Powerful Letter Says What Every Bernie Supporter Is Thinking Today
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have declared a historic victory as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, following in AP count of delegates and Tuesday's primaries. But in many other respects, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders can also claim victory, says former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
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In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Reich thanked Sanders for energizing voters and helping to shape a progressive agenda. No matter how the candidate's campaign evolves from here on out, "[y]ou’ve already succeeded," Reich wrote.
"At the start they labeled you a 'fringe' candidate – a 74-year-old, political Independent, Jewish, self-described democratic socialist, who stood zero chance against the Democratic political establishment, the mainstream media, and the moneyed interests," Reich wrote. "Then you won 22 states."
Six states voted in Democratic primaries and caucuses on Tuesday, including states such as California and New Jersey where a large number of delegates were at stake, CNN reports. Sanders won in North Dakota and Montana, bringing his total delegate count to 1851 (including superdelegates). But Clinton has far exceeded the 2,383 delegates required to clinch the nomination after Tuesday, if you factor in superdelegates. Clinton declared victory on Tuesday night as the first female presumptive presidential nominee of a major party in history.
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That shouldn't discourage Sanders, Reich says, because his campaign has "helped shape the next generation." Sanders' calls for a political revolution inspired a young and passionate voter base to engage in politics and "fight the most important and basic of all fights on which all else depends: to reclaim our economy and democracy from the moneyed interests."
Reich continued:
"Your courage in taking on the political establishment has emboldened millions of us to stand up and demand our voices be heard. Regardless of what you decide to do now, you have ignited a movement that will fight onward. We will fight to put more progressives into the House and Senate. We will fight at the state level. We will organize for the 2020 presidential election. We will not succumb to cynicism. We are in it for the long haul. We will never give up."
