Many Bernie Sanders supporters are feeling that Bernie Sanders has betrayed his movement and this political moment. I think this sense of betrayal is a fundamental misreading of what Bernie Sanders has said for the past 15 months as well as misunderstanding what it means to be a civilly engaged.

BELIEVE SOMEONE WHEN THEY SHOW YOU WHO THEY ARE
I expected the Bernie Sanders endorsement coming because he repeatedly told us he would do it. Rather than be despondent, I’m filled with a righteous anger and I’m ready to be politically engaged in a way that I have never been before. And here is why: the issues (climate change, criminal justice reform, sensible anti-war foreign policy, stopping TPP, banning fracking, Medicare-for-all, a liveable wage, and free public education) are too important to give up now. Further, the revelations of #DNCLeaks show a monstrous miscarriage of democratic principles and undermining of the democratic process. The Democratic establishment colluded with the Democratic National Convention, state parties, and the mainstream press to sabotage the Bernie Sanders campaign. ( This video below does a great job of summarizing at high level what the DNC leaks reveal ).

As such the American people were robbed of the opportunity of having a free and fair election. There is very good evidence that there has been extensive voter suppression and election fraud in such a magnitude that it changed the reported outcome of this primary. This Democratic primary season was a selection of Hillary Clinton and not an election. If this revelation had happened in any other country the primary results would be invalid and the United Nations and the Carter Center would be calling for new Democratic primary elections.

So given the monstrous nature of what has been revealed why am I not feeling betrayed by Bernie Sanders? Because I have seen his commitment, service and dedication to working families over the years. Bernie’s track record tells us what we need to know. Bernie fights for his principles. But if he doesn’t win-he is pragmatic and tries for the best deal for the American people. For example, he has been a vocal proponent for Medicare-for-all and the public option but when Obama’s health care reforms settled into the Affordable Care Act- Bernie fought for millions of dollars to fund health centers for poor people. It’s that pragmatism that is how Bernie became the Amendment King.

BERNIE’S THEORY OF POLITICAL CHANGE

The other reason that I am not feeling betrayed is that Bernie has repeated his theory of political change many times. From his first speech announcing his candidacy in July 2015 he said :

Today, with your support and the support of millions of people throughout this country, we begin a political revolution to transform our country economically, politically, socially and environmentally… Now is the time for millions of working families to come together, to revitalize American democracy, to end the collapse of the American middle class and to make certain that our children and grandchildren are able to enjoy a quality of life that brings them health, prosperity, security and joy – and that once again makes the United States the leader in the world in the fight for economic and social justice, for environmental sanity and for a world of peace…. Here is my promise to you for this campaign. Not only will I fight to protect the working families of this country, but we’re going to build a movement of millions of Americans who are prepared to stand up and fight back.

Bernie Sanders has framed political change in a particular way. He made a deliberate choice to place the term political before revolution which implies the stakes in a political revolution are not life and death. Further, Bernie Sanders was very clear that the political revolution rests on millions of people standing up and fighting back. And that social movements bubbling from the grassroots and the priorities of working families should drive the political revolution.

I think Cornel West has further built on this idea of political change with the idea of an inside-outside strategy that he articulated in this Platform Committee discussion (starts at 01:07:48)

The genius of the campaign led by my dear brother Bernie Sanders is the highlight of a moral and spiritual awakening in a democracy owing its decline to big money. We must both applaud the coming together, but at the same time we have got to keep the focus on the gap between declaration and execution. [applause] >> It is a beautiful thing to be able to come together and put it on paper, but I want to see the practice. That is exactly why no matter how much noise you make, it is not about the noise. It is about your integrity, honesty, longevity, and what that means then is that we still have to have an inside-outside strategy, a movement in the streets willing to go to jail, then we bring the pressure down on the inside to create space for those of us who are elected with integrity.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION

If our nation is in crisis that can only be solved by a political revolution then we must acknowledge our complicity in allowing our democracy to degenerate. Why did we subvert our logic and always think that Bernie would come to the rescue with a plan that was yet to unfold or that Bernie was playing super secret chess to win the nomination?

Bernie wasn’t playing a secret chess game. The signs were there that he intended to endorse Hillary Clinton even with her disastrous record. In Dr West’s articulation of an inside-outside strategy then Bernie is our man on the inside. Listen very carefully to what Dr West says about inside-outside strategy- it’s the mass movements in the street that make space for the person on the inside to execute the changes we are clamoring for. We need to realize we betrayed ourselves by subverting our will to another politician we wanted to save us- when really we are partners together in the political revolution.

Many Bernie Sanders supporters on social media are very angry because they feel that Bernie Sanders has not defended his supporters or their democratic rights to a free and fair election. While some may acknowledge his speaking out about voter suppression they may feel justifiably upset that he did not go further to address evidence of election fraud. Some supporters speculate that perhaps the safety of Sanders’ family has been threatened or that his political aspirations were threatened by Chuck Schumer and thus Bernie capitulated and “sold out” his movement. They point to Bernie’s use of the term revolution and suggest that if he is indeed a revolutionary then he should be willing to risk life, limb or career for the revolution.

But again I think this is a misreading of our respective roles in the political revolution. If Bernie wasn’t doing enough for the political revolution then where were we? Bernie was clear on needing millions of people to help him push a progressive agenda. Were we protesting against election fraud and voter suppression? Did we stand up and fight back in a way that was equivalent to how much we have been wronged? There is no reason to be upset once we deeply understand the shift in responsibility an inside-outside strategy requires. This a powerful lesson and we should learn from it with clear eyes. If we want our man Bernie to stay on inside the halls of power, then we have to take our roles on the outside seriously and use being outsiders fully to advance a progressive agenda.

SO WHATS NEXT?

No revolution has ever been easy. I have met revolutionaries, who secured independence from England, France and Portugal. These freedom fighters were jailed, tortured, lost jobs, lost family members and suffered for their principles and for freedom and social justice. Bernie has shown us that he can only go so far and should only go so far if he wants to remain our man on the inside. To be an inside man, he has to make the deals to allow him to be an effective player in Washington. The revolutionaries (who will suffer with blood, sweat and tears if necessary) need to take it outside to the streets and show the power of the people. And that’s why I’m ready for grass roots mobilization and true left party building outside the Democratic Party.

We must become the screaming, angry masses that make the establishment afraid. Our person on the inside can then say to the establishment "These people outside are angry and are coming for you. Wouldn’t you rather deal with me and enact these common sense policies I have been asking for? Otherwise, they will be over the walls in a minute and asking for your head".

We need to continue to protest peacefully and show the Democrats that we don’t care who Bernie endorses when our democracy has been stolen from us. The will of the people is for true left policies that are good for the planet and for working people. Those delegates need to be scared and hear clearly that Democrats will lose with Hillary Clinton. They need to see we won’t be herded anymore and that there are consequences to stealing our votes, our voices and that we refuse to fall in line. We need to organize to protect the vote in every precinct across this country. We need to shut down Philly and cities across the country. Every Clinton campaign event must be shut down from here to November and we need to organize for the Greens. That will open up space for the Green Party as well as for reformers inside the Democratic Party. With a true left grass roots mobilization, we can be that outside force in the streets demanding radical change to the more conciliatory role of the inside player. We can be the ones to open a space for Brand New Congress, Bernie Delegates Network and others who seek to reform the Democratic Party from the inside. This is just the beginning of the revolution. But revolution isn’t for the faint of heart. Revolutions don’t happen waiting for someone else to be a leader and come up with a plan or by sitting on your couch or behind the computer screen. We need to stand up and fight for our rights, take it to the streets and not let up until we win. Are you ready?

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---The Political Revolutionary's Toolbook