The Revolution Moves Forward.

Bernie Sanders may have dropped out of the race, but his movement moves forward.

Going into 2020, I followed the political judgment of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And I stood at Queens Bridge Park, watching the leader of the ‘squad’ join hands with the veteran progressive, Bernie Sanders. It was a triumphant moment for the left. The stage was set with the backdrop of two New Yorks: one side was the posh high rises of Manhattan, the other side was the Queens Bridge North housing projects next to the Ravenswood Generating Station, a node to environmental classism. I believed in Bernie Sanders because I believed he was the leader to win over the states crucial to an electoral college victory. I believed he was the leader to push for revolutionary reforms such as Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, and most importantly, a Green New Deal to challenge the country’s addiction to fossil fuels, making this country a leader in the fight for the planet. I continue to believe in his fight.

Bernie Sanders was not afraid to stand up to what’s right. He was a Democratic Presidential candidate who was actually arrested for protesting campus housing segregation at the University of Chicago in 1969, he was one of the first national politicians to stand up for gay rights before it was cool, he stood up against the 1994 crime bill that incarcerated millions of African Americans for non-violent offenses, and he stood up for industry workers advocating against the disastrous NAFTA agreement spearheaded by Democrats. Bernie Sanders has always been in the good fight.

Sanders started a race on the fringe and ended with the issues of working families in the center of the Democratic Party. His campaign set a historical precedent being completely funded by individual donations, championing the signature average of $27. He proved the politically impossible running a campaign on socialist ideals, he inspired faces like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for office. Her election to Congress made it possible for a young voice to raise awareness about the climate crisis, proposing the resolution for a Green New Deal. This is Bernie’s legacy and he will shine in our history books being a man who warned against the perils of unfettered capitalism.

In this moment of defeat for ‘berniecrats’, it’s important to remember that in the 2016 Election, Trump won the swing state of Michigan by a little more than 11,000 votes over Hillary Clinton. The Green Party garnered more than 50,000 votes, taking vital support away from Democrats, and handing the state’s electoral votes to the Republican Party. Right now, it is easy for my peers to give up and flee to the Green Party. However, Trump and the Republicans win when the left is divided. Today I urge the left to unite with Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party. It’s time to put down our pitchforks in solidarity, not for Biden’s run, but because we cannot afford a second term of Donald Trump. The Democratic Party is a big tent of ideologies. If there is anything we should take away from 2016, it is that the right needs the left of the party to win and the left needs to the right to remove fascism from the White House.

We need to unite in a common message of uplifting the working class previously deceived by the right, a message that addresses the economic anxieties of those essential workers taking the shift in the Coronavirus lockdown, a message that exposes an economy working for the few and not the many. A Green New Deal is the path forward.

As of today, Joe Biden does not have my devout support. Biden has expressed limited support for a Green New Deal, agreeing only with a “framework”, all while holding fundraisers hosted by former fossil fuel executives. This isn’t a leader I can trust in pursuing a climate plan at the scale and scope it takes to tackle climate change. His placation to wealthy donors assuring them that “nothing will fundamentally change” is not a message to counter the right. His refusal to change his opinion on issues such as marijuana does not represent a leader for the future. To win the left-wing, I expect Biden to cave and adopt a few left causes, but to legislate without the urgency we demand. However, I acknowledge the importance of this election and I will be voting Democrat up and down the ballot on November 3rd.

I want to leave one last message: Bernie’s fight continues. Our revolution for a Green New Deal is much more likely to succeed under a Joe Biden presidency. Four more years of climate deniers in the White House is dangerous for this country and the planet. It is my generation that will take to the streets in 2021, participating in mass non-cooperation, all in the mission of cutting Biden’s corporate interests, cornering Democratic Party leadership to support a radical climate justice agenda. The time is now to not lose hope, but to shift strategy. This is Bernie’s legacy and I hope you join us.

For now, I invite you to take the most patriotic act: Register To Vote.