Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-identified democratic socialist, just announced that he will run for President in 2016.  

But it's unclear just how many Americans know all that much about Senator Sanders, besides recognizing his name from many popular memes all over the Internet these days, all of which highlight his outspoken and direct rhetorical style. Sanders is particularly well-suited to the knockout punch of these one-shot talking points, because, as Mark Jacobson noted this week in New York Magazine, "small talk and false-ingratiations are not his thing."

Sanders's new-found fame comes after many long years in government, first as the liberal mayor of university town Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s, and then as a representative to the U.S. Congress from 1991 to 2007, when he won election to the Senate. A self-identified democratic socialist, Sanders runs as an Independent because neither the Republicans nor Democrats offer a platform that truly speaks for the economic justice he wants. But he does count as a Democrat when it's time for committee assignments in Congress. In fact, he is now the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee.

But will Americans even consider a politician who does not conform to either major party and proudly declares himself a socialist, which most Americans have historically equated with the evils of Soviet-style repressive communism? They might, if they look at Sanders's priorities, which many Americans share:

Wall Street Reform:

Sanders has been quick to point out that big corporations have a disproportionate influence on government.

He has said, "You know, I think many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street. In truth that's not the case. The real truth is that Wall Street regulates the Congress."

To remedy this, he voted against the confirmation of Wall Street banker Antonio Weiss, President Obama's nominee for Undersecretary of Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department. He is also working toward the passage of a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. The senator believes that campaign finance reform is necessary, and that overturning Citizens United is the first step toward such reform.

Economic Justice:

The majority of Senator Sanders's "Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward" focuses on improving the economic status of average Americans. He supports a progressive tax and wants to give working class people the opportunity to own their own businesses through worker-owned cooperatives, expand the right to unionize, ensure pay equity for women, and raise the minimum wage. He writes, "The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. No one in this country who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty."

Environmental Protection:

Senator Sanders believes that "the United States must lead the world in reversing climate change and make certain that this planet is habitable for our children and grandchildren." To that end, he voted to support initiatives that will help the environment, such as the creation of the National Endowment for the Oceans to protect the nation's coastlines, expanded funding for Amtrack to increase public transportation, greater restrictions on animal fighting. He also voted against commercial logging on federal lands.

Protection for Vulnerable Citizens:

One of Senator Sanders's priorities is protecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition programs from dangerous budget cuts. Instead, the senator favors the expansion of such programs, ensuring health care for all, and guaranteeing affordable and accessible education for all.

These goals are not the goals of a dangerous radical intent on replacing democracy with communism. They are the goals of an American who wants to fulfill the historic promises of American democracy. We could do a lot worse than Bernie Sanders as president.