Dear Friends -
Jane and I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a safe and healthy new year.
It goes without saying that the past year was filled with extremely difficult and trying times for our country, and for the entire planet.
The situation in Israel and Gaza is horrific and brutal. Russia's outrageous war and invasion of Ukraine continues. We're trying to protect a woman's right to control her own body. Tens of millions of Americans go about their days without access to the health care or the prescription drugs they need, and 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded.
And oh yes, Donald Trump — who is becoming more right-wing and extremist every day — is the leading Republican candidate for president once again.
In a recent speech, Trump said migrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." He uses language that echoes Adolf Hitler calling his political opponents "vermin" and pledges to "root them out." And in his Christmas messages to America he closed with the hope that his enemies "ROT IN HELL."
Totally deranged stuff.
Yet, at the same time, Trump leads in many of the polls to become the next president. It is important that we all confront the reality that he has an excellent chance of winning.
So what do we do about it?
How do we rally the American people to make sure Trump is not elected once again?
Do we do that by telling our supporters and people around the country how great Joe Biden and the Democrats are? No.
We do it by being honest with the American people, even when speaking the truth is uncomfortable and painful.
The American people are tired of press releases, photo ops, and tweets. They want an honest discussion of what is going on and leadership that provides answers to the many crises that we face.
They want to understand why we are where we are today, and how we will move to a better place.
And where are we today?
The truth is grim.
We are rapidly moving toward oligarchy as we experience an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality and growing corporate concentration over our economy. While billionaires become much richer, sixty percent of our people are living paycheck to paycheck. Our health care, childcare, education and housing systems are failing ordinary Americans and are in need of major reform. Our political system, dominated by super PACs, is increasingly corrupt, Trump and his right-wing allies are busily attempting to undermine American democracy, and oh… climate change and the greed of the fossil fuel industry threatens the very existence of our planet.
But it is not all bad news.
In the last year we have seen a major revitalization of the trade union movement as working-class Americans are fighting back against unprecedented corporate greed. They are organizing unions at the grassroots level, going out on strikes – and winning major victories.
Further, in the past few years, President Biden and those of us who have worked with him have passed some significant pieces of legislation.
The $1.9 trillion dollar American Rescue Plan helped revive our economy far faster than anyone could have imagined as we dealt with the worst public health crisis and economic downturn in 100 years. We have made record-breaking investments in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, in broadband and in renewable energy. We have finally begun to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, and we are rebuilding American manufacturing. And let's not forget, Joe Biden was the first president ever to walk a picket line in support of striking workers.
Good stuff.
But is it enough?
Absolutely not.
Far more needs to be done. And as progressives, it's important we lay out an agenda the American people would be eager to vote FOR — not just someone to vote AGAINST.
And what is that agenda? It is an agenda that acknowledges the pain, stress and despair that the majority of our people are experiencing, and provides a path forward to improve their lives.
It is an agenda that boldly confronts the wealth and power of the 1%, and demands that the rich start paying their fair share of taxes.
It is an agenda that uses artificial intelligence to benefit all people, not just the owners of large corporations, and protects everyday people from massive exploitation.
It is an agenda that ends starvation wages in America, makes it easier for workers to join unions and provides equal pay for equal work.
It is an agenda that makes health care a human right and substantially lowers the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in this country.
It is an agenda that will make it possible for all working class young people to gain a college education without going into debt, and will radically improve our dysfunctional childcare system.
It is an agenda that will create millions of good-paying jobs as we lead the world in combating climate change and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels.
It is an agenda that will take on the systemic racism that prevails throughout our country and fundamentally reform our broken and racist criminal justice system.
It is an agenda that cuts military spending, prevents war and supports diplomacy and international cooperation.
It is an agenda that will lead to comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship for the undocumented.
Now, it goes without saying that this is not the agenda of the Democratic Establishment and their wealthy campaign funders. You know that. I know that. So, what do we do? As Progressives, what should our political strategy be in 2024?
First, we work in coalition with all those who understand that we must do everything possible to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme right-wing Republican Party, not just because he is "worse", but because nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake in this election.
Second, we aggressively educate and organize at the grassroots level around our progressive agenda. The American people are deeply unhappy with the economic and political status quo. They want change, real change. That means we must roll up our sleeves and do the hard work of reaching new people. That means we must have uncomfortable conversations and invite people to join us, even if they don't agree with us on everything. We must inspire people to get involved. That is what our progressive agenda has to be about.
Third, we must make it clear to the president and his administration that we expect his second term to be far more progressive than his first. He must, in no uncertain terms, take on the greed of the billionaire class whose actions are causing irreparable damage to our country, and he must wage his campaign on progressive principles.
Sisters and brothers, we have come a long way since our first presidential campaign in 2016, but the truth is that we still have an incredible amount of work ahead of us.
Will the path forward be easy? Of course not. But this is not a time for despair or cynicism, it is a time to stand up and fight for the country we know we can become.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
➡️ Wait… before you go! ⬅️
No real change in American history – not the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the gay rights movement, the environmental movement or any other movement – has ever had success without grassroots activism, without millions of people engaged in the struggle for justice.
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