Greta

 Gage  

11/24/15  

WRIT  3577W  

Rhetorical  Analysis  of  Internet  Communication  

  Millennials  (born  between  1982  and  2000  according  to  the  United  States  

census)  now  represent  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  population.  They  now  outnumber  

Baby  Boomers  by  about  7.7  million  people,  83.1  million  Millenials  to  75.4  million  

Baby  Boomers.  (United  States  Census  Bureau).    The  oldest  members  of  this  

generation  became  of  age  to  vote  in  the  2000  election,  but  the  presence  of  

Millennials  was  barely  felt.  By  the  time  the  2008  election  rolled  around,  about  half  of  

the  generation  were  eligible  to  vote  and  about  53%  of  them  turned  out  to  vote  

making  up  about  18%  of  the  total  electorate  (the  numbers  remained  about  the  same  

in  the  2012  election).  (Hais  &  Winograd).    Both  times  they  overwhelmingly  

supported  Barack  Obama  over  the  Republican  candidate  (about  66%  to  32%)  and  

were  a  large  part  of  the  5.4  million  increase  in  voter  turnout  in  2008.  (Hais  &  

Winograd).  The  percentage  of  Millennial  voters  that  turn  out  to  vote  in  midterm  

elections  decreases  to  about  20%,  a  significant  drop  from  presidential  election  

years.  With  numbers  like  these,  it  makes  sense  that  presidential  candidates  are  after  

the  Millennial  vote.  With  the  race  for  the  Democratic  and  Republican  well  underway,  

campaigns  on  both  sides  are  trying  to  reach  young  voters.  Although  data  from  past  

elections  says  that  Millennials  will  overwhelmingly  vote  for  Democrats,  a  Reason-­‐
Rupe  survey  on  Millennials  in  2014  says:  “They  are  social  liberals  and  fiscal  centrists  

with  the  potential  to  become  more  fiscally  conservative  as  they  age.”  But  they  

conclude,  “America’s  millennial  generation  is  a  demographic  sleeping  giant  with  

the  power  to  revolutionize  the  political  landscape  of  the  United  States.  

Millennials  are  a  product  of  the  political  crucible  of  the  first  decade  of  the  

2000s.  As  such,  they  are  highly  disillusioned  by  a  political  system  that  has  lost  

credibility  in  their  eyes  through  repeated  episodes.”  (Reason-­‐Rupe).    With  this  

disillusionment  it  brings  up  the  question,  whom  will  Millennials  support  in  2016?  

Early  polls  have  suggested  that  Millennials  favor  Hillary  Clinton  but  among  18-­‐29  

year  olds  in  an  early  November  poll,  Bernie  Sanders  had  their  support  58%  to  

Hillary  Clinton’s  35%.  (Kumar).  Nationally  Hillary  Clinton  is  still  leading  in  national  

polls  but  what  has  Millennials  so  excited  over  Bernie  Sanders?  

  Until  the  first  Democratic  debate  not  many  people  knew  who  Bernie  Sanders  

was  unless  they  were  already  playing  close  attention  to  politics.  Bernie  Sanders  is  a  

74-­‐year-­‐old  senator  from  Vermont  who  also  served  16  years  as  Vermont’s  sole  

representative  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  a  handful  of  years  as  the  

Burlington,  Vermont  Mayor.  (Berniesanders.com).  Based  on  what  people  know  

about  Millennials  it  doesn’t  make  sense  that  this  is  who  they  would  be  rallying  

behind.  But  at  the  same  time  it  might,  Sanders  is  a  self-­‐proclaimed  socialist  (which  

may  scare  some  off,  but  it  seems  to  not  be  working  on  Millennials)  and  his  policy  

proposals  line  up  with  Millennials’  socially  liberal  stances.    The  Bernie  Sanders  

campaign  website  is  effectively  introducing  who  he  is  as  a  candidate  and  person  as  
well  as  showing  his  positions  on  major  issues  while  backing  them  up  with  voting  

records.    

  Upon  arriving  on  the  Bernie  Sanders  campaign  website  we’re  greeted  by  a  

splash  page  that  features  the  same  image  of  the  Senator  giving  a  speech  in  front  of  a  

large  crowd  and  single  sentences  that  sound  like  things  Senator  Sanders  says  in  his  

speeches.  It  includes  a  space  for  page  viewers  to  enter  their  email  to  receive  

campaign  updates  as  well  as  make  a  donation.    

 
 

 
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11/24/15  

 
11/25/15  
 
The  statements  on  the  splash  page  have  been  changing  daily  after  the  second  

Democratic  debate  and  they  reflect  how  a  lot  of  the  rhetoric  from  the  campaign  is  

presented.  They  use  short  phrases  in  plain  language,  spoken  or  written  in  a  tone  of  

urgency  meant  to  evoke  strong  emotions  in  page  viewers.  For  a  while  the  page  kept  

the  “This  is  a  movement”  statement  at  the  top  of  the  page  that  aimed  to  make  

viewers  feel  empowered  and  join  the  campaign  to  contribute  to  creating  change  

throughout  the  nation  by  voting  for  Bernie  Sanders  in  state  primaries  and  caucuses.  
This  campaign  relies  a  lot  on  pathos  because  it  is  running  on  the  feelings  of  

disillusionment  Americans  have  towards  the  political  process.  Statements  such  as  

those  shown  in  the  images  above  are  featured  so  that  viewers  who  read  them  

experience  feelings  of  indignation  due  to  the  injustices  that  exist  within  the  United  

States.  In  Aristotle’s  Rhetoric  he  discusses  indignation  as  one  of  the  major  emotions  

that  drive  decisions  and  opinions  through  pathos.  “Indignation  may  therefore  be  

properly  felt  when  any  one  gets  what  is  not  appropriate  for  him,  though  he  may  be  a  

good  man  enough  It  may  also  be  felt  when  any  one  sets  himself  up  against  his  

superior…when  the  inferior  in  any  sense  contends  with  his  superior;  a  musician,  for  

instance,  with  just  a  man,  for  justice  is  a  finer  thing  than  music.”  (Aristotle).  The  

description  of  indignation  fits  in  well  with  the  feelings  this  campaign  relies  on  

certainly  when  it  comes  to  things  such  as  racial  inequality,  income  inequality,  and  

corruption  of  the  political  system  due  to  rich  donors  “buying”  elections.    

This  image  appears  on  the  bottom  of  every  page  on  the  Bernie  Sanders  

website,  driving  home  the  idea  that  this  campaign  is  one  financed  by  average  

citizens  and  not  Super  PACs  or  extremely  rich  individuals.  On  his  website  the  

Senator  says:    “In  the  year  2015,  with  a  political  campaign  finance  system  that  is  
corrupt  and  increasingly  controlled  by  billionaires  and  special  interests,  I  fear  very  

much  that,  in  fact,  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  is  

beginning  to  perish  in  the  United  States  of  America.  We  cannot  allow  that  to  

happen.”  Both  ethos  and  pathos  come  into  play  here,  pathos  clearly  seen  in  the  

urgent  tone  used  online  (and  in  his  speeches)  to  discuss  the  importance  of  these  

issues.  Ethos  is  seen  because  the  campaign  does  not  have  any  connections  to  any  

Super  PACs  and  as  of  September  the  Sanders  campaign  has  raised  $27.1  million  

mostly  from  650,000  donors  where  only  270  gave  the  maximum  $2,700  and  the  

average  donation  was  $30.  (Bradner).  The  Sanders  campaign  can  point  to  this  large  

number  of  small  donations  as  actions  that  demonstrated  that  they  are  not  simply  

talking  about  wanting  to  change  campaign  finance  reform,  but  are  actively  financing  

their  campaign  the  way  they  believe  all  political  campaigns  should  be  financed.    

 
  

11/11/15  

  The  most  important  page  on  the  Bernie  Sanders  campaign  website  is  the  

page  that  has  information  on  all  of  his  stances  on  key  issues  and  policy  proposals  he  

has  to  deal  with  them.  This  page  combines  all  three  of  the  Aristotelian  appeals  to  

argue  why  page  viewers  should  vote  for  Bernie  Sanders  (or  as  they  say;  “join  the  

political  revolution”).    The  writing  is  styled  in  the  way  the  Senator  speaks  at  rallies  
(unsure  if  he  actually  wrote  these  or  the  campaign’s  web  designer  did)  but  it  

includes  the  same  sense  of  urgency  and  imperative  voice  use  as  seen  in  rallies.  Both  

the  sense  of  urgency  and  imperative  voice  use  are  leaning  towards  fear  mongering  

for  progressive  policy.  Fear  is  a  very  powerful  motivator  and  politicians  frequently  

rely  on  it  as  pathos  for  their  campaign.  Again  in  reference  to  Rhetioric,  fear  is  

defined  as  “a  pain  or  disturbance  due  to  a  mental  picture  of  some  destructive  or  

painful  event  in  the  future.”  (Aristotle).  The  rhetoric  of  the  Bernie  Sanders  campaign  

relies  on  the  anger  and  fear  (the  tone  of    “if  we  don’t  do  this  now  we’re  doomed”)  

towards  the  current  state  of  the  political  system  and  frustration  with  rampant  

inequality.    

Income  inequality  page,  11/12/15  

 
  

Free  college  tuition  page,  11/12/15  

  Although  the  arguments  Bernie  Sanders  makes  are  logos  on  their  own,  the  

pages  use  real  example  to  illustrate  the  importance  of  their  policy  proposals.  By  

backing  up  their  claims  with  charts  and  data,  the  campaign  makes  their  claims  more  

persuasive  as  people  tend  to  believe  claims  that  come  with  visualized  data  more  so  

than  claims  without.  (Chun).  The  rest  of  the  issues  on  the  page  are  treated  in  the  

same  way-­‐  passionate  explanations  of  Bernie  Sanders’  goals,  data  to  back  up  those  

stances,  and  specific  proposals  on  how  to  accomplish  those  goals.  One  of  the  more  

extensive  links  on  the  issues  page  is  the  one  that  discusses  racial  justice.  After  facing  

criticism  from  groups  such  as  Black  Lives  Matter  saying  that  the  Senator  cannot  

simply  get  the  vote  of  people  of  color  based  on  the  fact  that  he  marched  in  

Washington  D.C.  with  Martin  Luther  King  Jr.  Senator  Sanders  was  interrupted  while  
giving  a  speech  in  Seattle  and  following  that  he  met  with  Black  Lives  Matters  leaders  

and  community  activists  to  discuss  what  kind  of  action  they  want  to  see  taken  by  the  

government,  the  Senator  listened  and  created  extensive  proposals  on  how  to  combat  

racial  violence  from  many  different  aspects  (physical,  political,  legal,  and  economic  

violence).  The  very  first  thing  the  racial  justice  page  says  is:  “The  chants  are  growing  

louder.  People  are  angry  and  they  have  a  right  to  be  angry.  We  should  not  fool  

ourselves  into  thinking  that  this  violence  only  affects  those  whose  names  have  

appeared  on  TV  or  in  the  newspaper.”  This  is  listed  under  the  physical  violence  

section  and  subsection  on  physical  violence  perpetrated  by  the  state  to  address  the  

biggest  concerns  brought  up  by  the  Black  Lives  Matter  movement.  This  shows  that  

the  Sanders  campaign  is  actively  trying  to  get  the  vote  of  people  of  color  and  using  

ethos,  primarily  in  action,  deeds,  and  understanding  form,  to  argue  that  he  is  the  

right  candidate  for  them  while  utilizing  pathos  to  run  off  of  the  strong  emotions  

triggered  by  racial  injustice.      

 
  

  As  mentioned  earlier,  not  many  people  know  who  Bernie  Sanders  is  unless  

they  pay  close  attention  to  politics,  so  an  introduction  page  is  a  critical  part  of  the  

website.  When  looking  at  the  website  this  is  the  first  tab  viewers  see  followed  by  the  

issues  page  while  the  main  page  for  donations  takes  a  backseat  to  the  campaign  
asking  for  volunteers  and  focusing  on  the  issue.  This  is  appears  to  be  more  of  a  

subtle  move  but  it  is  an  important  one,  the  campaign  needed  to  introduce  Bernie  

Sanders  to  the  people  but  they  also  want  the  campaign  to  not  focus  on  him  but  to  

mainly  focus  on  the  issues.  This  is  most  likely  why  the  page  introducing  Senator  

Sanders  is  fairly  short,  it  addresses  parts  his  political  by  bringing  in  ethos  by  

discussing  actions  and  causes  the  Senator  has  continuously  supported.  On  the  page  

there  is  a  timeline  that  discussing  Senator  Sanders’  upbringing,  years  as  an  activist  

in  college,  and  more  in  depth  details  about  his  political  career.  The  timeline  is  not  

the  focal  point  of  the  “Meet  Bernie”  page;  viewers  have  to  click  a  button  for  the  

timeline  to  pop  up  on  the  page  thus  keeping  the  “Meet  Bernie”  page  brief  while  more  

of  the  focus  goes  to  the  issues  page.  This  page  also  features  a  photo  of  Senator  

Sanders  and  his  wife;  this  photo  is  different  than  many  of  the  other  photos  on  the  

page  because  the  Senator  looks  more  polished  with  his  hair  well  kept  (versus  the  

usual  Doc  Brown  from  Back  To  The  Future-­‐esque  hair)  and  giving  off  an  air  of  

warmth  and  looks  more  like  someone’s  grandpa  than  a  career  politician.  

Appearance  matters  when  it  comes  to  politics,  but  usually  Bernie  Sanders  tries  to  

push  that  aside  to  focus  on  more  important  issues.  The  “Meet  Bernie”  page  

documents  some  of  the  Senator’s  accomplishments  over  his  career  to  argue  that  he  

is  a  trustworthy  candidate,  and  he  has  the  voting  record  and  history  to  prove  it.  

Pathos  is  also  in  play  on  this  page,  the  image  and  small  mention  of  his  family  is  to  

make  Bernie  Sanders  seem  more  relatable  and  create  a  sense  of  connection  to  him.    

 
   These  pages  aren’t  specifically  aimed  at  the  Millennial  generation,  but  the  

generation  that  grew  up  in  the  largest  recession  since  the  Great  Depression,  

watched  their  parents  struggle  through  it,  become  uncertain  about  their  futures,  

grew  up  watching  endless  wars  in  a  post  9/11  world,  graduating  college  with  

mountains  of  student  debt,  and  have  lost  faith  in  government  and  other  institutions  

have  found  a  Democratic  presidential  nominee  hopeful  that  speaks  to  them.  The  

effectiveness  of  Bernie  Sanders’  campaign  comes  not  from  a  large  social  media  

presence  or  pop  culture  references  that  could  fall  flat  and  come  off  as  force,  but  it  

comes  from  the  fact  that  this  campaign  is  focusing  on  issues  that  matter  the  most  to  

Millennials.  As  seen  on  the  campaign  website,  Bernie  Sanders  has  not  stopped  at  

talking  points,  he  has  specific  proposals  to  run  on.  Because  Millennials  are  

disillusioned  with  the  government,  don’t  trust  he  justice  system,  and  don’t  trust  

Wall  Street,  they’re  filled  with  anxiety  and  hope  for  things  to  change  and  Bernie  

Sanders  is  tapping  into  those  feelings  and  appears  more  trustworthy  to  accomplish  

what  he  sets  out  to  do.  The  website  itself  is  modern  and  easy  to  use  giving  off  the  

necessary  professionalism  while  still  trying  to  tap  into  the  true  grassroots  nature  of  

this  campaign.    The  issues  are  the  most  important  part  of  this  campaign  and  the  

website  focuses  on  that,  representing  the  “no-­‐bullshit  wanted”  attitude  Millennials  

want  from  politics.  History  says  that  young  voters  are  not  the  most  reliable  voting  

group  but  by  not  appearing  condescending  and  focusing  on  some  of  the  most  

important  issues  to  young  voters  (affordable  college,  racial  justice,  LGBT+  rights,  

getting  big  money  out  of  politics,  etc.)  the  Bernie  Sanders  campaign  has  managed  to  

capture  Millennial  voters  in  an  even  larger  scale  than  in  2008  for  Barack  Obama.    
 Works  Cited  

Aristotle.  Rhetoric.  Trans.  W.  Rhys  Roberts.  Boston,  MA:  Internet  Classics  Archive,  1994.  
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