Bernie Sanders launched “Our Revolution” last night in a livestream broadcast to thousands of supporters across the country.
The Nation’s D.D. Guttenplan writes:
For many of us who felt the Bern, the past months have been a painful progress through the five stages of grief. (Speaking only for myself, I’m still having trouble getting past depression.)
But, as Sanders reminded his supporters last night during the national launch of Our Revolution, the new organization founded to carry forward the work of his “political revolution,” by every other measure they succeeded far beyond what anyone (including the candidate himself) would have deemed possible even a year ago. “We won overwhelming support from the younger people of our country, 45 years of age and younger—black, white, Latino, Asian-American and Native-American youth,” Sanders reminded the audience. “Our ideas, our vision, represent the future of America. In many ways, we have won the ideological debate.”
Bernie talked about the Democratic platform and reminded everyone that it was the most progressive in the party’s history. He mentioned the collaboration between himself and Hillary that resulted in progressive improvements in policy goals, such as nationwide community health centers and free public college tuition for families with incomes under $125,000 annually.
The controversy over Jeff Weaver’s involvement in the new organization wasn’t referred to, of course, but this comment met with spirited applause from the audience:
Sanders pointedly praised Weaver and described him as the right man to get Our Revolution going. "I'll never forget Jeff walking in the door," said Sanders. "He had very, very good qualifications — he had just been expelled from Boston University for protesting the racist apartheid conditions of South Africa.”
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Guttenplan explains why Weaver may be the best choice for now:
[U]ltimately this is all about Bernie’s list—the millions of $27 donors who, taken together, changed the rules of political fundraising. That list is the holy grail of progressive politics, and Sanders remains understandably reluctant to turn it over to anyone he doesn’t trust completely. In that respect Jeff Weaver, who has worked on Sanders campaigns for 30 years, has an unparalleled claim to lead Our Revolution. Whether he also has the strategic vision, tactical judgement, or organizational skills to keep the revolution alive and growing remains, for the moment, very much an open question.
As a Bernie primary supporter, and watcher of last night’s launch speech, I was once again infused with Bernie’s spirit and I’m looking forward to what happens next. If Weaver doesn’t work, the movement will continue.
Here are the candidates Our Revolution is supporting so far.
Here are Our Revolution’s goals:
- Revitalizing American democracy by bringing millions of working people and young people into the political system.
- Empowering the next generation of progressive leaders by inspiring, recruiting and supporting progressive candidates across the entire spectrum of government - from school board to the U.S. Senate.
- Doing what the corporate media does not do: elevating political consciousness by educating the public about the most pressing issues confronting our nation and the bold solutions needed to address them.