evidence: Bernie Sanders's Big Money [...] When Bernie Sanders makes a demand for money, he gets it. After winning the New Hampshire primary, the Democratic presidential candidate broadcast a plea. "I’m going to hold a fundraiser right here, right now, across America," Sanders declared, urging anyone who would listen to visit his website and make a donation—"whether it’s 10 bucks, or 20 bucks, or 50 bucks." Money poured in at a rapid clip. By the end of the next day, the campaign had collected a staggering $8 million. [...] Sanders’s campaign proves that it is possible to mount a competitive presidential bid without relying on super PACs. That alone could encourage candidates without deep ties to the political establishment to run for office. The success of the campaign’s fundraising strategy shows that it is possible to challenge the status quo simply by refusing to give in to it. Still, it is ironic that a campaign built around the idea of getting big money out of politics has infused so much money into the political process. To some extent, the political establishment is taking Sanders seriously precisely because he has raised so much money, a metric that risks reinforcing conventional wisdom that only candidates capable of marshaling significant sums deserve mainstream attention. The campaign’s towering fundraising benchmarks could also inadvertently set the bar higher for future insurgent campaigns looking to compete in presidential elections.