Bernie Sanders, who announced his 2020 presidential campaign on February 19, has been playing an influential role in the American political scene since he joined the House of Representatives in 1991.
He is the longest-serving independent member of Congress, and he doesn’t shy away from making some of the most important statements about some of the most important issues facing our country—including healthcare reform, campaign finance reform, wealth inequality, and environmentalism—using his characteristic blunt style and dry wit.
But do you know all of Bernie Sanders’s most powerful quotes?
Here are some of his most impactful statements (including tweets) throughout his career in politics and public service.
Best Bernie Sanders Quotes
Coal and oil lobbyists added fossil fuels to a bill aimed at helping American manufacturers, so they too could claim ‘manufacturing’ tax deductions. ―Bernie Sanders
Real change never occurs from the top on down, [but] always from the bottom on up. ―Bernie Sanders
![Real change never occurs from the top on down, [but] always from the bottom on up. ―Bernie Sanders](https://versesquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Real-change-never-occurs-from-the-top-on-down.jpg)
Americans’ right to free speech should not be proportionate to their bank accounts. ―Bernie Sanders
It used to be that I was known as ‘the longest-serving independent in the history of the United States Congress,’ which is true. Now I’m a ‘self-professed democratic socialist.’ Things change when you run for president. ―Bernie Sanders
There are a lot of smart honest, progressive people who I think can be good presidents. ―Bernie Sanders
We need a very progressive and strong agenda to bring people into the political process because I worry very much about the future of the American democracy where so many people are giving up. ―Bernie Sanders
Denmark is a small, homogenous nation of about 5.5 million people. The United States is a melting pot of more than 315 million people. No question about it, Denmark and the United States are very different countries. ―Bernie Sanders
CEOs of large corporations earn 400 times what their workers make. That is not what America is supposed to be about. ―Bernie Sanders
The United States must join the rest of the industrialized world, to guarantee health care to all people as a right. ―Bernie Sanders
If we are going to reverse the race to the bottom, workers must have the right to engage in collective bargaining. ―Bernie Sanders
We need to change the power structure in America, we need to end the political oligarchy. ―Bernie Sanders
We need to change the power structure in America, we need to end the political oligarchy. ―Bernie Sanders
If you want to know if your food contains gluten, aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats or MSG, you simply read the ingredients listed on the label. ―Bernie Sanders
Together, together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America, and that revolution, our revolution, continues! ―Bernie Sanders
It’s time to make our government work for all of us… and not just the 1%. ―Bernie Sanders
I see a future where American companies lead the world in the production of hybrid-plug in cars and electric vehicles. ―Bernie Sanders
Capitalism does a number of things very well: it helps create an entrepreneurial spirit; it gets people motivated to come up with new ideas, and that’s a good thing. ―Bernie Sanders
When a mother goes to the store and purchases food for her child, she has the right to know what she is feeding her family. ―Bernie Sanders
I think what the American people are saying is enough is enough. This country, this great country, belongs to all of us. It cannot continue to be controlled by a handful of billionaires who apparently want it all. ―Bernie Sanders
The Federal Reserve has the responsibility to protect the credit rights of consumers. ―Bernie Sanders
Social Security is a promise that we cannot and must not break. ―Bernie Sanders
Social Security, which transformed life for the elderly in this country, was ‘socialist.’ The concept of the ‘minimum wage’ was seen as a radical intrusion into the marketplace and was described as ‘socialist.’ ―Bernie Sanders
When World AIDS Day was first observed in 1988, there was no truly effective treatment for what was almost always a deadly disease. ―Bernie Sanders
I am not aware how you succeed politically when you insult women, who far more than men consistently provide you with great margins of support. ―Bernie Sanders
Brothers and sisters: Now is not the time for thinking small, now is not the time for the same-old, same-old establishment politics and stale inside-the-Beltway ideas. ―Bernie Sanders
I have seven beautiful grandchildren, four of whom are girls. ―Bernie Sanders
What kind of nation are we when we give tax breaks to billionaires, but we can’t take care of the elderly and the children. ―Bernie Sanders
Democratic socialism means that we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy. ―Bernie Sanders
The point is change can come about, but it only comes about when millions of people are actively involved in political struggle, the billionaires may have the money, but we have the people. ―Bernie Sanders
The only way change happens is when people become more significantly involved in the political process. ―Bernie Sanders
You go to your public library, or you call your fire department or police department, what do you think you are calling? These are socialist institutions. ―Bernie Sanders
Democratic socialism means, that in a democratic, civilized society, the wealthiest people and the largest corporations must pay their fair share of taxes. ―Bernie Sanders
The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States, and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day. ―Bernie Sanders
We should make a major financial commitment to improving our roads and bridges. ―Bernie Sanders
Fossil fuel corporations are supposed to pay the government fair market royalties in exchange for the right to drill on public lands or in federal waters. ―Bernie Sanders
People don’t trust private health insurance companies for all the right reasons. ―Bernie Sanders
The problems we face, did not come down from the heavens. They are made, they are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them. ―Bernie Sanders
I certainly did not know what the word ‘socialism’ meant growing up, because I was brought up in a very nonpolitical family. My brother was somewhat active, but my parents were not. ―Bernie Sanders
What my campaign is about is a political revolution – millions of people standing up and saying, enough is enough. Our government belongs to all of us, and not just the hand full of billionaires. ―Bernie Sanders
Even the alternative weekly newspapers, traditionally a bastion of progressive thought and analysis, have been bought by a monopoly franchise and made a predictable shift to the right in their coverage of local news. ―Bernie Sanders
For too long, unfunded federal mandates have drained the budgets of states and communities. The strength and vitality of our communities must be restored. ―Bernie Sanders
In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don’t. ―Bernie Sanders
Finally, let understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win. ―Bernie Sanders
I think there are a lot of people who, when they hear the word ‘socialist,’ get very, very nervous. ―Bernie Sanders
It costs a hell of a lot more money to put somebody in jail than send them to the University of Virginia. ―Bernie Sanders
An America where every person, no matter their race, their disability or their sexual orientation realizes the full promise of equality that is our birthright as Americans. ―Bernie Sanders
Today, the top one-tenth of 1% owns nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90%. The economic game is rigged, and this level of inequality is unsustainable. We need an economy that works for all, not just the powerful. ―Bernie Sanders
It’s better to show up than to give up. ―Bernie Sanders
A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much and so many have so little. ―Bernie Sanders
To me, democratic socialism means democracy. It means creating a government that represents all of us, not just the wealthiest people in the country. ―Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders Quotes You’d Love to Tweet
We have got to end the tragic reality that the United States of America has more people living in jail than any other country. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetRenewable energy is our future—and people in Vermont and across the country are already working to transform our energy system. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetWhen a promise is made to working people with respect to their pensions and retiree health benefits, that promise must be kept. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetAnd while we don’t guarantee health care to all, we do outspend all other countries on the planet on medical spending. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetThere’s no state where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford a one-bedroom apartment at the fair market rent. That’s unacceptable. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetThese same six banks control 95 percent of all derivatives and hold more than 40 percent of all bank deposits in the United States. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetIf we turn our backs on refugees, we will be destroying what this country is supposed to be about. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetOffshore tax havens are nothing but legalized tax fraud and the fiscally responsible thing, and the just thing, to do is to eliminate them. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetA society which proclaims freedom as its goal, as the United States does, must work unceasingly to end all kinds of discrimination. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetIn the richest country in the history of the world, every student who has the desire and the ability should be able to go to college. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetIf corporate America wants us to buy their products, they damn well better start manufacturing them here in America. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetWe must not be the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care for all. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetViolence and brutality, particularly at the hands of the police, are unacceptable and must not be tolerated. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetWe are living in a nation which worships wealth rather than caring for the poor. I don’t think that is the nation we should be living in. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetIn the richest country in the history of the world, our people should not be living in such despair and hopelessness. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetInstead of a race to the bottom, we have got to start lifting up living and working standards throughout the country. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetOur message is simple. We will fight to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to sustainable energy. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetA college degree today is the equivalent of a high school degree 50 years ago. We need tuition-free public colleges. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetIt’s time to ensure that every worker in this country has access to paid family leave, paid sick time and paid vacation leave. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetTo me, family values mean leaving behind a planet that is livable for our children and grandchildren. ―Bernie Sanders Click To TweetBernie Sanders Quotes with Images
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FAQs
Who is Bernie Sanders?
Bernie Sanders is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and he ran unsuccessfully for the party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2016. In 2020, he again ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Sanders has been described as an American democratic socialist, though he has rejected formal affiliation with socialism.
What are some of Bernie Sanders’ most famous quotes?
* The time is now for a political revolution.
* This country belongs to all of us, not just the one percent.
* I think there’s something wrong when the top one-tenth of one percent owns as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.
* We’re going to have to look very seriously at public funding of elections.
* What we are seeing now is the result of 40 years of trickle-down economics.
What were some of Bernie Sanders’ biggest accomplishments?
His accomplishments are:-
1. He was an early opponent of trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA, and PNTR with China, saying that they lowered wages in the US and led to the race to the bottom.
2. In November 2002, Sanders voted against the Iraq War Resolution; he was quoted by The Washington Post as saying I am not prepared under any circumstances—under any—to give George Bush or any other president—the authority to unleash such horrendous violence on innocent people.
3. In 2004, while still serving in the House of Representatives, Sanders opposed construction of a fence along the US-Mexico border, saying We do not need a wall.
Conclusion
While Bernie Sanders may have lost the Democratic nomination for president, his progressive ideals and commitment to fighting for the working class continue to inspire Americans across the country.
Hope these quotes from Bernie Sanders are as inspiring as they are insightful! Let us know your thoughts by leaving your comments on the Contact Us page.
