspire citizens to examine the policies that allow these situations to occur, and to vote for him to solve the issue. The statements are mobilizing in nature; he is speaking directly to people who believe that protesting will make a difference, and change is a worthy cause.

As much of Bernie Sanders’ voter base is comprised of first time or inconsistent voters, he needs more than a persuasive and powerful tweet to achieve turnout. The campaign has plans to ensure maximum mobilization, such as "Go Home for Bernie", a plan to help young people from Iowa return home to cast a vote for their main man.