We Can Still Win!

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

21 April 16

“Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” – Frederick Douglass

’m not going to sugar coat it, New York needed to go better to widen Bernie Sanders’ path to victory. There is still a path, but it got narrower Tuesday night in the Big Apple. This should not be seen as a reason to not continue working just as hard – remember, the political revolution is just beginning. Even if Hillary Clinton becomes the nominee, the next phase of the political revolution will be to go to the Democratic convention with as many delegates as we can and work to reform our rigged political system.

We keep hearing how we have to come together to beat Donald Trump. I am sure that most longtime Democrats will unite and vote for Hillary Clinton. What the pundits and many party activists are ignoring is that the political revolution includes many Independents and others who voted in the Democratic Party for the first time. Those voters are not automatic votes for Hillary Clinton – their votes have to be earned. Voters who have voted Green or even Libertarian will have to be swayed that voting for Hillary Clinton is in their interest, or they will return to the party that better represents them. I’m not saying Bernie can’t win, I’m saying don’t be discouraged by the daunting task ahead. Win or lose, we can still make progress in the fight to take our country back.

So let’s play this out and let the people who haven’t voted yet express their preference. Then let’s go to the convention and fight it out on the platform, the rules, and the leadership of the party. This process is not just about nominating a candidate. This is also an opportunity to influence the direction of the Democratic Party.

Here are some ideas that will help further our cause in the future:

1. Eliminate superdelegates. Let the people decide the nominee. The days of deals in the back rooms by party leaders should end.


2. Stop stacking southern states at the beginning of the process. Let’s not let one state or region have more influence than any other state – which means ending the practice of Iowa and New Hampshire going first.


3. One person, one vote. Let’s have primaries in every state. The best-case scenario is to have the national popular vote decide the nominee. Delegates should only be elected to pass a party platform and other business matters. Let the people choose the nominee in 100% open primaries with same-day registration.

Those are just a few reforms on how the party would choose the nominee.

Less important would be the party platform. This seems to be a list the revolution would agree with that we can push for at the convention:

1. Overturn Citizens United


2. Single payer health care


3. $15 an hour minimum wage


4. Free tuition at public universities and colleges


5. Rebuild our infrastructure


6. Stop the TPP


7. End Fracking


8. Expand Social Security

There are many more issues that resonated in this campaign. We must continue to fight for them, and continue to unite against the rigged political system. I am not saying we should just fight for these issues at the convention. Let’s continue to build a movement around these issues. I loved the quote from Harold Meyerson, “Bernie Sanders didn’t create a new left, he exposed it.” We have been here all along – now let’s come together and fight for power. We may not get it this November but if we come together, our time will come.

I hear many of you saying here we go again, it’s a waste of time to take on the establishment. But look no further than the Republican party. The establishment has been crushed. The Tea Party has succeeded in taking over the Republican Party. It is our turn to do the same.

As I have heard Bernie say often, it is not about me, it is about what we can do together.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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