Today on this episode of "Latinks and Class in America," let's talk about working-class politicians! Remember, you almost never escape the habits and markers of the class you were born into, and it's easier to sink than rise. With that in mind, Bernie Sanders is working-class. 1/

Bernie Sanders grew up in a part of Brooklyn that is still undesirable and ungentrified. His upbringing could be a Philip Roth novel. Yes, he got a UChicago degree he barely used and ran as the Liberty Socialists' Party candidate or whatever a million times, but 2/

3/ he still has working-class habits and tastes. he hasn't forgotten where he's from, in fact I'd say he still has quite a bit of class resentment. He has a thick Brooklyn accent he never tried to lose. Even Trump tried to soften his Queens accent before just rolling with it.

4/ Lindsey Graham is another one. The dude grew up in a bar backroom smaller than any millennial journalist's BK studio, and he lived there with 3 other people. His family boiled hot water on the bar stove so they could bathe. His parents died when he was 18, so

5/ he begged his ROTC recruiter to transfer his scholarship to the University of South Carolina so he could go to school and take care of his sister at the same time. He spent his college years commuting back and forth in order to raise his sister AND work AND study.

6/ Krysten Sinema's normie Leave it to Beaver family lost everything. At one point during her childhood, she lived in an old gas station with no water or heat with her family. But she still went to school every day. Her parents worked to keep her clean and fed and prepared.

7/ Dennis Kucinich, a truck driver's son who moved 21 times during his childhood, was saved by Catholic school scholarships, caring but weary parents, and nothing but insane determination. At one point, he and his family lived in his dad's truck.

8/ Tim Scott, as he says is "living his mother's American dream." He grew up in a two-bedroom apartment and was encouraged to go to college by his supervisor at his fast-food job. His first foray in politics was a seat on city council, and he did it was a $0 campaign fund.

9/ So no. These bougie woke folks who insist they're the working class, insist that race is what's keeping them down, insist that they be given everything... they're the striving middle class, for the most part. The people mentioned I may not agree with, but they're

10/ genuine working-class Americans. They worked their way through college. They came from absolutely nothing. No connections, no family friends, no cultural knowledge, zero opportunity (OK, maybe this last one doesn't apply to Bernie). Just nothing.

And for the most part, they still hold onto that. Except for Sinema, it's easy to tell that these people are not "the elite," even if they have elite positions. Lindsey Graham is not Banks Prioleau V of Charleston. Dennis Kucinich's accent gives him away.

The people who understand class the least in the US are middle-class strivers. They aren't working class, but despite maybe attending a private school or a top college, they will never be upper middle class or upper class. Ever. Hillary & Bill Clinton are good examples of this.