Bernie Sanders' speech begins at the 1:08 mark in the video above. (YouTube)



Speaking to 4,000 at the People's Summit in Chicago on Saturday, the Vermont senator called the Democrats' strategy an "absolute failure" and pointed to a progressive way forward. Here's an excerpt of his much-awaited speech:

The Democratic Party needs fundamental change. What it needs is to open up its doors to working people, and young people, and older people who are prepared to fight for social and economic justice. The Democratic Party must understand what side it is on. And that cannot be the side of Wall Street, or the fossil fuel industry, or the drug companies.

From The Guardian:

Sanders’s speech was rapturously received at the People’s Summit, a gathering of some of the most influential progressive activists and organizations in the country. There had been an urgency to the event on Friday and Saturday around building on the momentum of Sanders’s presidential campaign, with a focus on encouraging people from different backgrounds to run for office around the country. Against that backdrop, Sanders’s criticism of the Democratic party as out-of-touch and elitist appeared to ring true for activists at the summit, including those who are planning to run for office for the first time in the coming months.

Read more.

— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata