In a video released to social media, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) issued a message to the Democratic establishment about the future of the party and progressivism.
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00:00Thanks very much for joining me.
00:03These are unprecedented moments in modern American history, and we have got to respond
00:08in unprecedented ways, and together.
00:12That is exactly what we're doing.
00:15Our grassroots political revolution is aggressively taking on Trump and the oligarchy, and we
00:21are making real progress.
00:23Over the last eight weeks, I've been to 11 states.
00:27Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, California, Utah, Idaho,
00:34and Montana held 17 rallies and have spoken to over 250,000 people.
00:43Most of these rallies were held in districts that are represented by Republican members
00:48of Congress.
00:49Interestingly, many of the people who showed up at these rallies were independents or
00:55Republicans and not just Democrats.
00:58Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accompanied me at the most recent fighting oligarchy events,
01:05and she did a fantastic job.
01:09We are continuing to hit the road.
01:12This time, I'll be going to Pennsylvania.
01:14On Thursday, I will be doing a May Day celebration with Pennsylvania trade unionists in Philadelphia.
01:21On Friday, we'll be in Harrisburg for an evening event, and on Saturday morning, we'll be in Lehigh Valley.
01:27Congressman Chris DeLuzio will be joining us for these events.
01:32If any of you live in these communities, please drop by.
01:36We would love to see you there.
01:39But it's not just about the rallies that we're focusing on.
01:44As important as they are, please understand that we are not just parachuting into communities
01:51and then walking away.
01:53We're doing much more than that.
01:55We are working hard to build a sustainable, progressive, grassroots infrastructure, mostly
02:03focusing now on marginal congressional districts that have Republican members of Congress.
02:10We have already hired local organizers in Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with more to come.
02:18These organizers are putting together grassroots coalitions with great success.
02:24They have already organized well-attended meetings where community members come together to discuss local concerns.
02:32Over 400 folks were out in Michigan last week, and over 300 attended a meeting in Wisconsin.
02:39They are also organizing door-to-door canvassing, setting up phone banks, and engaging in social media.
02:46Bottom line here, we are not going to let the Republican representatives who prefer to hide from their constituents escape their responsibilities.
02:57Short-term, as many of you know, there's a so-called reconciliation bill coming before Congress in the not-too-distant future.
03:05This horrific Trump legislation would provide a trillion dollars in tax breaks for the 1% while making massive cuts to Medicaid, nutrition, housing, and other programs that working families desperately need.
03:21This bill has got to be defeated, and our efforts are putting pressure on vulnerable Republicans to vote no.
03:32Longer term, we want to see Republicans in these districts defeated in 2026, and Democrats regaining control over the House.
03:42If we can accomplish that, we'll be taking a giant step forward in stopping Trump's destructive agenda.
03:50Further, as many of you may know, and this is long-term thinking, we've just issued a call for progressives throughout the country to run for office.
04:02From school board, to city council, to state legislature, to the United States Congress.
04:09The response has been extraordinary.
04:12Over 5,000 people from virtually every state in the country have expressed an interest in getting involved politically.
04:21Some are interested in running as progressive Democrats, others as independents.
04:26We'll be doing a Zoom call with many of them this Wednesday evening in order to begin providing them with the guidance that new candidates often require.
04:37If you are interested in the possibility of running for office yourself, please go to BernieSanders.com slash run.
04:48That's BernieSanders.com slash run, and you can get information as to how you can proceed.
04:56Not surprisingly, the establishment has taken note of what we are doing.
05:03Republicans, including Trump and Musk, tried to downplay the size of our rallies.
05:11According to Musk, those who attended were mostly paid organizers.
05:17Really? Not quite true.
05:20While members of the Democratic establishment have occasionally applauded our efforts on the road,
05:26a number of them and their corporate media friends are becoming increasingly nervous about the progress we're making.
05:35And you may have heard some of this recently in newspapers or radio or TV or in social media.
05:44These establishment figures are exclaiming that progressives shouldn't be taken too seriously.
05:52That we as progressives are too far left.
05:56We are extreme. We are out of touch with American society.
06:01None of these establishment critiques are new.
06:05I've heard them for a long, long time, but they are worth discussing.
06:10So let me take a minute to do that.
06:13According to these establishment politicians, analysts, media pundits, and wealthy campaign contributors,
06:22the future of the Democratic Party lies in moderation.
06:27We shouldn't be rocking the boat.
06:30We shouldn't be bringing forth bold ideas to address the crises facing working families.
06:37We shouldn't be talking about oligarchy, about one guy owning more wealth than the bottom 53% of American house goals.
06:47Can't talk about that.
06:49We shouldn't be talking about massive income and wealth inequality and the reality that the top 1% now owns more wealth than the bottom 90%.
07:01We shouldn't be talking about the unprecedented concentration of corporate ownership that exists
07:07and that a handful of large Wall Street firms are the major stockholders in virtually every large corporation in America.
07:16We shouldn't be talking about the need to grow the trade union movement so that workers can negotiate for decent wages and benefits.
07:26And let us, let us never talk about a corrupt campaign finance system that allows billionaires in both parties to control the political and legislative process.
07:39Oh, and of course, we shouldn't be talking about corporate control over the media.
07:44According to these leaders of the Democratic establishment, the path forward, get ready for this, is to continue doing exactly what they have been doing for the last 10 years.
08:00In other words, tell the world how bad Donald Trump is while continuing to defend a rigged and corrupt economic and political system that makes the rich richer while working families fall further and further behind.
08:16Well, we disagree with that approach.
08:21Of course, we will continue to work with Democrats and anybody else to help lead the way in exposing Trump's pathological lying, his kleptocratic behavior, which enriches himself and his family,
08:35his disastrous economic policies, which benefit the rich at the expense of everyone else, his authoritarianism and his contempt for the Constitution, his foreign policy, which is alienating us from longtime friends and allies.
08:53We will continue to do that and more.
08:58But that is not enough.
09:02From one end of our country to the other, in red states, blue states, purple states, working families,
09:10young people, seniors, the poor, people of color, people in cities, and people in rural America, and Americans of all stripes, are desperately looking for a new and bold vision for America's future.
09:26The status quo is not working and cannot and should not be defended.
09:43Simply stated, in the richest country in the history of the world where our productive capabilities are exploding with new technologies,
09:55every man, woman, and child in our country can and should have a decent standard of living.
10:05This is not radical, utopian thinking.
10:09This is not far left.
10:12This is what we can and should be achieving.
10:16This is what we should be fighting for.
10:20What is radical and unthinkable is that in the year 2025, in the United States of America, 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck.
10:34And we have some of the highest rates of childhood and senior poverty of any major country on Earth.
10:41What is radical is that we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had before.
10:48And unbelievably, one man owns more wealth than the bottom 53% of households.
10:56What is radical is that we are the only major country not to guarantee healthcare for all as a human right or have paid family and medical leave.
11:07What is radical is that 800,000 of our fellow Americans are homeless and that over 20 million households spend over half of their limited incomes for housing.
11:20What is radical is that we are spending close to $1 trillion a year on the military and many billions in weaponry for an extremist Netanyahu government in Israel that has waged a horrific, illegal, and immoral war against the people of Gaza.
11:41What is radical is that our democracy is being undermined not just by Donald Trump, but by billionaire campaign contributors and a corrupt campaign finance system.
11:56The American people desperately want this country to move forward in a new direction economically, politically, socially, and environmentally.
12:09Just as a matter of fact, a recent survey found that three-quarters of Americans believe the American political and economic system need major, major changes.
12:23So, to our establishment friends in the Democratic Party, no, we will not maintain the status quo.
12:33We will not shrink from big ideas.
12:36We are prepared to take on the big money interests who dominate our society.
12:43And we know that the American people are with us in that fight.
12:50And we should be enormously proud that we are helping to shape that path.
12:56But let us be clear.
12:58The road forward will not be easy.
13:02We are taking on the oligarchs and their unlimited wealth.
13:06We are taking on corporate America and the media that they own.
13:11We are taking on Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
13:15And we are taking on the fossilized section of the Democratic Party, which cannot shake loose from their top-down politics, their wealthy campaign donors, and their super PACs.
13:29In this pivotal moment in American and world history, when the stakes are so high for our country and the entire planet, we should not underestimate the difficult challenges that we face.
13:44But that should not make us pessimistic.
13:47If we stand together, we have the power to create a government and an economy that works for all of us, not just a handful of billionaires.
13:59As Nelson Mandela, one of the great liberation leaders in modern history, reminded us,
14:05quote,
14:06It always seems impossible until it is done, end quote.
14:12Let's do it.
14:14Thank you very much.
14:17This year, thank you very much.
14:18Thank you very much.
14:20See you very much.