Dangerous Times - Bernie Sanders

Crazy times. Dangerous times.

Under Trump, things are moving very fast.

We have an unstable megalomaniac who wants more and more power into his own hands. We can’t let that happen.

His attacks against the media, universities, law firms, Congress and the courts are creating fear throughout the country and moving us, step-by-step, toward authoritarianism. In an unprecedented way he is now using ICE agents to break down doors and the U.S. military to patrol cities. 

But it’s not just the dangerous movement toward authoritarianism. On behalf of his oligarchic friends, Trump is waging a vicious assault on the working families of this country.

While the billionaires become much richer his attack on the American healthcare system, which is already deeply broken, could lead to its total collapse. If Trump gets his way, 15 million low income and working class Americans will lose their healthcare and premiums will double for over 20 million people on the Affordable Care Act exchange. As a result, tens of thousands will die unnecessarily each year. And all this happens so that the top 1% can get $1 trillion in tax breaks. 

His continued absurd claim, on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, that climate change is a “hoax“ will dangerously slow down our ability to transform our economy into sustainable energy and address this existential threat to our planet.

His financial support for his multi-billionaire friends in Big Tech who are aggressively pushing AI and robotics will mean the loss of millions of good paying jobs and extraordinary threats to our privacy.

Trump may be crazy and a pathological liar, but he is not stupid. He is a very good tactician and knows exactly what he’s doing. His goal, by “flooding the zone” and moving forward simultaneously in a hundred different areas is to convince the American people that he is invincible and can’t be stopped. He has the power. You don’t. He has unlimited amounts of money. You don’t. His friends control the media. You don’t. Give up. There’s nothing you can do to stop him and his fellow oligarchs.

It’s actually a pretty good plan. Fortunately, however, it’s not working. 

More and more Americans are seeing through Trump and are turning away from him. While he still has a strong core of right-wing support, polling shows that he is less popular today than any time in his second administration. 

Please don’t forget. It’s not just that over 320,000 Americans in 21 states came out to our Fighting Oligarchy rallies. It’s not just that next Saturday we expect to see huge No Kings demonstrations all across this country in opposition to Trumpism.

It’s not just that Democrats in Congress are finally getting a backbone and opposing these horrific health care cuts.

What we are also seeing is progressive Democrats and independents taking on the Democratic establishment as they run for the US Senate and U.S. House in Michigan, Maine, Nebraska, Texas congressional districts throughout the country and Zohran Mamdani in New York City.

What we are seeing is Republican share of vote is slipping in special election after special election in races up-and-down the ballot this year. Republicans see it too, that is what they are trying to re-draw House maps in the middle of the decade in several states.

What we are seeing, increasingly, is Republicans from Josh Hawley to Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking out against Donald Trump and the Republican Party abandoning the promises they made to the working people of this country during the last election.

What we are seeing, according to a recent YouGov poll is a majority of Americans disapprove of the way Republicans are handling the current government shutdown and a plurality place most of the blame on Donald Trump and the Republican Party for the current state of affairs.

What we are seeing from a recent Pew Research poll is that strong majorities of Americans believe he is abusing and improperly using the office of the president and moving our country in the wrong direction.

So is Donald Trump unbeatable?

No. No, he is not.

He is deeply unpopular.

The bad news is, so is the Democratic Party.

So where do we go from here -- and what can you do yourself? Because in these difficult times, despair is not an option. We've got to fight back in every way we can.

We have to get involved in the political process — run for office, connect with our local, state and federal legislators, donate to candidates who will fight for the working class of this country.

We have to create new channels for communication and information sharing. We have to volunteer not just politically, but to build community locally.

We have to support progressive candidates running for office and push establishment Democrats to find the courage to take on the billionaire class of this country.

Whatever we can do is what we must do.

Needless to say, I intend to do my part — both inside the beltway and traveling throughout the country — to stand up for the working class of this country. In the days, weeks, and months ahead I hope you will join me in that struggle.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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👋 Before you go... 👋

Thank you to everyone who has donated to make Bernie's work over the last few months possible. But we're not done yet.

Bernie is going to be working hard to elect progressive candidates all over this country who have the guts not only to stand up to Trumpism, but to take on the monied interests of both parties and fight for a working class that has been ignored for far too long.

If that work sounds important to you, help Bernie keep it going with a contribution of $27 or whatever you can afford today. Thank you.

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Fighting Oligarchy in Folsom.

 

                                                Folsom. Ca.

Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Folsom

RSVP today to say you'll join Bernie and AOC in Folsom on Tuesday, April 15!

Bernie Sanders, AOC, Coming to Folsom, California Tues. April 15

 Bernie’s coming to Folsom  on Tuesday, April 15, and you’re invited! He’ll be speaking alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about how our movement can come together to take on the Oligarchy and demand a government that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

This is going to be a great event, and we’d love to see you there. So, can you make it? Here’s everything you need to know:

TPlease be advised that there is a venue change: we will now be at the Folsom Lake College Athletic Track in Folsom, CA.

Here's everything you need to know:

Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Folsom
With Special Guest Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Tuesday, April 15
3:30pm PDT Doors Open
6:00pm PDT Speaking Program Starts
Folsom Lake College Athletic Track

10 College Pkwy, Folsom, CA 95630 

📅 Here are some ways you can take action. Sat, Apr 19 @ 1pm April 19 Protest Rally and March 1-3pm › Sun, Apr 13 @ 2pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento A Pint of Politics and Doing Something Second Sundays › Tue, Apr 15 @ 7pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento INDIVISIBLE Sacramento Monthly Meeting: APRIL 2025 › Sat, Apr 5 @ 9am · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento Hands Off: Protest & Picnic at the Capitol › Fri, Apr 4 @ 4pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento Freeway Overpass BANNER TEAMS! › Sat, Apr 5 @ 11am · El Dorado Progressives - Indivisible El Dorado Sacramento 50501 / INDIVISIBLE Hands Off April 5 Capitol Picnic Protest › All times Pacific

 

 

Sanders: Now Is Not the Time for Despair

Bernie Sanders: 

 I’m getting a lot of calls from people who are not only upset about what’s happening, but are wondering how we best go forward.

My response: We must be smart. We must be organized. And we must fight back - effectively. This is not a time for wallowing in despair and hiding under the covers. The stakes are too high. We’re not just fighting for ourselves. We’re fighting for our kids and for future generations. We’re fighting for the future of this planet. 

Further, we must not become overwhelmed and think that Trump has some kind of extraordinary mandate and an inevitable glide path into the future. That’s what the right-wing mouthpieces want you to believe, but it’s not true. Trump won the election because Kamala Harris and a very weak and out-of-touch Democratic Party received 5 million votes LESS than Biden did in 2020, not because Donald Trump or his agenda were popular. His agenda can be defeated.

So, where do we go from here?

First, we’ve got to understand what, in fact, is happening around us right now.

Second, we need a short-term strategy. What do we do tomorrow and the day after that?

Third, we need a long-term strategy. How do we build a grassroots movement that gains political power?

In terms of what is happening right now under Trump I see three key elements. President Abraham Lincoln, at Gettysburg, talked about a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Under Trump we are seeing a rapid move toward oligarchy in our country — a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class. And it’s not being done secretly. It’s right out there for all to see. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States. Standing right behind him were the three richest men in the country – Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — men who have become $242 billion richer since Trump was elected, and who are now worth a combined $932 billion. This is more money than the bottom half of America — 170 million people. 

Not surprisingly, Musk, now a key part of the administration, spent over $277 million to get Trump elected. Bezos and Zuckerberg both kicked a million each into Trump’s inauguration fund. Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, rescinded the Post’s editorial board’s endorsement of Kamala Harris. Zuckerberg had his Meta corporation settle a lawsuit with Trump for $25 million. These three multibillionaires are working with Trump because they understand one very important reality. Trump‘s policies are designed to make the very richest people in this country even richer. 

But it’s not just oligarchy that we should worry about. This country, under Trump, is moving rapidly toward authoritarianism. The rule of law and our Constitution are being undermined.

Just a few examples: in violation of the Constitution and federal law, Trump attempted last week to suspend all federal grants and loans. That means he blocked funding for Medicaid, Head Start, community health centers, homeless veterans programs, etc., etc. Tens of millions of Americans, including some of the most vulnerable people in our country, were impacted by that decision. Fortunately, Americans all across the country stood up in outrage and said NO. And with the help of the courts much, but not all, of that freeze in funding was rescinded. 

Trump is intimidating the media with lawsuits against ABC, CBS, Meta and the Des Moines Register. His FCC is threatening to investigate PBS and NPR. If Trump does not like what the media does, he goes after them — undermining the First Amendment, dissent and freedom of speech. 

Trump pardoned the January 6th insurrections who injured 174 police officers at the Capitol. Now, he is investigating the FBI agents who helped bring these violent criminals to justice. His goal: condone violence and turn the FBI into a national right-wing police agency. 

That is a very broad overview of where we are today. 

In terms of a short-term strategy, we have got to mobilize as strongly as we can against Trump’s dangerous proposals.

And let me just say this: Yes, the Republicans control the House and the Senate, but don’t forget, their majorities are small. In the House, a body of 435 members, they currently have a three-vote majority. That is a razor-thin margin and their legislation can be defeated or modified — if we fight back.

There are a number of Republicans who won by small margins. And, let me tell you, these guys do respond to phone calls and emails. So, if there is a piece of legislation you disagree with, get on the phone and call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-2131. 

And what is some of the legislation that we should be concerned about?

Republicans right now are working on a budget reconciliation bill which would provide massive tax breaks for the wealthy. This gift to the rich would be paid for by large cuts in Medicaid and other programs that working families and low-income people desperately need. At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, when so many of our people are struggling to put food on the table, we must not savage programs for working families to provide huge tax breaks for billionaires.

We must vigorously oppose Trump’s efforts at mass deportation. YES, we must strengthen our borders. YES, we should deport people who have been convicted of serious crimes. But NO, we cannot destroy families who have lived and worked in this country peacefully for decades. Not only is Trump’s mass deportation program immoral, it will have a severely negative impact on our economy. 

We are seeing extreme weather and devastation in our country and all over the world related to climate change. Think about Los Angeles. Think about North Carolina. We must vigorously oppose the absurd “drill baby drill” doctrine, which will only make an incredibly dangerous climate situation worse.

And those are just a very few of the issues that are coming down the pike.

But we cannot just play defense. We have got to be on offense. Please, never forget, the agenda that we are fighting for is widely supported by working families all across this country. And we must continue to fight for that agenda. 

The American people do not want cuts to Medicaid and the privatization of Medicare. They understand that health care is a human right, not a privilege. We must continue the fight for Medicare for All so that every American has the health care that they need. That’s not a radical idea. That’s what Americans want.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. We must raise that minimum wage to a living wage, at least $17 an hour. If you work 40 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty.

All over this country, we have a major housing crisis. And it’s not just the 800,000 who are homeless. It is millions of working families who are spending 40, 50 or 60 percent of their limited incomes on housing. Instead of spending almost a trillion dollars a year on a wasteful and bloated Pentagon budget, we have got to build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing. And when we do that, we put large numbers of people to work at good-paying union jobs.

I could go on and on, but let me conclude by saying this. The United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. If we stand together and oppose right-wing efforts to divide us up by our race, our religion, our sexual orientation or where we were born—if we stand together, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. Yes. We can provide a decent standard of living for every man, woman and child. Yes. We can lead the world in combatting climate change. Yes. We can end all forms of bigotry.

Yes. We can create a government and an economy that works for all, not just the few.

Let’s go forward together. 

          Bernie.                                                                                                                                                             

More Sanders.  2/10/2025.

I do not often find myself in the habit of thanking Elon Musk, but he has done an exceptional job of demonstrating a point that we have made for years — and that is the fact we live in an oligarchic society in which billionaires dominate not only our politics and the information we consume, but our government and economic lives as well. 

That has never been more clear than it is today. 

But given the news and attention Mr. Musk has been getting over the last few weeks as he illegally and unconstitutionally dismantles government agencies, I thought it was an appropriate time to ask the question that the media and most politicians don't seem to be asking: What do he and other multi-billionaires really want? What is their endgame?

In my opinion, what Musk and those around him are aggressively striving for is not novel, it is not complicated and it is not new. It is what ruling classes throughout history have always wanted and have believed is theirs by right: more power, more control, more wealth. And they don’t want ordinary people and democracy getting in their way.

Elon Musk and his fellow oligarchs believe government and laws are simply an impediment to their interests and what they are entitled to.

 

 

Democrats Must Choose: The Elites or the Working Class

Democrats Must Choose: The Elites or the Working Class

Bernie Sanders.  November 12, 2024.

 

The results of the 2024 election have confirmed a reality that is too frequently denied by Democratic Party leaders and strategists: The American working class is angry — and for good reason.

They want to know why the very rich are getting much richer, and the CEOs of major corporations make almost 300 times more than their average employees, while weekly wages remain stagnant and 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

They want to know why corporate profits soar while companies shut down factories in America and move to low-wage countries.

They want to know why the food industry enjoys record breaking profits, while they can’t afford their grocery bills.

They want to know why they can’t afford to go to a doctor or pay for their prescription drugs, and worry about going bankrupt if they end up in a hospital.

Donald Trump won this election because he tapped into that anger.

Did he address any of these serious issues in a thoughtful or meaningful way? 

 

Absolutely not.

What he did do was divert the festering anger in our country at a greedy and out-of-touch corporate elite into a politics that served his political goals and will end up further enriching his fellow billionaires.

Trump’s “genius” is his ability to divide the working class so that tens of millions of Americans will reject solidarity with their fellow workers and pave the way for huge tax breaks for the very rich and large corporations.

While Trump did talk about capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, and a new trade policy with China, his fundamental explanation as to why the working class was struggling was that millions of illegal immigrants have invaded America and that we are now an “occupied country.”

In his pathologically dishonest world, undocumented immigrants are illegally participating in our elections and voting for Democrats. They are creating massive amounts of crime, driving wages down, and taking our jobs. They are getting free health care and other benefits that are denied to American citizens. They are even eating our pets.

That explanation is grossly racist, cruel, and fallacious. But it is an explanation.

And what do the Democrats have to say about the crises facing working families? What is their full-throated explanation, pounded away day after day in the media, in the halls of Congress, and in town meetings throughout the country as to why tens of millions of workers, in the richest country on earth, are struggling to put food on the table or pay the rent? Where is the deeply felt outrage that we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care for all as a human right while insurance and drug companies make huge profits?

How do they explain supporting billions of dollars in military aid to the right-wing extremist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has created an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza that is causing massive malnutrition and starvation for thousands of children?

In my view, the Democrats lost this election because they ignored the justified anger of working class America and became the defenders of a rigged economic and political system.

This election was largely about class and change and the Democrats, in both cases, were often on the wrong side. As Jimmy Williams Jr., the president of the Painters Union, said, “The Democratic Party has continued to fail to prioritize a strong, working-class message that addresses issues that really matter to workers. The party did not make a positive case for why workers should vote for them, only that they were not Donald Trump. That’s not good enough anymore!”

As an Independent member of the US Senate, I caucus with the Democrats. In that capacity I have been proud to work with President Biden on one of the most ambitious pro-worker agendas in modern history.

We passed the American Rescue Plan to pull us out of the COVID-19 economic downturn; made historic investments in rebuilding our infrastructure and in transforming our energy system; began the process of rebuilding our manufacturing base; lowered the cost of prescription drugs and forgave student debt for five million Americans. Biden promised to be the most progressive president since FDR and, on domestic issues, he kept his word.

But, unlike FDR, these achievements are almost never discussed within the context of a grossly unfair economy that continues to fail ordinary Americans. Yes. In the past few years we have made some positive changes. We must acknowledge, however, that what we’ve done is nowhere near enough.

In 1936, in his second inaugural address, FDR spoke not only of his administration’s enormous achievements in combatting the Great Depression, but of the painful economic realities that millions of Americans were still experiencing.

Roosevelt’s words remain relevant today: “I see millions of families trying to live on incomes so meager that the pall of family disaster hangs over them day by day … I see millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and the lot of their children … I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.”

Of course, the world is today profoundly different than it was in 1936. We are not in an economic depression. Unemployment is relatively low. People are not facing starvation.

But the Democratic leadership must recognize that, in a rapidly changing economy, working families face an enormous amount of economic pain, anxiety and hopelessness — and they want change. The status quo is not working for them.

In politics you can’t fight something with nothing. The Democratic Party needs to determine which side it is on in the great economic struggle of our times, and it needs to provide a clear vision as to what it stands for. Either you stand with the powerful oligarchy of our country, or you stand with the working class. You can’t represent both.

While Democrats will be in the minority in the Senate and (probably) the House in the new Congress, they will still have the opportunity to bring forth a strong legislative agenda that addresses the needs of working families.

If Republicans choose to vote those bills down, the American working class will learn quickly enough as to which party represents them, and which party represents corporate greed.

In my view, here are some of the working class priorities that Democrats must fight for:

• We must end Citizens United and stop billionaires from buying elections.
• We must raise the $7.25 federal minimum wage to a living wage — at least $17 an hour.
• We must pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act to make it easier for workers to form unions and end illegal union busting.
• We must protect senior citizens by increasing Social Security benefits and extending the solvency of the program by lifting the cap on taxable income.
• We must bring back defined benefit pension plans so that workers can retire with security.
• We must do what every other wealthy nation does and guarantee health care to all as a human right, beginning with the expansion of Medicare to cover home health care, dental, hearing, and vision.
• We must cut prescription drug prices in half, no more than is paid in other countries.
• We must provide guaranteed paid family and medical leave.
• We must guarantee equal pay for equal work.
• We must create fair trade policies that work for workers, not just corporate CEOs.
• We must build 3 million units of low income and affordable housing.
• We must make public colleges and universities tuition free, childcare affordable for all, and strengthen public education by paying teachers the salaries they deserve.
• We must adopt a progressive tax system which addresses the massive income and wealth inequality we are experiencing by demanding that the very wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes.
• We must save taxpayer dollars by ending the massive waste, fraud and abuse that exists in the Pentagon.

These are extremely popular ideas. The Democratic Party would do well to listen to the clear directive of American voters, and deliver. The simple fact is: if you stand with working people, they will stand with you. In my view, if Democrats deliver on an agenda like this, they can win back the working class of our country and the White House.

Bernie Sanders is an Independent US senator from Vermont.

See his book. It is OK to be Angry About Capitalism. 

 

 

 

The Lessons of the 2024 Election; Robert Reich

The lesson of this election is that Democrats must attack inequality – and not cede working-class voters to Trump

"IMG_4023", by cornstalker (CC BY 2.0)

A political disaster such as what occurred last Tuesday gains significance not simply by virtue of who won or lost, but through how the election is interpreted. This is known as the Lesson of the election. The Lesson explains what happened and why. It deciphers the public’s mood, values, and thoughts. It attributes credit and blame. And therein lies its power. When the Lesson of the election becomes accepted wisdom – when most of the politicians, pundits and journalists come to believe it – it shapes the future. It determines how parties, candidates, political operatives and journalists approach coming elections. What’s the Lesson of the 2024 election? According to exit polls, Americans voted mainly on the economy – and their votes reflected their class and level of education. While the US economy has improved over the last two years according to standard economic measures, most Americans without college degrees – that’s the majority – have not felt it. In fact, most Americans without college degrees have not felt much economic improvement for four decades, and their jobs have grown less secure. The real median wage of the bottom 90% is stuck nearly where it was in the early 1990s, even though the economy is more than twice as large now as it was then. Most of the economy’s gains have gone to the top. This has caused many Americans to feel frustrated and angry. Trump gave voice to that anger. Harris did not. The real lesson of the 2024 election is that Democrats must not just give voice to the anger, but also explain how record inequality has corrupted our system, and pledge to limit the political power of big corporations and the super-rich. The basic bargain in America used to be that if you worked hard and played by the rules, you’d do better, and your children would do even better than you. But since 1980, that bargain has become a sham. The middle class has shrunk. Why? While Republicans steadily cut taxes on the wealthy, Democrats abandoned the working class. Democrats embraced Nafta and lowered tariffs on Chinese goods. They deregulated finance and allowed Wall Street to become a high-stakes gambling casino. They let big corporations gain enough market power to keep prices (and profit margins) high. They let corporations bust unions (with negligible penalties) and slash payrolls. They bailed out Wall Street when its gambling addiction threatened to blow up the entire economy but never bailed out homeowners who lost everything. They welcomed big money into their campaigns, and delivered quid pro quos that rigged the market in favor of big corporations and the wealthy. Joe Biden redirected the Democratic party back toward its working-class roots, but many of the changes he catalyzed – more vigorous actions against monopolies, stronger enforcement of labor laws and major investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, semiconductors and non-fossil fuels – wouldn’t be evident for years. In any event, he could not communicate effectively about them. The Republican party says it’s on the side of working people, but its policies will hurt ordinary workers even more. Trump’s tariffs will drive up prices. His expected retreat from vigorous anti-monopoly enforcement will allow giant corporations to drive up prices further. If Republicans gain control over the House as well as the Senate, as looks likely, they will extend Trump’s 2017 tax law and add additional tax cuts. As in 2017, these lower taxes will benefit mainly the wealthy and enlarge the national debt, which will give Republicans an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – their objective for decades. Democrats must no longer do the bidding of big corporations and the wealthy. They must instead focus on winning back the working class. They should demand paid family leave, Medicare for all, free public higher education, stronger unions, higher taxes on great wealth, and housing credits that will generate the biggest boom in residential home construction since the second world war. They should also demand that corporations share their profits with their workers. They should call for limits on CEO pay, eliminate all stock buybacks (as was the SEC rule before 1982) and reject corporate welfare (subsidies and tax credit to companies and industries unrelated to the common good). Democrats need to tell Americans why their pay has been lousy for decades and their jobs less secure: not because of immigrants, liberals, people of color, the “deep state”, or any other Trump Republican bogeyman, but because of the power of large corporations and the rich to rig the market and siphon off most of the economy’s gains. In doing this, Democrats should not retreat from their concerns about democracy. Democracy goes together with a fair economy. Only by reducing the power of big money in our politics can America grow the middle class, reward hard work and reaffirm the basic bargain at the heart of our system. If the Trump Republicans gain control of the House, they will have complete control of the federal government. That means they will own whatever happens to the economy and will be responsible for whatever happens to America. Notwithstanding all their anti-establishment populist rhetoric, they will become the establishment. The Democratic party should use this inflection point to shift ground – from being the party of well-off college graduates, big corporations, “never-Tumpers” like Dick Cheney and vacuous “centrism” – to an anti-establishment party ready to shake up the system on behalf of the vast majority of Americans. This is and should be the Lesson of the 2024 election. Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. The Guardian is globally renowned for its coverage of politics, the environment, science, social justice, sport and culture. Scroll less and understand more about the subjects you care about with the Guardian's brilliant email newsletters, free to your inbox.

 

Sanders: A Complicated Political Situation

Sanders. A complicated political  situation. 

If you believe in democracy, if you believe in science, if you believe in justice and workers' rights, let me be very clear: The next several months will be the most important in modern American history.

Unfortunately, we are confronting a very difficult and complicated political situation. 

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal released a poll showing Trump leading in almost every swing state. He leads by 5 in Arizona, 3 in Michigan, 4 in Nevada, 3 in Pennsylvania, and is tied in Wisconsin.

If Trump wins even two of those states, it's game over. 

And I think sometimes we slouch off the idea that Trump can win. It's hard to imagine that someone who was such a menace to the working class of this country could be popular enough with them to win a second term -- especially after we all lived through his first. I also believe sometimes we don't think enough about just how bad it will be policy-wise if he is re-elected.

Take one issue for example: Climate change.

Trump does not believe in climate change.

So what does that mean? 

It means that not only all of the work we have done in trying to transform our energy systems away from fossil fuel will be undone, but every other country in the world is going to say “Hey if the second largest emitter in the world is giving up, than we're not going to do it either.”

And that really means dooming our kids and future generations to a very, very unhealthy, perhaps uninhabitable world. 

So you don't need to know anything more than that to understand how dangerous Trump is. 

But obviously the danger is much greater than just climate change.

Take another issue for example: American democracy.

Trump does not believe in, or care about, the future of American democracy. 

So what does that mean?

It means that if he wins, you can expect more extreme gerrymandering, more laws and regulations making it easier for billionaires to buy elections, more efforts to keep people of color and young people from the ballot box, more election workers being harassed and threatened, more refusing to accept the outcome of election results, more political violence and, as a result of his policies and lies, more and more people increasingly believing democracy itself does not work for them.

I happen to believe that what this really means is that if Trump wins, the almost 250-year experiment of American democracy is all but over. 

But obviously the danger is much greater than just that.

Trump has already tried to take away health care from tens of millions of people. He’ll try again in a second term.

Trump signed tax cuts where almost all the benefits went to the top 1 percent. He’ll try to make them permanent in a second term. 

Trump brags about appointing 3 justices to the Supreme Court who helped repeal Roe v. Wade. He and his supporters have escalated their attacks on women’s’ rights across the country. In a second term he’ll try for a national abortion ban.

Other issues like education, gun control, criminal justice reform, income and wealth inequality, the cost of prescription drugs, workers rights, LGBTQ rights and more will all move backward.

Bottom line: We have to appreciate how unbelievably severe this current moment is.

Many of us believe that while the Biden administration can lay claim to some significant accomplishments, they are simply not enough given the very serious crises facing the working families of our country. Further, millions of us strongly disagree with the President’s position on the war in Gaza. 

So what are we as progressives to do in this election? 

First, we must all acknowledge that sitting out this election or even voting for Trump is definitely not the answer. That leads to catastrophe.

So then what? 

In this unprecedented moment in American history we must make clear to the Democratic leadership and everyone else that we cannot return to the same old, same old establishment politics. 

We must make it clear that if Democrats are given another chance after this election we cannot continue to ignore the needs of tens of millions of working families. We cannot continue to accept a political system where billionaires buy elections and an economy which has more income and wealth inequality than at any time since the 1920s. We cannot accept a government where the very rich get much richer while a majority of Americans live in economic desperation. We must go further on climate change. And we must restore faith in American democracy.

We must make it clear that we will fight for a strong, progressive agenda that represents the needs of working people, and not just the billionaire class, lobbyists and wealthy campaign contributors.

How do we do that? 

It means supporting not just Joe Biden, but progressives who will fight for that agenda in Congress. It means donating, volunteering, posting on social media about your desire not just to beat Trump, but that your expectation for what a second term would look like for a Biden administration.

That is the work I will be doing over the course of the next several months, but it will take all of us to get it done. So I am once again asking for your financial support:

 

Bernie Sanders 

Sanders on Labor Day: Unprecedented Corporate Greed

 

Sanders for Labor Day “At a time of unprecedented corporate greed, we need an unprecedented worker response,” said Senator Bernie Sanders before an audience of 2,000 union activists at the UNI Global Union World Congress in Philadelphia on August 27. UNI Global is an international union federation with affiliates in 150 countries representing 20 million workers, including janitors, postal workers, call center workers, and retail employees. portside.org

Sanders for Labor Day: Unprecedented Corporate Greed Demands Unprecedented Worker Response

Sanders : We have our priorities wrong

 The Pentagon doesn’t need $886bn. I oppose this bloated defense budget 

As a nation, the time is long overdue for fundamental changes to our national priorities

Bernie Sanders
Mon 24 July 2023

The US Senate is now debating an $886bn defense authorization bill. Unless there are major changes to the bill, I intend to vote against it. Here’s why.

As everyone knows, our country faces enormous crises.

As a result of climate change our planet is experiencing unprecedented and rising temperatures. Along with the rest of the world, we need to make major investments to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into more efficient and sustainable energy sources, or the life we leave our kids and future generations will become increasingly unhealthy and precarious.

Our health care system is broken. While the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry make hundreds of billions in profit, 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, our life expectancy is declining, and we have a massive shortage of doctors, nurses, mental health practitioners and dentists.

Our educational system is teetering. While we have one of the highest rates of childhood poverty of almost any major country, millions of parents cannot find affordable and quality childcare. The number of our young people who graduate from college is falling behind many other countries and 45 million Americans are struggling under the weight of student debt.

Our housing stock is totally inadequate. While gentrification is causing rents to soar in many parts of our country some 600,000 Americans are homeless, and 18 million are spending more than half of their limited incomes on housing.

These are some of the crises our country faces. And we’re not dealing with them.

And then there is defense spending. Well, that’s a whole other story. The proposed military budget that the Senate is now debating would increase defense spending by $28bn to over $886bn, an all-time record. The total is over $900bn if you include nuclear weapons spending through the Department of Energy.

I will oppose this bloated defense budget and efforts to further increase military spending through a defense supplemental for three main reasons.