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Stay in the race Bernie Sanders. America needs you now more than ever.

Apr 7, 2020

By Alan Minsky, Executive Director | Progressive Democrats of America

Progressive Democrats of America calls upon Senator Bernie Sanders to continue his presidential campaign until the end of the 2020 primary season.

We understand that many Democrats are calling for Bernie to drop out. They say that Joe Biden is so far ahead that the time has come for party unity, for focusing on Donald Trump.  While we agree about the necessity of defeating Donald Trump, we arrive at the opposite conclusion: The Democratic Party, and all Americans, will benefit from Bernie continuing his campaign in this historic moment.

The severity of the COVID-19 national emergency has changed everything in this election year.  Coronavirus has revealed, with tragic consequences, the failings of our public health institutions and economic safety net – in ways that Bernie Sanders has been warning against for decades. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Bernie’s platform directly addresses these failings; in marked contrast to his rival’s.  As many observers have noted, with each passing day the COVID-19 pandemic is proving the wisdom of the Sanders agenda.

In particular, Medicare for All needs to be the official policy of the Democratic Party and its presidential nominee in 2020. The pandemic has exposed America’s current healthcare system for the disaster that it is. There can be no denying that having tens of millions of Americans unable to access affordable care greatly increases the public health risk for everyone.  America needs universal single-payer health care; and the only way to get there is through the Democratic Party. Yet Joe Biden opposes Medicare for All, while Bernie Sanders is its leading proponent.

In the wake of COVID-19, Medicare for All isn’t merely a winning political issue;  it’s a political landslide issue. Even if Bernie doesn’t win the nomination, by continuing to campaign and win delegates to the convention, he could leverage Medicare for All into the party platform.  For this, America, the Democratic Party, and even Joe Biden, should want Bernie Sanders to stay in the race.

We also need Bernie to stay in the race to insure that his voice is heard as we enter the peak days of the crisis. Over the past few weeks, Bernie has fought tirelessly on behalf of average Americans in the battles over the stimulus bills. As one of only three viable candidates for President, Bernie has a powerful platform. That will change overnight when his campaign ends; and his influence will wane, leaving Americans even more at the mercy of a political class that, on balance, prioritizes big money interests over those of the vast majority.

Of course, Bernie’s campaign going forward is not just about building support for policies, however essential, because of one fact: the race isn’t over. Joe Biden may have a significant delegate lead, but it’s nothing that a string of 70-30 results wouldn’t reverse. That might be a long shot, but it’s not impossible. Think about it this way: Bernie’s policies match this moment just like FDR’s did in the early 1930s; and FDR won his share of landslides.  Calling for Sanders to step aside is anti-democratic. Let the candidates campaign and let the voters decide.

On this final point, consider the parallel with FDR in light of the recent unemployment statistics. Only one period in American history resembles the wholesale devastation that is currently shredding the American economy, the Great Depression. How did we get out of that? After three years of Hoover’s impotent response, FDR re-energized America with a revolutionary program that transformed the country forever, the New Deal – an updated version of which was a central plank of Sanders’ platform, the Green New Deal.

The President who will be inaugurated in January will have a unique opportunity to define the direction of the country for the foreseeable future. Do we want to re-affirm a society that only works for the few while the rest of us work multiple jobs, live entwined in debt, with underfunded public schools, and a broken health care system with little hope of overcoming America’s endemic crises? Or do we choose a new path that brings both our society and the planet back into balance and ensures that America will lead the world in addressing the biggest challenges of the next century?

Be honest folks, the Bernie Sanders agenda made a lot of sense before COVID-19, now it makes all the sense in the world. It is the vision that the Democratic Party needs to unify behind.

The world has changed irreparably since early March when most primary votes were cast. The fallout from COVID-19 will define politics in the 2020s. We will all benefit by having the country’s leading advocate for strengthening the public sector make his case in our new, transformed, reality.

Stay in the race Bernie Sanders. America needs you now more than ever.

70 Comments

  1. Shirley Golub

    This is a great opinion piece, Alan. And by now it is the opinion of, I’m sure, many more than originally voted to endorse him! He has been an exemplary candidate and attracted so many more bright and dedicated volunteers and staffers this time. If it were not for dark money and power grabbers, he’d have the 1991 delegates already. Thanks to both you and Bernie for your vision.

  2. Johnny Walker

    You asked us all not to give up on you. Don’t give up on us. You are THE miracle this country needs. May God Bless you, and God Bless America by giving you to us.

  3. Nancy Bale

    Sending love and support from Canada ♡ the world needs President Bernie Sanders ♡

  4. Carole Gabbert

    Bernie YOU are our Hope for Our Future! Please STAY IN THIS RACE FOR PRESIDENT!!

  5. Lynn

    We need Bernie on all count s and for all he stands for. He is a true leader and the only one I want to be president.

  6. Kate Ogden

    Love you Senator and please stay in the race. You’re such a strong and compassionate champion of the people.

  7. Pamela Fiore

    Winning and losing have become obsolete terms in these times. Leadership is the only currency and #BernieSanders2020 exemplifies it to the max.

    Senator Sanders, you’re in the flow. Don’t let the outside voices distract you sir. Stay in the race, redefine this game, the rules, and the board upon which it will be played.

    #SocialEconomicJustice #ClimateEnvironmentalJustice #NoMoreWar #Medicare4All

  8. Angelique Singer

    Senator Sanders I am 62 years old and I supported you in 2016 and I’ve voted for you in Colorado in 2020. The DNC 2016 election rigging is costing us lives in 2020. Please, stand up to the DNC by staying in the race and calling them out on their rigging and cheating BS. When 300K votes for you “disappear” the night of Michigan’s primary and there is evidence of votes being taken from you and given to Biden’s nomination, this must not be allowed to stand without challenge. Get the UN involved if you have to.

    If the DNC continues to rig the election then the pledge you made to them has been made in bad faith on their behalf and is therefore null and void. The agreement was IF they do not rig the election and IF another contender won fairly. This is not happening, therefore, their contract is no longer binding to you.

    That means, you give them no quarter and you fight without mercy. You don’t concede ANY of your delegates to Biden, you do not give ANY of your contribution money to Biden OR the DNC as it is an insult to the grassroots working class movement that your support and their money goes to the very people what they are fighting for their lives against.

    Insist that Biden is unfit to continue to run, that Biden drop out and that Biden concede the nomination to you. The evidence for that is that Biden has already said he wants a VP who an run the country as president in his stead from day one. Someone who has not earned one vote in any primary and who has been approved by corporations.

    It isn’t unkind or unseemly to tell the truth about a nominee’s clear cognitive decline who could be put in charge of our country in the aftermath of a pandemic and who will certainly lose to Trump and who has said he will VETO Medicare For All if it passes the house and senate even NOW during this pandemic. This isn’t just a matter of difference of opinion and policy. This is a clear indication just how out of touch Biden is with the American public and his kind of thinking is dangerous and deadly. I understand Biden is a friend and I submit to you Senator Sanders that friends do not cheat friends out of a fair election. Patriots do not cheat in elections.

    If they won’t do that, then insist you are the VP choice. Do not under any circumstances let this stand unchallenged or capitulate your money and delegates to them. Walk out with your delegates and money if you have to. Stand up to the DNC like you did on the senate floor to the Republicans who were trying to block relief for the pandemic. Stand up to the people in the DNC who are doing the same thing. People’s lives depend on it.

    Trump is orchestrating rigging the GP by getting rid of anyone in the government who will stop him and the Russians from hijacking the GP so he wins. This cannot be allowed. Even more people will die if this happens. Call on the UN to oversee our election.

    Because of the DNCs 2016 cheating, America has been denied a people’s president that we badly need now and people have been and continue to die because of it. You are doing an excellent job as a senator fighting for our lives you have the foresight needed to lead us through the aftermath…as our president you would have prepared us so the impact is not as much as it now is.

    America needs and deserves a nominee who can and will beat tRUMP which you will and Biden will NOT. America deserves to have a people’s president who will lead them forward from the devastating aftermath of this pandemic you are the only one that fits that bill. You have earned every vote. Lives depend that every vote cast for you be counted so that you win fairly. You have said again and again you cannot do this alone. We have done our part, we have voted for you. The voters cannot do it alone either. Every legal resource and strategy should be used to ensure you are fairly elected. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

  9. ayn bowron

    The candidate of my lifetime. A GREAT example of what an honest and TRUE leader should be. ANY opposition pales in comparison. PERIOD !. Senator Sanders, I KNOW we are asking a LOT of you. I cannot imagine the burdens you carry on our behalf, but we have learned SO much from you and you have brought us SO far. PLEASE stay in the race…ANYTHING can happen !!! Love from Lubbock, Texas…<3

  10. Joey Moses

    Benie needs to stay in.

  11. Linda Bennett

    We need Bernie more than ever. I don’t want to even think about what will happen to our country with out him. Stay in Bernie!

  12. Elizabeth Madore

    Yes!!! We need Bernie as our spokesperson to discuss solutions to the corruption and the ongoing suffering of millions.

  13. Stephanie

    The people in our country need Bernie. We cannot afford to have anyone who isn’t Bernie leading us anymore because no other candidate has social well-being in mind. No other candidate represents our interest!

  14. Bridgette Parks

    America needs Bernie

  15. Renee

    We need Bernie to stay in race bcz anything could happen to Biden. Or ppl will realize they bet on the wrong man who cannot beat trump

  16. Linda

    Please stay in Senator Sanders. We need you now more than ever. I want the opportunity to cast my vote for you.

  17. Darrica

    Excellent article! We need Bernie more than ever! Especially, as Joe’s mental health declines. He just isn’t fit to be president. I believe if the DNC continues to force Joe it will only hurt them and give us Trump again. We don’t need another 4 years of Trump.

  18. Aris Polyzos

    Bernie, this country needs you at the top. To steer this beast back to a more merciful place.

  19. Caroline

    we’re not done yet.

  20. Brooke

    Bernie is our last hope. Anyone pressuring him to drop out is just alienating his supporters and helping Trump win. Especially with Biden’s mental decline and the COVID-19 crisis, anything can happen. Plus, we need someone experienced and trustworthy in the race that can beat Trump. That person is President Sanders. We’re still with you Bernie.

  21. Satya Linda Grace

    Stay Bernie.

    Biden will not beat Trump.

    You can.

  22. Laurie Fitton

    Please stay in the race, Bernie. We need a voice for the working class in this race. Clearly Trump and Biden are not those voices

  23. Beth Urban

    Please Bernie as a woman, mother, daughter, nurse and proud citizen of this earth I implore you to please hold tight and do NOT drop out…We rise alongside you..You do NOT stand alone…

  24. Joel Bolton

    Perfectly elucidated. Totally agree. Bernard is more relevant to these times than ever. He must stay in.

  25. Sarah Yeraka

    Yes I definitely agree, Bernie Sanders must stay in the race to regain our Democracy.

  26. Russell Morse

    Stay in the race. You are americans only hope. Save us from being slaves to corporate, it will only get worse.

  27. Karen

    Bernie needs to stay in because he’s the only one who knows what he’s talking about.

  28. Greg

    Stay in, Bernie!

  29. Judy Meyer

    Don’t quit Bernie. We all have your back.

  30. Cavla

    Bernie is the progressive voice we need right now. We can’t let them forget about the people

  31. Lucinda Johnston

    Now more than ever we need a leader who puts the interests of Main Street ahead of the interests a Wall Street. We need a President Sanders.

  32. Karon

    Bernie stay in the campaign until the convention!!

  33. Lisa

    Bernie stay in the race , Biden is not the most electable. He is the weakest and most vulnerable candidate. It’s not personal it’s reality . If Biden gets the nomination there will be a slim chance he will bring in enough voters and the GOP will have all of his vulnerabilities on full display . Bernie has none , except “ socialism red scare “ and the GOP is already targeting Biden has “socialistic policy “ anyway. It’s begun …. he will implode .

  34. Rachel R

    It is now absolutely imperative that a progressive agenda on a large scale be implemented for America to make it out of this massive and unprecedented economic and health crisis. We urgently need Medicare for all, Green new deal and $15 minimum wage which can only happen through grass roots organizing to bring forth radical change, election of progressive downballots along with electing an FDR Democrat like Bernie Sanders as President and organizer in chief. America cannot continue to ignore the need of the hour.

  35. Celia Batte

    Bernie Sanders, Please, Please, Please stay in the race!! You have more people behind you than maybe you know. The good you are doing now even if you don’t win, which I think it is more possible than people know, would still be a win-win for our country. Thank you for your continual service!!

  36. Corrine

    Bernie should stay until the last bell

  37. Margaret C Finnstrom

    Bernie, please stay in the race. We the people need you more than ever!

  38. Kyndra

    Please, Bernie. Stay in. We need your voice!

  39. Rebecca Wolfersberger

    You are our only hope Bernie -Wan! You must stay to the bitter end!!!!

  40. Susan

    This is the fight of our lives the Country and the planet need your vision and guidance. The corporate elite’s greed and control needs to be broken.

  41. Sharon

    #PresidentSanders

  42. Matt Miller

    Stay in and win!
    We need this.

  43. Marge

    Stay in the race and talk more about FDR and less about socialism !

  44. Betty Frye

    Bernie is US

  45. David M

    Stay in Bernie the movement is too Yuuuge

  46. Olinda Pavao Braga De Sousa

    Stay in the race Bernie. There is no way I will vote for Biden.

  47. Betty Faye

    Bernie, We need your platform. Stay in!

  48. Isaac Lieberman, RN

    Yes, Bernie, stay in! Let’s fight for all those 70/30 wins!

    And BOYCOTT the Mainstream Media (MSM) that is brainwashing the older generations of Americans to believe, falsely and self-servingly (they don’t want to give up their big dollar drug and insurance advertisers) – that Bernie is not our strongest candidate against Trump when the fact is, BERNIE SANDERS is without question, the Democratic Party’s strongest candidate to beat Trump.

  49. Laura

    Yes I agree. Bernie should stay in.

    • Mary DeClerck

      Please stay Mr Bernie Sanders. You are needed.

  50. Larry E Cervelli

    Re-balancing social benefits, especially those of economic opportunity and Medicare for All, will only happen if you continue to verbalize how they are both necessary and doable.

    • Susmita Nayak

      Bernie we need you now more than ever. Be in the race !!
      America is with you!
      Bernie 2020!!

  51. Cara

    Please don’t bow to pressure from those who have never wanted you in this election, Bernie.
    They are always opposed to everything we/progressives want. So logically, if they want Bernie out, then that means we must stay in.

    • Suzanne De Young

      I really want you to stay in this race. We need your leadership nd vision more than ever before.

  52. sally weiss

    I certainly agree with this piece !

    • Stephen Soley

      Please stay in the race Bernie.
      We, and our country need you . we’ve, you’ve, come too far to stop now.

    • Lesley

      Please stay in the race. Biden is not the right choice for this country. You have fought for so long don’t give up now. It will be the same old same old with Biden. Thank you.

  53. Jennifer Downs

    Bernie or Bust. We need an airtight write-in option. We cannot afford Biden or Trump!

    • Renee

      I agree with you. We need a new leader or group of leaders to get this done!

  54. Dori Cowan

    Stay in the race, Bernie. America needs you now more than ever.

    • Linda Shaw

      We need you to stay in the race, and help us fight. The time has arrived. ENOUGH!!

  55. Scott Garman

    Please stay in the race Senator Sanders. I reside in Pennsylvania and want to cast my vote for you Bernie. I along with 10 other family members wish to do so. Let’s fight for every vote.

    • Cherie Manzano

      I agree. I’m also a Pennsylvanian who wants my vote to count.

  56. Sharon Janis

    We need Bernie to stay in the race for leverage, and continue the movement.

    • Marie Luebbers

      Please stay in the race. We need a counterbalance to the irresponsible Joe and othrr blind democrats.

    • Barbara Mezo

      I want Bernie to stay in the race all the way to Nov!

    • Chineka Duff

      I agree we need Bernie Sanders stay in this race I continue to donate to him

    • Laura

      We need to stay in the race for leverage, continue our delegate count upward..Biden may not make it until August. We need to be the only other option available.

    • Joyce Gerber

      A Bernie Sanders presidency is just what the doctor ordered! We need you to stay in the race because your platforms are vitally important, you lead from the heart, and you remind people to be outraged at the bread crumbs they’re thrown every now and then. You empower people with a sense of dignity and value, and we love you!

    • Phyllis Booth

      Bernie, we have been working for your agenda for five years. Please stay in the race. The voting has been suppressed and the computer voting does not match the exit polls. Stand up against DNC cheating. Progressives have stood up against bullying inside the Democratic parties in many states. You need to stand with our efforts.

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