09/08/2024
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
A few words from Senator Bernie U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
One of the tools that the Oligarchs use to maintain their position of power is to make it appear that real change is impossible, and opposition is useless. They have the power. Ain’t nothing we can do about it. That’s the way it is and always will be. Give up trying.
Fortunately, these masters of the universe are wrong. Very wrong. As progressives we have made enormous progress in recent years, and continue to do so. And we should be extremely proud of what we have accomplished.
A few examples:
When I was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 I started the Progressive Caucus. We had 5 members. Today, under the very effective leadership of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, there are close to 100 members. Many of them are young, people of color and very effective. The Democratic Caucus in the House is now more progressive than it has been for a very long time.
In the last 3 1/2 years, under President Biden, we passed some of the most progressive legislation in modern American history. We passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan which supported the needs of working families and took this country out of the COVID caused economic downturn far faster than anyone imagined possible. Further, we have begun to take on the powerful drug companies, made the largest investment in rebuilding our infrastructure in American history, put more money into transforming our energy systems than any country in history and have cancelled the student debts of almost 5 million Americans. Among other things.
These developments did not take place by accident. They occurred because, together, we put together a progressive and popular agenda and had a president willing to work with us.
And let me give you another example which indicates the kind of progress we have made in recent years. Take a look at the official platform of the Democratic Party. Trust me. I know that party platforms are not binding but, nonetheless, they are extremely important. The platform matters because it is a document that enshrines the values and goals of the Democratic Party. It's a document to which we can point and say, "This is what Democrats believe, and this is what we must fight for.”
Now it wasn't long ago that many of the issues we are fighting for were considered "radical" and "fringe" by many people in the Democratic Party.
The first time I introduced Medicare for All legislation, I couldn't find a single Senator to co-sponsor the bill. Today it is a mainstream position of the Democratic Party.
In 1993, I introduced a bill, the Living Wage Act, that would have raised the minimum wage to $5.50 an hour. That bill had only a couple dozen co-sponsors. Another "pie-in-the-sky" idea.
Oh how times have changed since our first presidential campaign.
In 2012, the last platform before we ran, the Democratic Party platform started the health care portion of the platform by saying "We believe accessible, affordable, high quality health care is part of the American promise"
In 2024, it begins by saying "Health care should be a right in America, not a privilege."
In 2012, the Democratic Party platform talked about partnering with states to "move toward" paid leave.
In 2024, it talks about a "national paid family and medical leave program, guaranteeing every American worker up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new child or loved one to recover from an illness, in cases of domestic violence, or military deployment."
In 2012, there was no mention of expanding Medicare.
In 2024, it says "We'll look to expand traditional Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing services, which are so key to health and quality of life, by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share."
In 2012, the platform said "We will raise the minimum wage, and index it to inflation."
In 2024, it says "We also raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $17.20 an hour, and will keep pushing Congress to increase it to at least $15 for all Americans."
In 2012, the only talk of prescription drugs was about closing the Medicare "doughnut hole."
In 2024, it takes on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry when it includes, "Big Pharma has ripped off Americans for years, charging two and three times more here than in other countries for the exact same medications."
In 2012, there was little mention of student debt or loans and talked about plans to ensure payments are only 10% of a graduate's income.
In 2024, there are paragraphs about efforts to cancel student debt and how the crushing burden of these loans holds back our country.
In 2012, there was no discussion of public financing of elections.
In 2024, it says "Democrats will also fight to strengthen public financing with small-dollar matching for all federal candidates."
In 2012, there was no mention of private prisons.
In 2024, there are paragraphs and it starts with a pledge to "end state-level use of private prisons and detention centers."
How did this happen?
If you think it happened by accident, or because the leadership of the Democratic Party woke up one morning and just decided to start fighting for these ideas, you would be mistaken.
They happened because of you.
They happened because of every donation, every phone call, every door knock, every text message, every social media post, every packed rally and town hall supporting not only our presidential campaigns, but candidates who pledge to fight for these ideas.
That is how change happens. That is the political revolution we talk about.
But, it goes without saying, there is much, much work left to be done.
Right now, our job in the next 2 months is to come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris as our next president. But, in the process, we must never lose sight of our long term goal. And that is to implement a progressive agenda, including many of the strong provisions in the Democratic Platform.
