Galindez writes: "If you think Bernie is a transformational leader who comes around once in a lifetime, like I do, then you have to trust that he will lead us in the right direction. Between now and July we need to follow Bernie's lead. We need to focus on the issues that unite us, not Hillary's emails or who is endorsing Hillary."



Bernie Sanders, greeting supporters at a rally in Baltimore, says he has the support of 42 superdelegates but intends to win over more. (photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

Bernie Sanders Will Hold Rally in Philadelphia

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

here is a lot of speculation about the next step for Bernie Sanders. I am guilty of it. I think the People’s Summit in Chicago next weekend has Bernie’s fingerprints all over it. It will include many of the organizations that have been with Bernie since the beginning. It will have a number of his top campaign surrogates in featured roles, including Nina Turner, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and Jim Hightower. We don’t know if he will be there or if it will play a role in his future plans or not.

One thing we now know is that the day before the convention starts, Bernie Sanders is planning to take the stage in FDR park in Philadelphia to address his supporters. Many of those supporters are delegates to the convention, many will be there to support Bernie, and many will be there to protest the Democratic Party convention.

It will be an important speech. Will Bernie be able to hold the political revolution together and go into the convention with a movement behind him that can’t be brushed aside? Or will his supporters splinter off in different directions, weakening his hand? I think we have to trust Bernie and unite behind him.

If you think Bernie is a transformational leader who comes around once in a lifetime, like I do, then you have to trust that he will lead us in the right direction. Between now and July we need to follow Bernie’s lead. We need to focus on the issues that unite us, not Hillary’s emails or who is endorsing Hillary.

The important issues are transforming our rigged political and economic system. It is not about a donor to the Clinton Foundation getting a seat on a board or Elizabeth Warren endorsing Hillary Clinton. We need to focus our attention on overturning Citizens United, reversing climate change, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, free college tuition, single payer health care, expanding Social Security, fixing our broken criminal justice system, and ending institutional racism, to name a few of the issues.

These are all things we have to build a movement around, no matter who is in the White House. Bernie has united us around these issues. Let’s trust him to lead us down the right path.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.