Was Sander's effort all for Naught?
Tribune Content Agency — June 13, 2016
I don’t know what Bernie Sanders is going to do from here on, and I’m not going to presume to advise him on his next steps. He’s earned the right to figure out for himself what’s next for his campaign and the movement he has launched.
But of this I’m sure: He has already succeeded beyond anyone’s imagining.
I remember when Sanders launched his campaign in April 2015. The media labeled him a “fringe” candidate. Comedians made fun of his hair and his rumpled look.
Political junkies smirked. How could a 70-something, Jewish, politically independent self-described democratic socialist take on the most powerful political machine in modern history? How dare he rail against the establishment, the mainstream media and the moneyed interests? They said he had a “zero chance” of getting anywhere.
Then he won 22 states.
And in almost every state — even in those he lost — Sanders won vast majorities of voters under 30, including a majority of young women and Latinos. By March he had accumulated more votes among voters under 30 than had Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined. He also received the most votes from people under 45.
Sanders has helped shape the next generation.
Even more remarkably, he did it without super PACs or big money from corporations, Wall Street and billionaires. He did it with small contributions from millions of average Americans.
He’s shown it’s possible to come within a stone’s throw of getting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States without selling your soul or compromising your conviction.
That’s a big deal. It gives lie to the often-repeated claim by candidates that, while they believe in reforming America’s campaign finance laws, they won’t run “with one hand tied behind their back” and therefore must rely on big money in order to compete effectively.
Sanders has shown that with a powerful message delivered by a messenger with passion and conviction, small donations will pour in.
He’s also inspired millions to get involved in politics — and to fight the most important and basic of all fights on which all else depends: to reclaim our economy and democracy from the moneyed interests. Unless and until our democracy is reclaimed, nothing else that’s important for America to do can be accomplished.
