Like many of us here at Caucus99percent I am tired of being trampled on, scorned, belittled, and ultimately ignored by the so-called financial and political elites. The doom and gloom on the site is palpable. The negativity has now seemed to reach it’s peak with the big middle finger Hillary has given the progressive wing of the party in her atrocious VP pick, and we have only begun to see the results of the DNC boondoggle.

A direct attack on the inequities and injustices of the neoliberal capitalist system is imperative, but all the avenues appear to be blocked. The corrupt electoral system is firmly in the hands of the Clinton cabal, if not in those of the right wing rethugs. The deep state has been monitoring our emails and phones while our civil liberties have been trampled. The police have been militarized and are killing us in the streets. Yet our action to counteract these evils is crucial.

But first we should examine the success factors that allowed an unknown Bernie Sanders to surge from total obscurity to winning the Democratic primary, even if it was ultimately stollen from him. It is the victory and what it means to the potential for future accomplishments that counts. Was this revolution a one of a kind phenomenon, or can we replicate it and advance to an ultimate victory?

These I believe are five factors that explain Bernie’s success during his campaign:

1) built a massive following on the web
2) attracted and entertained large crowds
3) an establishment outsider, virulently attacked the political class as corrupt and incompetent
4) demonstrated personalized fame not as important as the movement
5) owed rhetorical style to the populist right, his political solutions from the Left

Could we replicate this performance under current circumstances? IMHO the answer is a resounding yes.

First, our ability to organize on the web is a no brainer. Even an unorganized campaign like Jill 2016 is starting to show signs of life, using the web for fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and virtual phone banks for ballot access. The technology is out there and as her volunteer base grows, organization for ballot initiatives, GOTV, and the spread of pertinent news campaigns through social media, are within easy reach. Jill Stein is the example because she is the only progressive candidate for President, but it would work equally well for others, even Bernie if by some miracle he were to decide on a third party run. It is the base for our organizing.

Second, Bernie was adept at attracting yuuge crowds, and could continue to do so in the Senate, or through the Sanders Institute. But this role could be filled by others such as Nina Turner, Tulsi Gabbard, Zephyr Teachout, or in fact any strong progressive that emerges from the movement. The important point and one widely missed during the campaign, is that participating in large events creates a bond between people in a movement. This has been understood since the days of the Roman circuses, and is especially important in today’s world, where individuals are isolated and lacking in direct human contact because of the web, TV, smartphones, etc.. These are just tools and we are a people needing others of our kind.

Third, while not strictly an outsider, Sanders Independent credentials are pertinent here. If he spoke to us about a rigged economy once, he did it a thousand times; three speeches a day for over a year. We too are all outsiders and have a voice to call bullshit on the political class that has failed us. We can continue the fight against the corruption that rules our daily lives. The dishonorable, unprincipled DNC working hand in hand with her campaign, are incompetent tools of a rigged political system. His words are engraved upon our consciousness.

Fourth, the cult of his personality is not the key in his teachings. Not me, but us he told us. We made him an icon but he was only a guide. He gave us the tools and showed us the way to tear away the veil that hid the corruption we faced. He could not carry us the whole distance but he showed us the path. It is now up to us to step up and put forth our own leaders. Who knows where the next Bernie will come from, but come he/she will for we are a movement, strong and vital.

Fifth, he has taught us language and how to use it to shape events. Bernie speaks as a populist and this is often a tool of what we would call the right wing, yet his ideas are those of the left wing progressive. But that is to focus too narrowly on a false dichotomy. For these are the ideas that touch upon the needs of all of us, undivided by right and left, and human at their core. Our country is rejecting this duality, choosing neither Democrat nor Republican, but rather Independent from where he drew his strength. He rejected racism, sexism, and homophobia, and all that divides us in order to unite us to work towards common goals.

And now I have a disclaimer to make, for these five characteristics are actually a paraphrase of the qualities that defined the Italian 5 Star Movement according to a 2013 Counterpunch article by Tom Gill. For more info see Wikipedia.

But for those unfamiliar with Beppe Grillo and his movement, they have become the second most popular party in Italy in a matter of just a few years. They started running their first electoral lists in 2010 and by the 2013 general elections gained the second highest vote totals and are poised to take power the next time Italians go to the polls. While not strictly a leftist party, the 5 Star Movement has fought political corruption and neoliberalism with populist positions and a complete prohibition of professional politicians, barring anyone from serving more than two terms at any level of government. It is a true peoples movement arising from meet ups similar to those of the Dean campaign, and they pose a real threat to TPTB. Many say the next Brexit will occur if 5 Star is brought to power, which would effectively end the neoliberal EU with it’s undemocratic institutions.

However Italy is not the only leftist movement that is surging in Europe. The Spanish party Podemos has become the second most important group in parliament and captured municipalities in Madrid and elsewhere in just a couple years. They have threatened the traditional socialist left, who sold out to the neoliberals during the debt crisis and they also are poised to take a commanding position in Spanish politics. Add to this the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and his revitalization of the British Labor Party, and it is clear that the left is fighting back and gaining ground against the elites everywhere they have taken them on.

So the point of this essay is to counter the frustration and discouragement that many are feeling, and demonstrate that there is hope and that we are not alone. Bernie has given us the tools to fight the revolution, now it is up to us to carry it forward. Finally, as Stan Rodgers sang in the Mary Ellen Carter:

And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again