Don't Be 'Absurd': Sanders Rejects Establishment Calls to Drop Revolutionary
Bid
Published on
Friday, March 18, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Don't Be 'Absurd': Sanders Rejects Establishment Calls to Drop Revolutionary
Bid
'People want to become engaged in the political process by having a vigorous
primary and caucus process.'
by
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
Supporters hold signs and cheer as Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie
Sanders takes the stage during a campaign stop in St. Charles, Missouri on
March 14, 2016. (Credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI)
Calls for him to drop out of the presidential race are "absurd," Bernie
Sanders said Thursday, following reports that political heavy hitters
including President Barack Obama are urging Democrats to rally around rival
Hillary Clinton as the nominee.
The Missouri primary was called Thursday evening in Clinton's favor, meaning
that she swept this week's contests and leading her campaign to declare
Clinton has an "almost insurmountable" lead in pledged delegates. Corporate
media has largely parroted that narrative.
But as Sanders told MSNBC in an interview Thursday: "The bottom line is that
when only half of the American people have participated in the political
process...I think it is absurd for anybody to suggest that those people not
have a right to cast a vote."
In fact, he continued, "to suggest we don't fight this out to the end would
be, I think, a very bad mistake. People want to become engaged in the
political process by having vigorous primary and caucus process."
In an interview Friday with the Associated Press, he added, "I don't believe
they have an insurmountable lead. Secretary Clinton has done phenomenally
well in the Deep South and in Florida. That's where she has gotten the
lion's share of votes. And I congratulate her for that. But we're out of the
Deep South now."
Referencing places like Arizona, Washington, Wisconsin, New York, and
Pennsylvania, Sanders said: "We've got some big states coming up and we
think if we can do well, if we go into the convention with delegates, we've
got a shot at taking the nomination."
Indeed, the Atlantic noted on Friday, "In the next month, six states will
hold caucuses, contests that often reward grassroots enthusiasm, which could
give Sanders an edge. Some of the states coming up on the primary calendar
also feature heavily white electorates, a demographic makeup that has helped
deliver victory for Sanders in the past."
Furthermore, Kevin Gosztola wrote this week:
Staff and volunteers knew the map of primaries did not favor Sanders until
after March 15. The campaign knew it would be a slog to eke out wins or
avoid blowouts in states, where large numbers of delegates would be
rewarded. The campaign also recognized southern states would overwhelmingly
go to Clinton and give her a big lead. So, the path to victory, which
Sanders believes still exists, factored in many of the outcomes which the
media cites when claiming there is just no way Clinton will lose.
But observers have pointed to bigger reasons, too, for Sanders to remain in
the race until the Democratic National Convention in June.
"Keeping Clinton from reverting to a neoliberal default isn't the only
reason for Sanders to stay in the race-or the most important," D.D.
Guttenplan wrote this week at The Nation. "As Sanders has always said, his
aim is 'a political revolution.' Winning the nomination would be nice, but
is neither necessary nor sufficient to bring that about."
"Building a nationwide, durable network of mobilized, active supporters
prepared to keep working for universal healthcare, a living wage, ending
Wall Street welfare and America's endless wars-including the drug wars-in
numbers great enough to Occupy the Democratic Party and take it back from
its corporate funders is absolutely crucial," Guttenplan wrote. "So, too, is
the difficult work of stitching together movements like #BlackLivesMatter,
Fight for 15, immigrant rights, climate justice, and voting rights into a
coalition prepared to march together, vote together, and transform our
politics-and our country. Yet that is the task we face."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
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Don't Be 'Absurd': Sanders Rejects Establishment Calls to Drop Revolutionary
Bid
Published on
Friday, March 18, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Don't Be 'Absurd': Sanders Rejects Establishment Calls to Drop Revolutionary
Bid
'People want to become engaged in the political process by having a vigorous
primary and caucus process.'
by
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
. 47 Comments
.
. Supporters hold signs and cheer as Democratic Presidential candidate
Bernie Sanders takes the stage during a campaign stop in St. Charles,
Missouri on March 14, 2016. (Credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI)
. Calls for him to drop out of the presidential race are "absurd,"
Bernie Sanders said Thursday, following reports that political heavy hitters
including President Barack Obama are urging Democrats to rally around rival
Hillary Clinton as the nominee.
. The Missouri primary was called Thursday evening in Clinton's favor,
meaning that she swept this week's contests and leading her campaign to
declare Clinton has an "almost insurmountable" lead in pledged delegates.
Corporate media has largely parroted that narrative.
. But as Sanders told MSNBC in an interview Thursday: "The bottom line
is that when only half of the American people have participated in the
political process...I think it is absurd for anybody to suggest that those
people not have a right to cast a vote."
. In fact, he continued, "to suggest we don't fight this out to the
end would be, I think, a very bad mistake. People want to become engaged in
the political process by having vigorous primary and caucus process."
In an interview Friday with the Associated Press, he added, "I don't believe
they have an insurmountable lead. Secretary Clinton has done phenomenally
well in the Deep South and in Florida. That's where she has gotten the
lion's share of votes. And I congratulate her for that. But we're out of the
Deep South now."
Referencing places like Arizona, Washington, Wisconsin, New York, and
Pennsylvania, Sanders said: "We've got some big states coming up and we
think if we can do well, if we go into the convention with delegates, we've
got a shot at taking the nomination."
Indeed, the Atlantic noted on Friday, "In the next month, six states will
hold caucuses, contests that often reward grassroots enthusiasm, which could
give Sanders an edge. Some of the states coming up on the primary calendar
also feature heavily white electorates, a demographic makeup that has helped
deliver victory for Sanders in the past."
Furthermore, Kevin Gosztola wrote this week:
Staff and volunteers knew the map of primaries did not favor Sanders until
after March 15. The campaign knew it would be a slog to eke out wins or
avoid blowouts in states, where large numbers of delegates would be
rewarded. The campaign also recognized southern states would overwhelmingly
go to Clinton and give her a big lead. So, the path to victory, which
Sanders believes still exists, factored in many of the outcomes which the
media cites when claiming there is just no way Clinton will lose.
But observers have pointed to bigger reasons, too, for Sanders to remain in
the race until the Democratic National Convention in June.
"Keeping Clinton from reverting to a neoliberal default isn't the only
reason for Sanders to stay in the race-or the most important," D.D.
Guttenplan wrote this week at The Nation. "As Sanders has always said, his
aim is 'a political revolution.' Winning the nomination would be nice, but
is neither necessary nor sufficient to bring that about."
"Building a nationwide, durable network of mobilized, active supporters
prepared to keep working for universal healthcare, a living wage, ending
Wall Street welfare and America's endless wars-including the drug wars-in
numbers great enough to Occupy the Democratic Party and take it back from
its corporate funders is absolutely crucial," Guttenplan wrote. "So, too, is
the difficult work of stitching together movements like #BlackLivesMatter,
Fight for 15, immigrant rights, climate justice, and voting rights into a
coalition prepared to march together, vote together, and transform our
politics-and our country. Yet that is the task we face."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
