Friday, March 11, 2016

The Revolution Has Begun. Where is Elizabeth Warren?



If Bernie Sanders's stunning upset in Michigan proved one thing, it's this: the Revolution is real.

At first, the corporate media and the political establishment laughed at Bernie. They called him a protest candidate. Sure, he might be popular at the moment, but he's just a flash in the pan. In the meantime, at least he gives Hillary Clinton a Democratic opponent to campaign against so she won't be totally unprepared for the general election.

Oh how things have changed.

Since February, Bernie has won nine state primaries and caucuses, many of which he won in a landslide behind record turnout (Colorado, Kansas and Maine). He's also raised more than $40 million last month alone, which means he has plenty of money to mount a strong campaign that can go the distance.

Now, with his incredible upset victory in Michigan, Bernie has proven that no matter how hard the pundits try to spin it, the race is far from over. This isn't a protest campaign. It's a people's movement. And its growing stronger each day.

For nearly 50 years, Bernie has been preaching the same exact message, yet no one listened. As a young activist in Chicago, he got arrested for protesting against segregated schools. As a mayor, he revitalized Burlington through New Deal-style improvements that benefited the community, not the super-rich. As a member of the House, he took on homophobic colleagues and fought against disastrous trade deals, the de-regulation of Wall Street and the Iraq War. As a Senator, he has taken on climate deniers, income inequality and a corrupt campaign finance system.

In almost every case, Bernie did so without fanfare, without any notoriety. He didn't do these things because they were popular. Or because it would score him political points or make him famous or earn him money. He did it because it was the right thing to do. Period.

Now, all of a sudden, millions of Americans are listening to Bernie's message. And they're loving what they hear.

Bernie is succeeding because he is tailor-made for the times. It's almost as if the moment was pre-ordained for Bernie, like some divine power told him to bide his time and continue toiling in obscurity, with the promise that one day, far in the future, his message would eventually break through.

That time is now.

Bernie's message isn't just resonating, it's dominating and transforming our political discourse. We have the energy and the momentum, but we can't rest on our laurels. Everyday that Bernie grows stronger, Wall Street and corporate America funnel millions more into Hillary's Super Pac to stop him. The assault will only get more intense the more Bernie succeeds.

To combat this onslaught, we need all hands on deck.

Iraq War Vet and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has stepped up to the plate in a big way, campaigning hard for Bernie at deafening rallies all across the country. Other vocal supporters include Congressmen Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Raul Grijalva of Arizona, along with Robert Reich and celebrities Mark Ruffalo, Spike Lee and Sarah Silverman.

With a wide variety of progressives uniting behind Bernie, many supporters are left to wonder: Where is Elizabeth Warren?

As much as this moment is made for Bernie, it's made for Warren as well.

While Bernie has been preaching the same message for a half century with very little notoriety, Warren popularized the message on a mass scale just a few short years ago. Seemingly overnight, she went from an unknown college professor to a liberal rock star thanks to her stinging critique of Wall Street in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

In many ways, Bernie and Warren are two sides of the same political coin. They both preach progressive populism. They both know that the game is rigged. They are both vehemently anti-Wall Street and want to break up the big banks. Their entire careers have been built on fighting for the the regular, average American, doing everything they can to tip the scale back in favor of the 99%, away from the rich and powerful.

As a result, it makes perfect sense for Warren to team up with Bernie at this crucial point in time. Simply put, she is the Robin to his Batman. By combining forces, they can rid Gotham of the oligarchic villains that have hijacked our democracy.

Yet, for whatever reason, Warren is reluctant to endorse Bernie. She has stayed on the sidelines for the entire campaign, choosing not to add her powerful voice to the passionate debate among Democrats over which candidate has a better vision for the country.

Some argue that since Warren is the only female Senator not to endorse Hillary, that equates to a tacit endorsement of Bernie. Others believe that her reluctance to endorse Bernie means that she secretly supports Hillary. Or maybe she is just being politically savvy by not endorsing either candidate.

Whatever the case may be, one fact cannot be argued: Warren has enormous influence, and she is forfeiting that influence by remaining silent. She is leaving her progressive comrades in the lurch at a time when they need her the most.

The battle lines have been drawn. Progressives all across the country are energized in a way they haven't been in generations. From coast to coast, they are standing up to say enough is enough, it's time our democracy works for everyone, not just the rich and powerful. Warren should be leading the battle alongside Bernie, but instead she is nowhere to be found.

This could be the last stand for the middle class. Either we reclaim our democracy from the plutocrats now or we lose it forever.

It's time to stop playing politics. It's time to get off the sideline. The Revolution is underway and we need all hands on deck.

It's time for Elizabeth Warren, the biggest rock star on the left, to put down her pen and pick up her sword.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Don't Believe The Corporate Media: Bernie Sanders Is Very Much Alive



Following Super Tuesday, the corporate media machine has been working overtime to hijack the Democratic Primary narrative.

The race is over, they say. Hillary Clinton has the nomination wrapped up. Bernie Sanders is done. The Revolution is dead. It's time for him to drop out and fall in line behind Hillary.

To make their case, they use bogus math. On CNN, MSNBC and Google, they bombard us with lopsided charts and graphs that say Hillary is dominating the race. They claim that she leads by an insurmountable margin of 1,052 to 427.


These numbers are incredibly misleading because they include both regular delegates and super delegates.

CNN, MSNBC, Google & countless others fail to mention one very important fact: super delegates do not matter one bit at this point. They do not vote until the Convention in July. They are free to change their vote based upon how the race unfolds. For example, Hillary also had a big super delegate lead in 2008, but a vast majority of them ended up switching their vote to Barack Obama when it became clear he was the better candidate.

It's also important to remember that super delegates are not chosen by the people, only the regular delegates are. Super delegates are Establishment insiders. Many of them are lobbyists and donors. They are the powerful party elites and they're rigging the game to make sure Hillary get elected.

Simply put, the corporate media is using these crooked numbers to brainwash the American people into thinking the race is over. They want to demoralize and silence the Political Revolution by making it seem like Hillary is a shoo-in. Stop organizing. Stop going to rallies. You lost. It's over. Time to put away childish things and come support Hillary.

Why is the corporate media pushing this narrative? Because it's in their best interest that Hillary wins. She represents the establishment. She defends the status quo, which keeps them in power and makes them billions of dollars every single year.

As Lee Fang of The Intercept reported recently, many TV pundits you see on cable news are tied to the Hilary campaign, yet the networks never disclose this to the viewers. They trot them out as "independent" or "neutral" analysts, then they proceed to bash Bernie and sing Hillary's praises.

And it's not just the on-air pundits who are in the bag for Hillary. As Fang pointed out on Twitter, many TV executives have contributed maximum donations to her campaign.




The truth is that, in terms of pledged delegates, the race is very close. The score is not 1052-427.

It's 596-407.

Only 15 states have voted. 35 more remain and many of them are very favorable to Bernie, including Michigan, Ohio, Maine, West Virginia, Alaska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon and California, the grandaddy of them all with over 400 delegates up for grabs.

On Super Tuesday, Hillary won in Southern states that will vote overwhelmingly Republican in the general election. Meanwhile, Bernie won by 20 points in a crucially important swing state (Colorado), and also scored big wins in Minnesota and Oklahoma, a landslide victory in Vermont and a virtual tie in Massachusetts, a Democratic establishment stronghold.

Bernie raised over $40 million in the month of February, so money is not an issue. We have plenty of cash to compete until the end. Time is on our side as well. Bernie's message resonates once people get a chance to meet him and hear him speak. In some places in America he is still relatively unknown. The more he campaigns, the more recruits the Revolution receives.

We cannot let the corporate media manipulate us. We cannot let it get us down. We must stay positive, stay the course, continue to organize, phone-bank and canvass.

If Bernie had lost Colorado or Minnesota, the Revolution may have ended Tuesday night.

But it didn't.

We're still in the game. And we're growing stronger each day.

We're taking it all the way to the Convention.

#FeelTheBern