Win or Lose, Bernie Reflects the Mood of the Progressive Left
Win or Lose, Bernie Reflects the Mood of the Progressive Left
Adam Hudson
teleSUR
With the California primary approaching, it’s hard to predict if Sanders will win or what happen next. What seems certain, however, is that regardless if Sanders wins the Democratic nomination, his campaign reflects the current mood and state of progressive movements in California, along with much of the country. There is a palpable dissatisfaction with the status quo among many Californians.
There was a very similar vibe at the May 30 Sanders rally in Oakland that drew over 20,000 people from across the San Francisco Bay Area. A huge number of those people signed up to be volunteers for the campaign. Ed Stres, a volunteer with the Sanders campaign, said 2 out of 10 people he asked at the rally to sign up as volunteers were already volunteers. There has been much cross-pollination between the Sanders campaign and other movements, such as Black Lives Matter and the fight to raise the minimum wage. In fact, during the Frisco Five hunger strike that eventually forced former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr to step down, I saw some Sanders supporters showing their support for the hunger strikers. Stres said many people from those movements are involved in the Sanders campaign and that there is a larger social movement that goes beyond Sanders. “Bernie’s just the person of the hour to represent this movement,” he said.
Whether or not Sanders wins California or the Democratic nomination, the movement behind his campaign is not going anywhere.
= new reply since forum marked as read
