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Bernie Sanders Raises Over $3.3 Million From 120,000 Small Donors in Just 10 Hours
As one mainstream political observer noted, that's "pretty damn good."
Feb 18, 2019
Update (9:30 AM ET 2/20/19): 'Unprecedented': Bernie Sanders Campaign Says It Raised $6 Million From 225,000 Donors in First 24 Hours
In the 24 hours since Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced his 2020 run for president, his campaign on Wednesday morning reports that they were able to raise nearly $6 million from 225,000 individual donors across all 50 states.
According to a statement by the campaign, exactly 223,047 individuals contributed $5,925,771--putting the total raised over the $6 million mark with an average donation of $27. Since putting it online early Tuesday morning, the campaign said the senator's launch video has been viewed more than 8.3 million times across social media platforms, including 5.3 million views on Twitter alone.
Read the full updated story here.
Update (7:15 PM ET):
After an out-of-the-gate fundraising spree following the initial announcement early Tuesday morning (see below), sources from within the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign report that in just 10 hours--as of 5:00 PM ET--it was able to raise $3.3 million from approximately 120,000 donors.
The resulting donation average might sound familiar to those who remember the number Sanders turned into a catchphrase during his 2016 campaign: $27.
As other reporter's noted online, the Sanders campaign has now raised more money in less than half a day than the campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar raised during their first 24 hours - combined:
In addition to news that Faiz Shakir, formerly the national political director for the ACLU, has been hired to be Sanders' campaign manager, backers of Bernie's bid could be found applauding what they considered a very successful launch less than 12 hours into his 2020 run:
Earlier:
In just the first three hours following an announcement early Tuesday morning, the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says it raised more than $1 million--with the number still climbing--proving the army of small-dollar donors which fueled his 2016 campaign are still on board, 'feeling the Bern,' and ready to put their hard-earned money behind the Democratic candidate of their choice.
According to sources from within the campaign, as of 11:00 AM Eastern time, Sanders raised $1.2 million from approximately 42,000 individual donors in all fifty states.
Reacting on MSNBC, the Washington Post's Jonathan Capeheart--based on earlier reports the campaign had raised over $1 million since the 7:00 AM launch--couldn't help but acknowledge that Sanders' morning fundraising haul was "pretty damn good."
As Josh Orton, a senior advisor to Sanders, tweeted at 10:39 AM:
Subsequently, the campaign confirmed the number continued to climb and other outlets reported it had exceeded the $1.5 million mark.
As The Daily Beast noted, Sanders was able to raise more money in a matter of hours than Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) raised in the entire first day of her campaign:
Up to this point, Harris had been the most dynamic fundraiser among Democratic candidates in the race, having raised a whopping $1.5 million in 24 hours after declaring from more than 38,000 individual donors. That number, the Harris campaign noted at the time, had surpassed the number of individual donors for Sanders in his first day of running during his 2016 bid. Now, Sanders' current campaign, says they have already received contributions that beat both of those figures.
According to a Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks, mainstream political pundits continue to underestimate the "power of small-dollar donors" and how--since his 2016 campaign--Sanders has been able to upend the political landscape by creating a source of campaign revenue that comes from people, not corporate interests or large campaign committees:
RoseAnn DeMoro, former president of National Nurses United (NNU) and a prominent Sanders backer, said there's no reason the campaign couldn't maintain the pace--or even exceed it--over the course of the day:
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Critics Say Howard Schultz "Seriously Considering" 2020 Run Shows He's Not Qualified for Position
"If Howard Schultz were 'seriously thinking' about an independent run for president," quipped Larry Sabato, "he would have abandoned the idea already."
Jan 27, 2019
The announcement by Howard Schultz on Sunday that he is "seriously considering" a 2020 run for president was proof enough for some critics that the billionaire, former CEO of Starbucks, and self-described "independent centrist" is definitely not qualified for the position.
In messages on social media and an interview on 60 Minutes, Schultz announced his consideration while also championing a new memoir and launching a three-month book tour to promote it alongside his political ideas. Among those ideological positions is his belief that while it's possible and good to build a global business empire in order to provide people around the world with subjectively "delicious" and "overpriced" coffee it remains impossible, as he argued on 60 Minutes, to improve and expand Medicare so that every single American is covered.
"Every American deserves the right to have access to quality health care. But what the Democrats are proposing is something that is as false as the wall," said Schultz as he compared President Trump's xenophobic border wall to a single-payer system, which polls show 7 in 10 Americans now support, including 84 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans. "That is free health care for all," Schultz falsely claimed, "which the country cannot afford."
Contrary to Schultz's assertion, a study released in November showed that a Medicare for All system in the United States could save the country $5.1 trillion over ten years. Progressives did not let the former executives remark go by without comment.
Even Larry Sabato, the politically moderate director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, was severly unimpressed. "If Howard Schultz were 'seriously thinking' about an independent run for president," Sabato quipped, "he would have abandoned the idea already. I've had undergrad students with a more compelling platform than Schultz offered tonight."
For Democrats, of course, the large concern surrounding an independent run by Schultz--a threat also seen in New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg--is how such a candidate would siphon off votes and give President Donald Trump that much better a shot at re-election.
Julian Castro, among the current 2020 Democratic candidates and the former housing secretary under President Obama, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" on Sunday that a run by Schultz "would provide Donald Trump with his best hope of getting re-elected."
And Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic Party Chair in Washington state, said in a statement: "I have two words for Howard Schultz on a potential run for president as an independent: Just. Don't."
Regardless of his intentions, RoseAnn DeMoro, a labor organizer and strong supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), indicated her belief that Schultz poses no serious threat to anyone in 2020.
Matt Stoller, a fellow at the Open Markets Institute, also said there is nothing to worry about:
On the other hand:
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Trouncing Biden and Beto, Bernie Sanders Emerges as Clear Frontrunner in 2020 Straw Poll
"I think people in Washington are (again) underestimating the potential strength of a Sanders campaign (which could actually be part of his strength again)."
Dec 17, 2018
While an outsized chunk of the corporate media's early 2020 coverage has been centered on the speculation and big donor enthusiasm surrounding centrist Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke's possible White House bid, a new straw poll released on Tuesday found that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is far and away the leading presidential choice among progressives eager to take down President Donald Trump and forge ahead with a bold agenda.
"If the senator runs (I hope he does), he will have the best organizing program of any 2020 candidate."
--Winnie Wong, People for Bernie
Conducted by Democracy for America (DFA)--a political action committee with over a million members--the survey found that Sanders topped the ever-growing list of potential Democratic candidates with 36 percent support, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 15 percent and O'Rourke at 12 percent.
All other possible candidates included in the straw poll, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), earned less than 10 percent support.
The Intercept's Ryan Grim argued that the DFA survey shows political elites may once again be underestimating Sanders, who consistently polls as the most popular politician in the country.
Though Sanders emerged from the early survey as the strong front-runner, DFA executive director and incoming chair Charles Chamberlain said in a statement, "Progressive support in the 2020 Democratic primary is up for grabs and so is Democracy for America's endorsement."
In the 2016 Democratic primary, the organization endorsed Sanders over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Unlike 2016, no candidate has support strong enough for the Democratic Party establishment to clear the field, which means progressives will have an excellent opportunity over the next year to kick the tires on a wide range of different candidates and find the best one to take on Trump," Chamberlain concluded.
On social media, Sanders supporters touted the DFA poll as further fuel for the "Draft Bernie" 2020 campaign launched earlier this month by former staffers for the Vermont senator's 2016 bid.
"If the senator runs (I hope he does), he will have the best organizing program of any 2020 candidate," declared Winnie Wong, founder of People for Bernie.
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Laying Groundwork for 2020 Run, Sanders 2016 Staffers Launch 'Draft Bernie' Campaign
"We are tired of self-interested and self-serving politicians. We want authentic and bold leaders who take immediate and meaningful action to solve the problems we face."
Dec 03, 2018
Beginning to develop the organizational muscle for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to "hit the ground running" should he decide to heed the urgent calls of progressives at home and abroad to launch a 2020 presidential bid, a group of staffers from the Vermont senator's historic 2016 run kicked off a "Draft Bernie" campaign on Monday with the declaration that Sanders is the best candidate to take down President Donald Trump and bring about a much-needed political revolution.
"Bernie is the candidate who is offering the greatest contrast to the current administration. We all believe that he is the right person."
--Rich Pelletier, Organizing for Bernie
"Bernie is the candidate who is offering the greatest contrast to the current administration," said Rich Pelletier, one of the founders of Organizing for Bernie, the organization behind the new campaign. "We all believe that he is the right person. We also believe it's a decision that he has to make."
In an effort to show Sanders that he has the grassroots support to emerge victorious from what will likely be a crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic Party's nomination, Organizing for Bernie urged Sanders backers to sign a petition describing the Vermont senator as "uniquely positioned" for a successful presidential run, based on his status as the most popular politician in the United States.
"When you ran for president in 2016, you redefined what was possible, showing Americans that we could have a just democracy--one that works for everyday people, not just the millionaires and billionaires," the petition reads. "Now we need you more than ever to run for president and take on Donald Trump."
"Your unwavering commitment to working families, reducing income inequality, and addressing climate change as our biggest national security concern are what make you the ideal candidate to win in 2020," the call continues. "We are tired of self-interested and self-serving politicians. We want authentic and bold leaders who take immediate and meaningful action to solve the problems we face."
Organizing for Bernie was launched on the heels of the inaugural Sanders Institute Gathering in Burlington, Vermont this past weekend, which brought together progressives from across the U.S. and the world.
While the Sanders Institute, founded by Jane O'Meara Sanders, designed the conference as a way to bring a diverse set organizers and leaders from around the country and the world together in order to focus on the progressive movement's key issues, it was inevitable that many took it as a preview of what a presidential bid by Bernie might become.
While Sanders himself did not explicitly discuss 2020--he chuckled when a member of the audience shouted out "Bernie 2020!" during his keynote address at the gathering last Thursday--the prominent progressives in attendance were not shy about calling on the senator to run.
"Let me convey a message from all of us in Europe," former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said during an international panel discussion Friday night. "For all those comrades of yours who are now struggling to reclaim our cities, our world... our environment: we need Bernie Sanders to run for president."
Echoing Varoufakis, labor leader and organizer RoseAnn DeMoro told Common Dreams in an interview that Sanders is the only viable 2020 candidate.
"If Bernie doesn't run, we don't have anyone who represents what Bernie represents," DeMoro declared. "There is no one in the political spectrum who represents the values that he has."
The former Sanders staffers behind Organizing for Bernie echoed this sentiment in their petition, which you can read in full below:
Dear Senator Sanders,
When you ran for President in 2016, you redefined what was possible, showing Americans that we could have a just democracy -- one that works for everyday people, not just the millionaires and billionaires. Through your campaign, we embraced Medicare for All at a time when it was not very popular. We rang the alarm about climate change and its devastating impacts, and how we could work together to address it right now. We began to imagine a future we could believe in--one that we would be proud to leave for future generations. We got to know our neighbors, and met new people in our community, organizing together for what was right.
We fought hard, but in the end, the outcome wasn't what we hoped for. We were concerned all of our hard work went to waste, but then realized that the political revolution had just begun. When Trump took over the White House, even through our devastation, we continued working with our neighbors and new friends to defend our communities from bigotry, xenophobia and racism.
We've been fighting these last two years, and you have been in the frontlines with us. Thank you for making Medicare for All a mainstream issue. Thank you for getting every worker at Amazon a guaranteed 15 dollar an hour wage. Thank you for reforming the DNC for a more fair political process. Thank you for igniting much needed change.
Now we need you more than ever to run for president and take on Donald Trump. We know you can beat him because you are uniquely positioned as the most popular politician in American politics. Your unwavering commitment to working families, reducing income inequality, and addressing climate change as our biggest national security concern are what make you the ideal candidate to win in 2020. We are tired of self-interested and self-serving politicians. We want authentic and bold leaders who take immediate and meaningful action to solve the problems we face.
Senator, I am joining people across the country in asking you to run for President in 2020. The vision you have for our nation can become a reality if we boldly fight for every American and together build the future we can believe in.
In Solidarity,
The 2020 Revolution
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US Labor Leader Says Case for Bernie Sanders 2020 Is Simple: His 'Life and Heart and Soul'
"I always say that heroes are not made, they're cornered," says RoseAnn DeMoro, former head of the National Nurses United. "And I've never seen anybody more cornered in my life than Bernie Sanders."
Dec 02, 2018
With the U.S. midterms concluded, a new book just out, and a weekend 'Gathering' of progressive leaders and close allies in his home state of Vermont, there is plenty of fresh talk about whether Sen. Bernie Sanders will run for president again in 2020.
Some think he's not the best choice for Democrats. Some think he clearly should run. Some argue the progressive case is obvious. Some who even worked for Sanders' 2016 campaign are not sure, at least according to the headline, that another run is the wisest move.
But while Sanders, his wife Jane O'Meara Sanders, the family, and his political team have made clear they are seriously considering it--there is no decision yet.
"We need a leader that is going to unify the world. We need someone who gives their life and heart and soul to making us secure on our planet, in our workplace, in our homes, in our lives, after we retire, when our children are born -- and that's Bernie Sanders. And there is no one who comes near him on the political scene."
-- RoseAnn DeMoroSongwriter and music legend Bruce Springsteen may not have intended to make the case, but comments he made in an interview published on Sunday have been seized by at least a few of those clamoring for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to end the internal debate his team is having about the run and announce as the best Democratic Party candidate to challenge Donald Trump in the next election.
The longtime Democrat and legendary musician told The Sunday Times that Democrats in the U.S. need a candidate "who can speak some of the same language" as Trump when it comes to communicating with blue collar workers and others suffering under economic weight. "I don't see anyone out there at the moment...the man who can beat Trump, or the woman who can beat Trump," Springsteen said.
"The Democrats," he added, "don't have an obvious, effective presidential candidate."
But in response to Springsteen's remarks, U.S. labor leader and political organizer RoseAnn DeMoro--who spent the weekend at The Sanders Institute Gathering in Burlington, Vermont telling anyone asking or listening that the Independent senator is the only choice for the next presidential election--on Monday tweeted her agreement that the Democrats do not have anyone at the moment better than Sanders--officially an Independent--to lead the party in the effort to dethrone Trump.
"I agree with this," she said about Springsteen's critique of the potential Democratic field. "And that is why @springsteen needs to help #Bernie2020."
Interviewed by the Washington Post's David Weigel over the weekend, and asked about other possible 2020 candidates, DeMoro was described as "incredulous" about the very premise of the question. "There are no other candidates," she told him.
In a joint interview with Common Dreams and The Katie Halper Show on Saturday night, DeMoro said that in her mind--and in the minds of many progressive organizers, labor leaders, and rank-and-file voters--it's not even close.
"If Bernie doesn't run, we don't have anyone who represents what Bernie represents. There is no one in the political spectrum who represents the values that he has," she explained. "There are some who fake it, who feign it--they say, 'Oh, I'm for Medicare for All'--but when push comes to shove they can't articulate anything about Medicare for All. I'm mean, it's a joke."
And it is the integrity of Sanders, she says, that cannot be bought, manufactured, or faked. "When you actually, fundamentally believe something," she said, "people see that. They know when you're authentic."
"When you actually, fundamentally believe something--people see that. They know when you're authentic."
She is certainly not alone in making electrified demands that Sanders run. At the conclusion of a panel event at The Gathering in Burlington on Friday night, many were taken when Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, made the international argument as he declared: "Let me convey a message from all of us in Europe, for all those comrades of yours that are now struggling to reclaim our cities, our world, our environment: We need Bernie Sanders to run for president!"
Though an intrinsically friendly crowd, there was an eruption of applause and a familiar 2016 chant soon filled the hall: "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!"
Sanders did not take the bait, however. He demured and stated, "And on that note..." as the chant subsided and event concluded.
Speaking with the Associated Press, Jane O'Meara Sanders, who founded The Sanders Institute as a way to continue to press for the ideas that both she and Bernie believe in, said the family's final decision will be made by looking outward, not necessarily inward.
"It's not about us," O'Meara Sanders said. "It's about what's right for the country." The biggest question, she added, was this one: "Who can beat Donald Trump?"
For DeMoro, it's ultimately less about the failures or shortcomings of others--though those shortcomings do matter--but the singular quality of Sanders that would make him the most potent contender.
"We need a leader that is going to unify the world," she said. "We need someone who gives their life and heart and soul to making us secure on our planet, in our workplace, in our homes, in our lives, after we retire, when our children are born--and that's Bernie Sanders. And there is no one who comes near him on the political scene."
But whether he wants to or not--and there is plenty of evidence to suggest he will run--DeMoro's argument is that, in many ways, there is no choice for the longtime Independent to once again join the Democratic Party, as he did in 2016, in order to lead the nation (and the world) in the existential fight to defeat Donald Trump and the Republican Party he now controls.
"I always say that heroes are not made, they're cornered," DeMoro said. "And I've never seen anybody more cornered in my life than Bernie Sanders."
Listen to The Katie Halper Show's coverage of the weekend Gathering here. Listen the full bonus "on the rocks" interview with RoseAnn DeMoro here.
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With Workers Under Attack, Labor Leaders Say Only 'Full-Throated Economic Populism' Can Defeat Corporate Elites
"We don't need more centrism. We don't need more half-baked economic ideas. We need to make sure that we grow the American labor movement."
Nov 30, 2018
BURLINGTON, VT. -- With the American labor movement under relentless assault by the right-wing Supreme Court, the Republican Party at both the state and federal level, and President Donald Trump's plutocratic administration, prominent union leaders convened during the final day of The Sanders Institute Gathering on Saturday to confront the existential threat facing the working class and emphasize the urgency of organizing at the grassroots level to fight back and build political power.
" Unions and the working class need to be political as hell. Last time I checked, the Koch brothers are political as hell, Wall Street is political is hell."
--Mark Dimondstein, American Postal Workers Union
"The working class is hurting, and they're done with business as usual," Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, declared during a panel discussion titled, "The Labor Movement: Essential to Democracy."
Moderated by RoseAnn DeMoro--former executive director of National Nurses United (NNU)--the panel of progressive union leaders attributed Trump's presidential victory to the Democratic Party's decades-long corporate turn and abandonment of the working class, which left a gaping void that the billionaire real estate mogul exploited in his rise to power.
The result, Dimondstein argued, was "a lesser of two evils duopoly"--two dominant political parties that side with the interests of business over those of the working class.
"Political parties have failed, absolutely failed, the working class," Dimondstein said.
To begin rebuilding the labor movement in the face of the ceaseless assault from right-wing politicians and their billionaire benefactors, Good Jobs Nation executive director Joseph Geevarghese argued that the tepid centrism and incremental solutions offered by the Democratic establishment will not cut it.
"We don't need more centrism. We don't need more half-baked economic ideas," Geevarghese said during the panel discussion, which also included Peter Knowlton, general president of United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America.
"We need more full-throated economic populism," Geevarghese continued. "We need to make sure that we grow the American labor movement."
As the panelists readily acknowledged, the present state of organized labor is grim, particularly after the Supreme Court's Janus ruling, which dealt a major blow to public-sector unions. According to the most recent government data, just over 10 percent of American workers are union members--an all-time low.
"The labor movement isn't just people who are in unions, it's all of us."
-- RoseAnn DeMoro
But there are plenty of bright spots, such as radicalized teachers unions striking to combat budget cuts and demanding fair pay nationwide, nurses leading the grassroots fight for Medicare for All, and workers throughout the country organizing for a $15 minimum wage.
"Working people are the most powerful force on Earth," said DeMoro, who retired this year as executive director of NNU, the largest nurses union in the United States. "The labor movement isn't just people who are in unions, it's all of us."
In order to defeat the corporate forces hellbent on completely eliminating workers' right to organize and bargain collectively for better wages and conditions, Dimondstein of the Postal Workers Union argued the working class must become as organized and political as the business elites it is combating.
"Unions and the working class need to be political as hell," Dimondstein concluded. "Last time I checked, the Koch brothers are political as hell, Wall Street is political is hell... We have to be political."
Watch the full panel discussion, which closed with a rousing group performance of Solidarity Forever, the union anthem by Ralph Chaplin, the iconic labor activist:
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Aiming to 'Revitalize Our Democracy,' Sanders Institute to Host 250 Progressive Leaders at Weekend Gathering Focused on Bold Solutions
Over three days in Burlington, Vermont, politicians and activists will "share replicable policies, develop actionable steps, establish ongoing networks, and articulate a progressive vision"
Nov 27, 2018
With the stated mission of "revitalizing our democracy," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jane O'Meara Sanders are hosting a gathering of 250 progressive thinkers, politicians, and activists this weekend in Burlington, Vermont, where they'll discuss bold solutions to persistent inequality, the climate crisis, human rights violations, and other issues in the U.S. and around the world.
The inaugural Sanders Institute Gathering--which Common Dreams plans to cover over the three days--will include panel discussions and speeches including an opening keynote speech given by the senator on Thursday evening, as well as appearances by author Naomi Klein and Cornel West; politicians such as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz; economists Stephanie Kelton and Jeffrey Sachs; former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis; U.S. labor leaders Roseann DeMoro and Peter Knowlton; organizers Bill McKibben and Nina Turner; and many others.
"The core intent of the Sanders Institute Gathering is to share replicable policies, develop actionable steps, establish ongoing networks and articulate a progressive vision," the Institute shared on the event website. "Economic, environmental, racial and social justice issues will be threaded throughout the conference as we discuss the climate crisis, healthcare, housing, democracy, foreign policy, criminal justice, labor issues, and more."
"We believe that a vital democracy requires an informed electorate, civil discourse, and bold progressive ideas." --Jane O'Meara Sanders
Panel discussion topics will include "How We Win Medicare for All" as well as a conversation about financing the increasingly popular program, the Green New Deal, chronic injustice in the criminal justice system, and America's housing crisis.
On the heels of their joint venture to craft an International New Deal aimed at countering the emerging alliance of powerful, nationalist right-wing extremists, Varoufakis will join Sanders along with several other speakers at an International Round Table on Friday to discuss solutions to economic inequality around the world.
"We're seeing authoritarian leaders come in and throw away the norms of a democracy like the free press or individual rights," Jane Sanders told local CBS affiliate station WCAX. "And we need to have voices out there everywhere, saying, 'No, this is not okay,' and this is what we need to fight for instead of always just hearing political back and forth, electoral issues, and what we're against. We're going to be talking about what we're for."
The Gathering comes as Sanders' potential 2020 presidential campaign has appeared increasingly likely, with the senator saying at George Washington University this week that he is "thinking about" running and telling New York magazine, "If it turns out that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump, then I will probably run."
However, as Jane Sanders told WCAX, the Gathering "won't have anything to do with Bernie's campaign."
"We are focused on policies," Sanders said. "We believe that a vital democracy requires an informed electorate, civil discourse, and bold progressive ideas. So that's what we're trying to do: engage people in finding solutions to economic, environmental, racial, and social justice issues."
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With Corporate Media Abdicating Duty to Cover Climate Crisis, Sanders to Host Town Hall on Bold Green Initiatives
"This is an issue of huge consequence and you would think that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox would be talking about this every day, having the debate, 'What do we do? Where do we go?'"
Nov 18, 2018
Continuing his promotion of issues and solutions that are too often ignored by corporate media outlets, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is turning once again to the internet and social media to air a town hall dedicated to the climate crisis and renewable energy.
On Monday, December 3, Sanders will host a town hall featuring climate scientists and young climate action advocates to discuss progressive proposals that would help to curb the human-driven warming of the globe that's been blamed for helping fuel the wildfires currently engulfing parts of California, increasingly destructive hurricanes, and rising sea levels.
"We need millions of people all over this country to stand up and demand fundamental changes in our energy policy in order to protect our kids and our grandchildren and the planet," Sanders told the Huffington Post.
Like his previous town halls on Medicare for All and income inequality, the senator's special program on the climate crisis has been made necessary by the dearth of coverage the country's most-watched news networks give the issue on a daily basis--even as the world's top climate experts have confirmed what is already obvious to anyone paying attention to the changes in the climate in recent years: that humans are already experiencing major effects of the climate crisis and that fossil fuel emissions must be sharply reduced immediately to save the planet.
As Common Dreams has reported, only seven percent of cable news reports discussed the climate crisis when reporting on record high temperatures in the first half of 2018, and only 10 out of 50 major newspapers reported on climate change at all in that time.
"This is an issue of huge consequence and you would think that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox would be talking about this every day, having the debate, 'What do we do? Where do we go?'" Sanders told the Huffington Post. "Clearly you aren't seeing that debate."
RoseAnn DeMoro, former executive director of National Nurses United, expressed approval of Sanders' commitment to telling Americans the truth about the climate crisis.
The town hall will be shown on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube starting at 7:00pm EST on the 3rd. Speakers will include Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, one of the young people who filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government arguing that officials have actively endangered Americans by ignoring the climate crisis; 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben; and actress and activist Shailene Woodley.
The town hall comes as popular progressives including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, who will represent districts in New York and Michigan when the new congressional term begins in January, have called on Democratic leaders to embrace a Green New Deal.
The proposal would pour money into green infrastructure, giving millions of Americans jobs as it remakes the U.S. energy sector as one that makes use of renewable sources like solar and wind power instead of depleting the ozone layer oil and gas extraction.
While only 38 percent of American voters rank the climate as one of their top concerns according to a Yale University survey, that same poll suggested that Democratic voters are likely craving news coverage and a political conversation that gives serious consideration to the issue and proposals like the Green New Deal and other proposals backed by Sanders, like one that would shift the United States to 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
Democrats ranked the environment and the climate among the most important political issues that drive them to the polls, behind healthcare and gun legislation.
"The fact that [climate change] is that high among the base of one of our two major political parties is remarkable, because that was not the case even five years ago," Anthony Leiserowitz, a senior research scientist at Yale, told the Huffington Post.
Sanders' previous town halls gathered large audiences, with 1.6 million watching his discussion of Medicare for All and 1.7 million tuning in for his program on income inequality.
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California Democrats Shock Dianne Feinstein; Favor Challenger 54% to 37%
“The days of Democrats biding our time, biting our tongue, and triangulating at the margins are over,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León.
Feb 25, 2018
California Democrats shocked Senator Dianne Feinstein by not endorsing her for re-election at their state convention Sunday.
Conservative Democrat Feinstein won just 37 percent of the 2,775 delegates' votes, versus 54 percent for her challenger, state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles. Support from 60 percent of the delegates was needed to secure the party's official endorsement.
"The outcome of today's endorsement vote is an astounding rejection of politics as usual, and it boosts our campaign's momentum as we all stand shoulder to shoulder against a complacent status quo," de Leon said Sunday. "California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the front lines, not equivocate on the sidelines."
"The days of Democrats biding our time, biting our tongue, and triangulating at the margins are over," he said.
"California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the front lines, not equivocate on the sidelines," de Leon said. "We all deserve a leader who will take our climate action to Washington, and will fight each and every day to protect our human and civil rights, our immigrant families and Dreamers, champion universal health care and create good paying middle class jobs."
It was a jolting signal to the 84-year-old Feinstein, who has been in politics for five decades and was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
"The Democratic Party tends to endorse incumbents," said Rose Kapolczynski, a veteran California Democratic strategist who ran former Sen. Barbara Boxer's 2010 successful re-election campaign.
"It sends a message that the Democratic Party is a progressive party and they're going for the candidate who they view is the more progressive candidate," said Tom Steyer, the billionaire San Francisco activist who is close to de Leon but has not endorsed in the race. "Both of them have long histories of service to the state, to the country and to the party. And it's pretty clear that Kevin is positioned as more progressive than Sen. Feinstein."
Feinstein's oppostion to single-payer health care, her anti-marijuana stance, and her repeated votes for President Donald Trump's nominations angered many California Democrats.
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Democrats Who Approved 'Greedy Big Pharma CEO' for HHS Secretary Should Be Ashamed: Critics
"Shame on every Senator who voted to put pharma exec Alex Azar, who has a long history of putting profits over people, in charge of regulating the health care industry."
Jan 25, 2018
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday, with the help of crucial votes by Democrats, confirmed former Eli Lilly executive Alex Azar to become the nation's top healthcare administrator, provoking ire among progressives and healthcare advocates.
Notable on the rollcall list, and the source of ire among critics, was the fact that six Democratic Senators--Doug Jones of Alabama, Tom Carper of Delaware, Chris Coons of Delaware,Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia --joined with Republicans and voted in favor. With the addition of Sen. Angus King, the Indepedent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, that gave Azar the needed support to be confirmed.
President Donald Trump nominated Azar after his first Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign last year following revelations he was using taxpayer money to charter private plans for unnecessary trips.
While opponents of his nomination, including advocacy groups like Public Citizen, mounted an aggressive campaign to block Azar's confirmation, in the end it was not enough.
"Shame on every Senator who voted to put big pharma CEO Alex Azar, who colluded to triple the price of insulin, in charge of regulating the health care industry," said Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, in response to the confirmation. "If Azar's record of corruption is any indication of his future behavior, his tenure will be even shorter than his predecessor Tom Price."
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