Published on Portside (https://portside.org)
How About 100 Bernie Sanders?
May 27, 2016
Anoa Changa
Friday, May 27, 2016
The Guardian
As we approach the end of the current primary election cycle, many
people are asking: what is next for the Sanders progressive revolution? The
movement that has grown around Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid does
not live or die by the success of his presidential campaign. Rather, it is part
of a long history of progressive struggle and engagement across the country –
and one that is only going to grow stronger.
There are many candidates out there who stand for the same things
as Bernie Sanders. I’m thinking of people like Zephyr Teachout, and candidates
such as Pramila Jayapal, Lucy Flores, Tim Canova and many more who have shown
that they can stay true to their progressive platform and their core beliefs
and yet remain competitive. These candidates [1] reject
the corrupt campaign finance system and have opted for funding grounded in small
donations. Like Sanders, they support policies such as raising the minimum wage
to $15 an hour, social security expansion, and free college for all.
That’s why it’s important to think beyond the presidential
election. Progressives have a fierce fight on our hands in 2016 and beyond.
Republican donors like Art Pope, an ally of the Koch brothers, have pledged to
invest millions into down-ballot races instead of funding Donald Trump. We,
like them, should have an eye to changing more than just the White House. We
must change Congress, and every other level of government, right down to the
grassroots.
So, will progressives be able to harness the energy and momentum
of the Sanders movement to bring candidates to power across the country,
candidates who stand for the same things he does?
I am a part of an initiative called Brand New
Congress [2]. Many of us are former Sanders campaign staffers, who are hoping
to help elect Bernie Sanders-like candidates in at least 100 different
districts in the next two years. Rachel Maddow described us as running a
“presidential campaign with 400 heads”.
With our eye on the midterm election cycle in 2018, Brand New
Congress is engaging with people across congressional districts to identify
potential candidates. We launched with the express purpose of building on the
Sanders platform and securing meaningful representation in Congress.
The aim is to run one campaign for hundreds of candidates. Instead
of running the races separately, we will be centralizing fundraising, awareness
raising and organizing for campaigns across the country. Our unified process
will level the playing field, and thus permit new leaders to rise up from the
ranks of our working and middle class.
No longer will capable and competent individuals be told to wait
on the sidelines because they don’t have big-money donors behind them. We seek
to provide the infrastructure and strategic expertise to a new cadre of
candidates across the country.
This is a watershed moment for progressives. From state and local
elections to congressional races, there are politicians and grassroots
volunteers moving the needle on progressive action in this country. By
empowering people to take part in the political process, via their voices and
their votes, we have the beginnings of a change in the game.
We need an honest and accountable Congress, one that is not swayed
by the allure of wealthy donors. By building a network of campaigns to run
simultaneously against business as usual, we have a chance at turning the tide
in the 2018 midterm elections and beyond. The revolution is here, and it’s here
to stay.
Links:
- See more at: https://portside.org/print/node/11661#sthash.NQBec1m2.dpuf
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
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