Everyone seems to be counting Bernie Sanders out of the 2016 presidential race, but I’m not, and neither should you.

I support Bernie Sanders and it’s an easy choice for me, to stick with the one candidate who stands firmly in favor of the people, and consistently states the importance of the same issues he has stood for since he was in college.

He has been funded by the people and has made it clear that he wants what is best for all of us, not just the top 1 percent of the population.

Bernie stands with all us, not above us, and is willing to do what it takes to fix what has been broken and ignored in America.

Sanders plans to push to “pass immigration reform and a path toward citizenship [for immigrants],” in order to fix the current illegal immigration conflict.

He has clearly stated his pro-choice abortion views, saying that he doesn’t think anyone, especially the government, should “be telling a woman what to do with her own body.”

Senator Sanders is for the ban on assault weapons, however, he does not believe in holding the gun sellers responsible, stating that “if a gun shop owner sells a weapon legally to somebody, and that person then goes out and kills somebody, I don’t believe it is appropriate that that gun shop owner who just sold a legal weapon to be held accountable and be sued.”

Sanders has made it very clear that the issue of climate change is an issue that is very important to him, calling it a  “global environmental crisis of unprecedented urgency.” His plans include moving to more sustainable energy sources, like wind and solar energy, as well as introducing bills like the Sanders/Boxer Bill that push for legislative changes in America.

Sanders’ reputation is squeaky clean. I’ve read his autobiography, Outsider in the White House, which condenses his tireless efforts to make a change in America, for the better, into around 350 pages. If you’ve given up on politicians and corruption, his book is bound to make you feel more at ease.

It’s true, Sanders has been arrested. Ironically, his arrest was for his opposition and protest against segregation in schools.

As he makes clear in most of his speeches, Sanders’ campaign has been funded by the people. According to OpenSecrets, 99.98 percent of his campaign is made up of campaign donations from people, not corporations, and self-finance. Compared to Clinton’s 70 percent, it’s clear who the people are willing to fund.

In contrast, businessman Donald Trump is aggressive, and unrealistic.

Trump’s stance on preventing illegal immigration is very clear: have Mexico fund and build a wall between America and Mexico. On his own website, he suggests that Mexico “make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion,” in order to prevent the “gangs, drug traffickers and cartels” from entering the country.

He has stated that he is pro-life, although he has flip-flopped and come under attack for stating that for women who choose to get abortions, “there has to be some form of punishment,” but several days later stating that abortion laws are set and “we have to leave it that way.”

His solution to mass shootings is to arm teachers, and he suggests that mass shootings would turn out “a lot better when [someone] walks into class, starting to shoot people.”

In regards to climate change, Trump tweeted “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” thus stating that he does not believe in climate change, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence stating otherwise.

In addition, Mr. Trump has a less than flawless record, from calling Mexicans “rapists,” to making fun of the physical disabilities of reporters, to consistently using sexist rhetoric in his speeches and daily language.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s reputation, a little less extreme, but similar to Mr. Trump’s, is tarnished by her hypocrisy and Wall Street mentality.

From giving speeches at Goldman Sachs for hundreds of thousands of dollars one day, to criticizing Wall Street’s corporate greed another, Clinton can’t keep her own views straight, and by refusing to release her paid speeches, she leaves the rest of America to make their own assumptions about what she will really do about breaking up the banks, if elected.

Her acceptance of money from the ultra-rich corporations, trade groups and unions that make up Super PACs, has also put her in the line of fire. How does one who takes money from a source for a campaign, plan to, when in office, turn around and destroy that source without any consequences? It seems impossible, and most likely will be.

Clinton plans to create an “Office of Immigrant Affairs,” and does not plan to deport any immigrants.

Clinton has stated that she is pro-choice, and “will defend a woman’s right to choose [whether to get an abortion or not].”

The former Secretary of State has received an F-rating from the NRA, and believes that “we need to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, people with serious mental challenges, terrorists, all of whom now are perfectly free to go and find a gun somewhere.”

As for climate change, Clinton has repeatedly stated that she believes in climate change, and maintains that water quality “has to be a national priority not just for today or tomorrow.” However, according to online journalism source Mother Jones, “under [Clinton’s] leadership, the State Department worked closely with energy companies to spread fracking around the globe.” Also, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have given millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, and, as we all know, money (not action) speaks louder than words.

The 2016 presidential race is the first election that I have been old enough to fully comprehend, with an independent opinion.

I’m completely astounded by the complete lack of focus on the obvious issues with the candidates who are acting more like celebrities, discussing the size of their “anatomy” on national television and unnecessarily focusing on dance trends to gather young voters, than responsible politicians.

In my opinion, the presidential race should surround the candidates’ stances on the issues, their track records and reputations.