There's been a lot of speculation lately about what Bernie Sanders' next move will be leading up to the convention and where his loyalties lie moving forward in the general election. Of course, all of this speculation is for naught. Sanders has been very clear where his loyalties lie from the beginning: His loyalty is to the poor, working class, middle class and future of this country. In short, the progressive political revolution.
He confirmed as much and more in his national live-stream address to his supporters last night:
Bernie began his campaign as a challenge to the Democratic establishment's coronation of Hillary Clinton with a truly progressive voice, one he has sounded his entire career and, sadly, one to which the Democratic party has turned a deaf ear for far too long. He stood up to the corruption and greed that has enriched so few at the expense of so many. He made us all acknowledge the inexcusable bigotry inherent in our broken criminal justice system. He opened our eyes to the moral imperative of leaving our planet healthy and habitable for future generations. He spread his message of unity over division, not petty party unity but unity as human beings. He convinced us we deserve a government that represents all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors and has proven that, with an honest message and the integrity to back it up, their money isn't needed. Most importantly, he made us believe in a future worth fighting for.
For these reasons and so many others, I love Bernie Sanders.
That being said, I do not worship him. He is a principled man navigating a hostile sea of duplicitous wretches, but he does not walk on water. He represents all that we have ever known to be good and virtuous in politics, but he is not infallible. He has shown strength of character and courage of conviction against all odds throughout his political life, but he is not immune to fear. Bernie has always been a stalwart warrior for justice and democracy against oligarchy, but I do not think he ever dreamed, even in his wildest nightmares, that America would be so close to electing an outright fascist.
That grim prospect has many Americans understandably shaken. I have no doubt he will do everything in his power to prevent a Donald Trump presidency, as he has said repeatedly. To fearful Democrats, and it appears even Bernie himself, the best way forward may be to slay the greatest evil first and apply consistent progressive pressure on the policies of the lesser second. But he should take care in doing so not to abandon the greatest weapon in his arsenal: the progressive movement itself.
His legions of supporters who have been awoken by his message will not blindly follow him into the jaws of a lesser evil, whether he wills it or not. Fear is not why we followed him in the first place and fear will not alter the movement's ultimate course, although it certainly could delay it for a time. Bernie is currently the general of this progressive army, but make no mistake, another will rise to take his place should he begin marching in the wrong direction. So far, thankfully, it has not come to that. Bernie remains as committed as ever to the people's cause.
The progressive movement has been quietly growing for the past two decades after being relegated to the political sidelines since Bobby Kennedy's tragic assassination in 1968 and George McGovern's 1972 loss to Richard Nixon. The movement's overdue revival began in reaction to Bill Clinton's administration. His neoliberal, Third Way Democrat administration clearly no longer represented the progressive wing of the Democratic party, once considered its base. Since then, both parties have been engaged in a well-choreographed dance to the political right, squabbling rhetorically over some social issues but remaining lockstep on economic and foreign policy.
Fast forward to then-Senator Obama's historic 2008 campaign, where the progressive movement peaked the surface for its first full breath of air in decades. His message of forced transparency, renewed hope and structural change of our political system rallied millions of disaffected progressives to his side, believing the Democratic party was finally ready to represent them again. But Obama left them there, thanked them for their support and moved on without the movement in tow. The best chance for progressive change in a generation was squandered by the naive belief that Republicans were beaten enough to compromise. As we've seen for the past eight years, compromise was never in the Republican vocabulary with this president, only obstruction.
Now in 2016, the progressive movement is gaining strength once more behind by a courageous political outsider willing to speak truth to power. Bernie Sanders has galvanized the forgotten Democratic base in a way unseen since FDR. The movement is growing stronger by the day thanks to Bernie's refusal to go quietly into the partisan night. If he can continue the revolutionary spirit he has channeled his whole life and has instilled into his supporters through the convention and beyond, then a tipping point will be reached and the movement will become self-sustaining, no longer requiring a leader to push it forward. For Millennials, the future of this country, it may have already happened.
Personally, the speculation, praise and/or handwringing about what comes next for Bernie's campaign is moot. He has been fighting the progressive fight long before it came back in fashion. He will undoubtedly continue that fight in the best way he knows how long after the results of this election are final. A new generation of progressive voices, the "new blood" of the political revolution, are taking up his banner and running for elected office up and down the ballot and will do so increasingly in the elections to come. Whatever Bernie says or does in the coming days, weeks and months, the movement he has inspired has already earned my vote for a lifetime. #Bernie4Life