A letter to Bernie Sanders supporters

by William Robinson

For many of us looking back we can feel sorrow, we can feel disappointment, we can feel defeated. Bernie Sander’s campaign was one that gave us hope. He promised a better world, he promised a country where people didn’t have to go bankrupt just because they got sick, one where people could chase their dreams with an affordable college education, he fought against a rigged political system and is fighting to fix a rigged economy.

These proposals are all possible, we can fight climate change and make sure that the economy and our government works for all, not just the top 1%. Some feel defeated because we lost, some of are thinking of throwing in the towel. But really, we should be feeling proud of ourselves, we should be feeling triumphant. Sure, Sanders will probably not be the 45th president of the United States, that much is clear to me now, but we have accomplished far more than anyone thought we could.

When we started this campaign more than a year ago nobody thought Bernie would have any chance of winning. He had 3% in the polls and most people outside of Vermont didn’t know him, and he was a political outsider who had the guts to call himself a socialist.

But just look at what we have accomplished, we won 22 states, which is more than any other second place finisher in the history of the democratic party. Sanders set records for crowd turn out, outraised Secretary Clinton multiple times, and set records for the sheer number of individual donations he received. He accomplished all of this while fighting against corporate media, and a party that many times appeared to favor his opponent. Sanders may not have won the nomination but considering the fact that all of the cards were stacked against him, he did extremely well.

We should feel proud to be a part of his campaign, which showed that you could go toe-to-toe against corporate money using only small donations from people like you and me, showed that you don’t have to sell your soul to be successful in American politics.

He has been remarkably successful, considering he was facing off against one of the most powerful political machines in the country, and while he may not have won, he came pretty close.

Over the next few months you will have many people telling you that you are obligated to vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I am not going to do that, whom you will vote for this election is your choice, and yours alone. Whatever you decide, make sure that you vote with your values in mind, study what each candidate believes, study what they want to do, and support the one that best aligns with your ideals.

I am not going to tell you who to vote for in November, but I am going to tell you to do something essential for our movement and this country as a whole; don’t stop fighting.

Sanders has said the entire campaign that it is not about him, or any other individual. It is about the revolution, which must continue with or without Sanders in the White House. So I beg of you, stay involved any way you can, vote for progressive candidates in the midterm elections, get involved with all elections getting more politicians into office that support Sanders and his agenda into office.

We have accomplished so much this campaign, and we will continue to accomplish our goals as long as we never give up, and never give in to the despair of thinking that we are powerless, that we cannot change the way things are and we therefore must accept it. So don’t get so hung up on the results of this primary that you give up on all that we have been fighting for, don’t get so discouraged by Sanders’ probable loss that you give up on what he has been fighting for.

From day one Sanders has told us that this campaign isn’t about him, so let’s remember that and keep fighting for the issues that are important to us and make sure that Sanders’ movement stays alive and grows stronger, because we must keep fighting, and participating in every election, from the midterms in 2 years to the presidential election of 2020, we must never give up on our beliefs, we must never stop fighting for our progressive ideals and the change our country so desperately needs.