You Say You Want a Revolution? (Then Fight For It!)

Don't leave yet! Bernie hasn't conceded, people.
 
I thought I'd post this meme and information at the start of this week's blog to help clear up some of the confusion we've all experienced this past week. Bernie Sanders has not thrown in the towel--he's still in the running for the White House--but he has to play the game by the rules the DNC has set up in order to attend the convention. Yes, they're pretty dirty rules that were created (along with superdelegates) to keep the power in the party bosses' hands, but every candidate has to follow them or else they're not allowed to speak to the convention and have their delegates counted.  Bernie spoke to his delegates via a teleconference and assured them he wants and needs them all in Philadelphia. If he's not there, he won't be able to rally his delegates (and a few hundred more) to win the nomination.  So, Bernie is wise and played the "game" of standing on a stage with Mrs. Clinton in New Hampshire in order to keep his candidacy alive. Now that the "endorsement ordeal" is over, several informed persons have been helping those of us not versed in how Democratic Party politics work understand what he did and why he had to do it before the convention. Here's what they say:

As per DNC rules, a candidate with an active campaign is not allowed to deny an endorsement of another campaign. Doing so would result in forfeiture of said candidate's superdelegates, and the loss of access to the convention floor stage.

 Bernie is not conceding, folks! He has to play the game by the DNC's rules which state he wouldn't be allowed to take the podium at the DNC convention and his delegates wouldn't be allowed in if he didn't "endorse the frontrunner." (Those are the DNC's rules!) His campaign hasn't stopped--he didn't say "I quit/concede." Listen to what he said--he says we're going to the convention and we are. Have faith and read up on history: FDR in 1932 won a contested convention like this one. FDR "endorsed" his opponent on the first ballot and, four ballots later, he was nominated. FDR went on to win by a landslide--and won the presidency four times. So, don't panic. Stay the course and #feelthebern.

You must come to understand that the nature of politics is to subtract meaning from language. Although Bernie Sanders is a statesman, he's still a politician. Have a bit of patience, and wait for Bernie Sanders to make his case at the Democratic National Convention. By "endorsing" Hillary Clinton, Sanders is actively preserving his options and buying time.

 Q: Bernie can actually still win??

A. Yes. And if he wasn't still trying to win, he would have conceded. The only option he had to get to the convention with his delegates behind him and have a chance to still win was to do what he did today. He is not a traitor. He didn't sell us out. He did the only possible thing he could have done to keep fighting for the nomination.

Read this blog, and I guarantee you'll feel better: Ignore the mainstream media gloating. Bernie is still in it to win it!

There you have it. Now is not the time to quit, whine or throw a temper tantrum. Now is the time for all good Berners to get on their feet and march in protest and solidarity--in Philadelphia, your city, your neighborhood, anywhere you can make some noise and let the world know that #WeThePeople have spoken. #OurRevolution has begun and it will continue until we've brought about the progressive worldview that Bernie Sanders and all of us believe in. A future to believe in.

Now it's time for a "pep talk" and some words from two wise Bernie delegates on the eve of the convention.

https://youtu.be/ozq5PcqPQFA 
https://youtu.be/BGLGzRXY5Bw
You Say You Want a Revolution?

(Then Fight For It!)

by Bern Notice

It's time for a pep talk folks. At the beginning of this election season, we saw a lot of new voters calling for a political revolution. The number swelled and then more people jumped on the "political revolution" bandwagon. Hope was in the air, and we had a candidate we actually believed in. Times were good.

Then here comes the Sanders endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I saw a lot of people who were “the happy revolutionaries” all of a sudden fell into a fit of sadness or anger. Some actually said they would vote for Donald Trump. To say hearing a progressive say this is mind-blowing would be a profound understatement.

Welcome to the real revolution. I have said repeatedly that this is not a Bernie Sanders political revolution. This is our political revolution. Yet at the first sign of adversity you quit. You go home. You say you'll vote for Donald Trump.

If no one has said this to you, let me be the first: Political revolutions are hard. They are riddled with a lot of tears, frustration and heartbreak. No entrenched power ever surrenders it willingly, and it sure as hell won't do it the first time you raise your voice.

If you thought that political revolutions would come quickly and easily then you are insanely naive. I don't usually speak about myself, but in this case, I will make an exception. I'm no spring chicken, and I have voted third party for over a decade. I did so because I think that you should vote for a candidate not against one.

I thought that I was the only one willing to do so in spite of  popular thinking. Then along comes the Bernie Sanders campaign. For the first time in my life, I register as a Democrat because the platform he espoused is closer to mine than any candidate in the major parties has been in my lifetime. And, for the first time, I wasn't a single voice in a crowd but a chorus of many.

Please note, I changed for the platform. And now that Bernie has officially thrown his weight behind Hillary guess what I'm doing? I'm voting third party--again. Meanwhile, so many of those who claimed to want a political revolution are now ready to throw in the towel. I'm not. And I won't be until I'm in the dirt, and even then If I could I'd fight on.

I respect a people who will stand by their principles and fight for what they believe. I respect the people who fought for gay rights, civil rights, women's rights and other worthy causes not because it was easy but because it was right. Yet some so-called "political revolutionaries" who like to point to these people as their inspiration are so eager to say, "Screw it! I give up!"

The people who fought for and won equality didn't give up. Oh, and they faced arrest, water hoses, bullets, attack dogs and bomb threats. Some of you are willing to give up over a setback. Some of you think that this fight can't be won. You're wrong. It can be won, but we must persist.

So, to those of you who are throwing in the towel right now, I ask you "Who are you?" Are you the person who is willing to stand for something, or are you the person who quits when the going gets tough? You say you want a revolution, but do you really? If you do, then prove it. Don't quit. Fight for it and keep fighting. Vote third party. Write in Bernie if you want to, but for crying out loud take a stand. 

There is an easy way to know if you are a revolutionary or not. Revolutionaries don't surrender. They fight until their last or until the fight is won.

***

And now a word from two Bernie Delegates from Ohio's 5th congressional district.

Voice of Nature: Bernie Sanders in the White House
by Dennis Slotnick

In the calm and centered moments, when the noise and chatter of the race is distant, quietly we sit and envision President Sanders there in the oval office with his warm welcoming smile. There with his razor focus on the progressive agenda.

Just hold onto that vision for a moment. The rest is details. Details nature herself will take care of. And yet, we act. We go forth knowing that nature is on our side. Behold the transformation. For the nature of the times is with Bernie Sanders.

Here are the indicators:

Global warming with its droughts, floods, melting ice caps, record number of climate refugees, is calling out like never before for a close to the fossil fuel era. Only Bernie's message holds any hope of ending the carbon based energy supply.

Shrinking of the middle class, economic strain on college graduates, urban youth and working families, and the massive shift of wealth to the very few is unsustainable. Bernie's voice is loud and clear and gaining more and more support. The message not a fad, it is the truth.

On every issue, from fracking, TPP, single-payer health care and college education, the truth of an unsustainable corporate-dominated system is coming out. Only Bernie's message offers remedies.

Here is the evidence that people are ready.

It is contributions from the seven million in small amounts that fuels the campaign.

It is a massive grassroots operation, like never seen before, getting thousands of people politically engaged. It says the time is right for the transformation.

At evermore popular rallies, the message resonates over and over, reverberating between Bernie and audience like masterful music. And Bernie rolls on as the great conductor of the trends of time.

(Those of us who have been to the rallies and worked door-to-door and phone banks "feel the Bern" deep inside when someone else lights up with the message. There are few feelings more rewarding than to be in the sweet resonance of this lively transformation.)

I am inspired to resonate with Michael Grom, Ohio 15th congressional district Sanders delegate when he says, "Truth is on our side. There are millions of people along the east coast within a short distance from Philadelphia. We can turn this convention around." Michael and I share this quiet vision of Bernie in the White House.

This is why we are to keep clear in our centered moments the transformation is the need of the times; we create it with our thoughts and intentions. Not to mind what media says, the real news is that we are the future as we envision Bernie Sanders in the White House.

The rest is details. We attend to them and carry on his message. 

 And now a word from The Bernie Blog co-founder and Ohio Bernie delegate Barb McMillan.

Written to those who feel betrayed:
 

Bernie has not lied to us. Fifty years of putting himself on the line for his fellow human beings. How dare anyone berate his efforts. 

From the beginning he made promises, among them that he was going to run as a Democrat and not be a spoiler. This was the conclusion. He was not going to destroy the party and he was not going to berate HRC. He was pushing the progressive agenda and trying to open the party to the progressive future. He continued to fight after the votes were in, after his colleagues spit on him, after exhausted each day he fell into bed to start again. 

He has asked for a roll call at the convention. We need to have a show of our strength. We need to say from the inside of that convention center we are here! In numbers. A coward walks away crying, "They cheated." A courageous man says, "They fought effing hard, and we still have a chance to forward our goals."

I'm standing behind this man. His work has been heroic. He holds his head high. So do I. 

***

We'll See You in Philly!

 Here's a link to a page full of events in and around Philadelphia for the next two weeks: https://www.facebook.com/notes/1029197360493523/Philly%20Events/1068289859917606/ 

Check out our "March on DNC--See You in Philly" page on the sidebar for other helpful links.

Please donate to our GoFundMe campaign if you can help The Bernie Blog get to Philly. Thanks!  (And don't forget to chat with us if you see us there.)

Now, get yourself psyched up for the convention with this great anthem. We're still standing and we're #StillSanders. #FeeltheBern everyone.