For one, despite his bombastic hand-waving and Trotsky-adjacent rhetoric, Sanders appears to be a decent-enough human being. He says crazy things—for instance, excusing the actions of murderous dictators like Fidel Castro while praising Cuba’s literacy and universal healthcare programs. And in the past he has supported political elements that were literally anti-American. And he stands at the head of an online mob that attacks anyone who dares to question him.

But at least he knows what the nuclear triad is and the process by which a bill becomes a law. He can put sentences together in a coherent manner and has a basic understanding of how government functions…

Which leaves the policies and party affiliation. Sanders’ positions on subjects such as healthcare, the environment, workers’ rights, and college affordability are outside the Democratic Party’s mainstream, but they don’t appear to be driving away party members in droves.

According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 74 percent of Democrats favor a Sanders-style Medicare for All plan, even though it would eliminate their private insurance and move them to a government plan. A YouGov poll conducted last year shows a plurality (49 percent to 36 percent) of voters in 42 congressional swing districts support the preposterous Green New Deal. A September 2019 Hill-HarrisX poll found that 58 percent of registered voters support free college.