Bernie Sanders calls for political revolution at Iowa appearance

AMES - Bernie Sanders is calling for a 'political revolution,” whether or not he runs for president.

Sanders, the liberal independent U.S. senator from Vermont who is considering a run for president in 2016, on Tuesday addressed more than 200 people at a town hall meeting at a campus church at Iowa State University.

Sanders also was scheduled to speak later Tuesday at a Progress Iowa event in Altoona and to film an episode of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press” on Wednesday.

In Ames, Sanders delivered his message of limiting money's influence in politics, reducing income inequality, addressing climate change and guaranteeing health care as a right.

Some of Sanders' proposals on those issues are firmly left-wing; on Tuesday, he proposed a single-payer health care system, a carbon tax and a $15 per hour minimum wage.

But Sanders called his proposals common sense.

'The ideas that I am going to tell you today, these are not utopian ideas, these are not radical ideas,” Sanders said. 'They are fairly common-sensical ideas that can happen when you have a government which is directed by the people themselves and not by wealthy, powerful corporate interests.”

Sanders' agenda pleased David Satterlee of Dayton, who was in the Ames crowd. Satterlee, who said he considers himself a 'left-wing progressive,” said he hopes Sanders runs for president, or at least 'directs the conversation.”

'These things (the issues Sanders spoke about) need to be discussed by all responsible citizens,” Satterlee said. 'And I believe that his priorities are important.”

Royce Bitzer of Ames also said he likes Sanders' policies.

'I think he's got a very good program and probably actually about the only real valid course of action for this country to take in the next five to 10 years,” Bitzer said. 'Nobody else is addressing things like climate change.”

Sanders said he will run in 2016 only if he thinks he can establish the nationwide ground-level campaign structure necessary to win a presidential election.

Sanders said a grassroots political movement is needed in the country, whether or not he runs for president. He called for a 'radical increase and improvement in public consciousness in this country, in political consciousness.”

'We have reached the stage where people who actually talk about the issues like me seem to be kind of weird,” Sanders said. 'Imagine somebody involved in politics talking about issues.”

Sanders has not said if he runs whether it will be as an independent or a Democrat.

Polls on 2016 show a majority of Democratic voters would support Hillary Clinton; she is at 51 percent in Real Clear Politics' average. Other potential candidates, including Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, lag far behind.

The Ames event was hosted by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the United States Student Association.