So far, the Democratic National Convention has been filled with era-marking oratory. The first night served as a valedictory for 81-year-old Joe Biden; CNN hailed Barack Obama’s Tuesday speech as a capstone of the 20-year period in Democratic politics, marked best by the man himself and his smooth, noncombative style, since his coming-out party at the 2004 DNC. And there was another significant address that rounded off a legacy that night, though it lasted only 12 minutes and was received with much less fanfare: that of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

You wouldn’t necessarily know it just by reviewing Sanders’ remarks. The draft text was almost indistinguishable from his 2016 DNC remarks, with some reputational boosterism for the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and a cease-fire call thrown in. If you’ve ever heard Bernie on the stump, you yourself could probably sing the notes he hit. Lionizing the working class. Demanding a higher minimum wage and the expansion of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Celebrating organized labor and calling to expand its ranks. Condemning millionaires and billionaires, Republicans, and big money in politics.

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