“As I have said for many years, I happen not to believe that within the framework of the two-party system, the Democratic Party and Republican Party, that we are going to be able to bring about the real changes in this country that are needed to benefit the vast majority of our people. Essentially, it is my view that the leadership of the Democratic Party and Republican Party are tied to big money interests, and that neither of these parties will ever represent the people in this country who are demanding the real changes that have to take place.” – Bernie Sanders

How Bernie Sanders Can Win the Presidency

Of all the Democrats who will be participating in the primary debates, Bernie Sanders is the only candidate who is standing up for the majority of Americans in an effective way. It will be a strategic positive for him to participate in the Democratic Party debates and give voice to many of the issues that affect Americans most. However, as soon as the third debate is over on December 19, it is strategically vital that he withdraws from the Democratic primary race to run as an independent.

Loyalist Democrats, who are paid well to put partisan party politics above all else, will instinctively dismiss this strategy and do their best to ignore it, or they will go on a reactionary attack. Whatever the case may be, I invite critical and constructive debate. If you really want Bernie Sanders to be the next president, and you put your loyalty to The People above your loyalty to a political party, please hear me out. If you are willing to objectively and strategically think things through, carefully consider the points that will be made throughout this post.

I am fully aware that Bernie has said that he will not run as an Independent and have heard his reasoning as to why he feels running as a Democrat is the best strategy. However, there is a political paradigm shift occurring at a quickening pace, and I’m going to lay out strategic points that will demonstrate why running as an Independent gives the Sanders campaign the best opportunity to succeed.

I’ve analyzed the political landscape because I want to make sure that the energy I’m putting in during this vital election cycle is being used as strategically as possible. If I thought supporting Bernie’s campaign to win the Democratic nomination was the best strategic move, I would be working on his campaign right now. After seriously considering it, I think that Bernie’s efforts to win the DNC nomination are truly counter-productive, as I will explain in detail. However, if he transitions to an Independent or third-party run, I would be inspired to support his efforts, as that would be the best strategic move.

After much analysis, I am strongly advising him to transition to an Independent run immediately after participating in three Democratic debates, and before primary voting begins, for the following reasons…

#1) The Two-Party Primaries Will Be Much Less Relevant This Election

The first major point of the quickly unfolding political paradigm shift is that the Republican and Democratic primary season is now equivalent to preseason football or spring training baseball. There is a solid group of highly influential people who are waiting for the preseason (primaries) to progress to announce their Independent candidacies and take the field.

If you think Bernie is going to win the Democratic nomination and then just have to deal with a Republican like Donald Trump or Jeb Bush, you are seriously mistaken. There are very powerful forces that will be entering the general election race, and they will be attacking two-party corruption in an intense way. In fact, once the general election begins, being attached to the two-party system is going to become a significant liability, as you will see.

I personally know of four influential people who are seriously considering running independent campaigns, and there are certainly other people who will run that I’m not aware of. That is part of the reason why I am helping start The Independent Project, TIP.vote. I also know of several other upcoming projects that will focus on the presidential election. One of them will be very high profile, and it will pave the way for several more people to enter the race in a dramatic way, as well as elevate the profile of third-party candidates.

The early success of the Sanders and Trump campaigns clearly demonstrates the frustration people have with the two-party system. Sanders and Trump were not even members of their respective political parties a few months ago. The fact that even people who still identify with the corrupted parties are coming out in support of these candidates is a leading indicator and just the tip of the iceberg. Their early success is enticing many people to consider jumping in as Independent and third-party candidates. The prevailing thought is now; if Donald Trump can do this well inside the party system, just imagine what other high profile people can do without the party baggage.

Two of the candidates that I’m confident will run will have serious funding, and both of them are hoping that Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party nomination because he has decided not to accept any Super PAC support or money. They know that they can outspend him, as opposed to Clinton or Biden, who they feel can compete money wise, more on that later. That being said, they are fully expecting a Clinton nomination and they are preparing for her.

#2) Stop Fighting The Last War, There Will Not Be A Lone Nader Spoiler

When Sanders and his supporters say that he has to run as a Democrat so he doesn’t ‘end up like Ralph Nader and split the Democratic vote to give the election to a Republican,’ it is clear to me that they are stuck in old paradigm thinking and are not seriously thinking things through strategically in terms of the current shifting political landscape.

For those of you who fear a repeat of Ralph Nader’s perceived role in swinging the Supreme Court decided election to George W. Bush, it’s time to stop fighting the last war and evolve your thinking. It’s time to stop voting out of fear and living in fear, a paradigm shift has begun and the political landscape has changed significantly since 2000. The Nader comparison is outdated and no longer relevant, at all.

As already mentioned, there will not be a lone Nader spoiler who will split the vote this election cycle. There are going to be many candidates who will fragment the vote in every conceivable direction, and being attached to one of the two parties is going to be a serious liability.

Beyond the number of candidates who will split and fragment the vote in many directions, also consider that Nader’s run happened over 15 years ago. Social media didn’t even exist back then! 15 Internet years is equivalent to 150 years of pre-Internet information. When Nader ran, the American people weren’t yet aware enough, and didn’t realize the extent of the corruption in 2000. The shady circumstances in which the Supreme Court chose Bush as president was just the first in a long series of shocking lessons in corruption for the American people over the past 15 years.

Since Nader’s run, the US population has endured an extreme economic crisis, which the majority of Americans still haven’t recovered from. In a time of unprecedented wealth, hardworking people are struggling to make ends meet. Economic inequality has exploded over the past 15 years. Other than the outrageously corrupt bank bailouts and the unpunished looting of trillions of dollars, we have been lied into war, witnessed a brutal torture program, the revelations of NSA domestic spying, loss of civil liberties, stunningly inadequate responses to a series of extreme weather events — from Hurricane Katrina and Sandy to severe flooding and droughts — not to mention the BP oil spill and numerous other scandalous events. The list of blatantly corrupt activities that have occurred over the past 15 years goes on and on and on and on…

In other words, the political landscape is vastly different now, and there is a wealth of data to prove that. The number of Independent voters is now equivalent to Republican and Democratic voters combined. A tipping point has been reached and a critical mass of Americans has clearly had enough of the two-party system. As many public opinion polls prove, a record-breaking number of Americans have now lost faith in this government. Only 20% of Americans believe that the government has the consent of the governed. An all-time low of 7% of the population has confidence in Congress. To give some historical context, King George had twice as much support from the American public during the Revolutionary War than the current government does.

Poll after poll clearly proves that Americans are now ready for Independent and third-party candidates. If you need further proof, the early success within the two parties of outsiders — including Sanders, Trump, Fiorina and Carson — are clear leading indicators of the overwhelming disgust the population has with the establishment and its two-party system.

Ultimately, Ralph Nader’s strategic mistake in running as an Independent was that he was ahead of his time. If Bernie runs in the Democratic primary, his strategic mistake will be that he was behind his time. If Bernie Sanders continues to run as a Democrat, he will become the Reverse Nader by doing the opposite of what Nader did but getting a similar result, more on this topic later.

“The Democratic and Republican parties are tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum,

they both adhere to an ideology of greed and vulgarity.”

– Bernie Sanders

#3) Easier To Defeat Clinton In General Election

In a diverse field of candidates, Bernie has a much better chance of beating Hillary Clinton, as opposed to taking her on in a rigged Democratic primary where she can focus all her backroom party connections and record-breaking funding specifically on defeating him.

Sanders is significantly more popular than Clinton among the general public. Independent voters, which are now the largest voting block, were recently surveyed by the Independent Voter Network to see how currently running candidates are polling. The poll clearly demonstrated the overwhelming support Sanders has among Independent voters: Sanders polls at 45%; Trump is in a distant second at 26%. Hillary is in 7th place with only 9%. Compare that to the most recent CNN national poll that puts Clinton at 42% among Democrats and Sanders at 24%.

Again, keep in mind, registered voters who refuse to identify with either major party make up nearly twice as much of the electorate as registered Democratic voters. When the entire country is voting, Sanders has a much better chance at beating Hillary than he does in the Democratic primary, especially when you factor in the corrupt Super-Delegates. When you factor in the Democratic Party Super-Delegates, Bernie will have to beat Hillary by up to 20 percentage points to win the Democratic nomination at the Convention in July 2016, and that’s just an absurd margin to overcome!

On top of that, 30 Democratic U.S. Senators have already formally endorsed Hillary, which is another incredibly significant problem for Sanders in the primaries. There is no doubt in my mind that it will be easier for Bernie to win the presidency than it will for him to win the rigged Democratic primary.

#4) Money + Super-Delegates = Rigged Primaries “My own feeling is that the Democratic Party is

ideologically bankrupt…. Their ideology is opportunism.”

– Bernie Sanders

The recording-breaking money in the Clinton war chest has barely been unleashed. In almost every primary election cycle, there are early insurgents, and candidates who truly reflect the will of politically aware people, who move to the forefront early on because money is not a major factor at first. However, once Super Tuesday hits and the month of March gets the primary season into full swing, candidates who have the most money surge ahead. With so many states voting in such a short period of time, it is a huge advantage if you have a bigger financial war chest. The DNC frontloads March specifically to derail insurgent candidates, and heavily favor candidates with the most money to spend. As March 2016 unfolds, a Clinton (or Biden) onslaught awaits.

Bernie is the latest populist upstart to build early momentum in the Democratic primaries, just like Howard Dean and John Edwards in recent elections past. For those of you who want to put Obama in that category, recall that it was Goldman Sachs who put up the early money and made the Obama campaign viable to begin with. Obama was Wall Street’s front man from the get go and he also had the most money to spend, much more than Bernie has.

It definitely appears that Bernie will do much better than Dean and Edwards did, and he will certainly do better than the corporate media and paid-off pundits say he will. He is poised to win several of the early primary states. Sadly, this will further constrain progressive change-making energy within the DNC for a longer period of time. By the time Clinton (or Biden) is nominated, it will be very late in the game for progressives to mount a serious effort with another candidate in the general election. This will give other non-progressive Independent candidates a solid head start in the general election race, while seriously handicapping other progressive candidates. In this regard, if Bernie loses the Democratic nomination, he will have severely undermined the progressive movement and may cost them a vital strategic opportunity to put up a strong showing and possible victory in the general election, while also laying the foundation for long-term success outside of the two-party system.

Getting Bernie to run as a Democrat has been the Democratic Party’s most diabolical move. Strategically, if Bernie stays inside the Democratic Party, he may very well become the definition of the political term “useful idiot.” Once the Democrats made a deal with Bernie to have him transition from running as an Independent to a Democrat, they successfully diverted and tied up a significant amount of change-making energy within the two-party system. Instead of politically aware and engaged progressives putting their energy outside of the two-party system and into independent and third-party candidates and solidifying a long-term foundation, this move ensures that a significant amount of progressive energy will be under Democratic Party control until March 2016. This leaves very little time to build the needed momentum for another progressive candidate outside of the two-party system.

In this way, if Bernie loses the Democratic primary, he will have seriously damaged the long-term progress of the progressive movement by doing the opposite of what Ralph Nader did and getting a similar result. Bernie is on a path to being the Reverse Nader. Bernie may become the Bizarro Nader.

To be clear, I don’t think it’s fair to blame Nader for the Bush presidency. It was the Democratic Party’s collusion in corruption that did them in and gave Bush the presidency. If you look back at what Nader was saying in 2000, you will see that he was absolutely correct. Nader saw the corruption up close back then that the American people needed another 15 years to see. Blaming Nader has become a favorite move for the defenders of the two-party status quo. This is part of the beaten mindset that will be discussed later in this post.

Beyond the hundreds of millions of dollars yet to be spent by the Clinton campaign, the DNC Super-Delegates, who control an astounding 20% of the overall vote, are heavily committed to Clinton, as are the mainstream media companies. The last thing the DNC and mainstream media companies want is a Democratic nominee for president who is not accepting Super PAC money and support (more info in next section). They will do everything in their power to prevent that from happening.

The Democratic Party Super-Delegate system is outrageously corrupt and makes a mockery out of the primary process. Giving 20% of the vote to a handful of party-first loyalists makes it almost impossible for party outsiders, like Sanders, to win the nomination. If you support Sanders, you better start making serious noise about this undemocratic Democratic Party rigging process.

Also keep in mind, if Bernie loses the primary, his email list and campaign website will be taken over by the DNC and used to support the Clinton or Biden campaigns and DNC objectives, which will further undermine progressive third party and Independent candidates.

#5) Super PAC Martyr

The Sanders campaign needs to spend every penny very strategically because he has decided not to accept any Super PAC support or money. He has done very well raising money through small donations, but his fundraising is minor in comparison to corporate America’s favorite candidates, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. If Sanders endures the costs of the grueling primaries going one-on-one with Clinton’s record-breaking financial war chest focused specifically on him, and somehow survives the primary month of March, he is going to be at a major disadvantage moving forward from there.

Hillary will force him to spend every dime. I know that winning the DNC nomination will give him some additional funding and will obviously help him raise money moving forward, but not taking Super PAC support or money is going to seriously disadvantage him in the general election. The Super PAC money and support that the Democratic nominee would normally expect to get after their nomination is obviously not going to go to Bernie, and that money will go elsewhere, most likely to Independent candidates.

The bottom line, Bernie has to accept Super PAC support and money if he is going to win the presidency. I say this as someone who thinks Super PACs are inherently corrupt, and I strongly feel that money will not play as decisive a role as it has in the past, even though it is now a fully corrupt and unlimited campaign financing system. Not taking Super PAC money in a time of peak corruption is like fighting Muhammad Ali in his prime with a hand tied behind your back.

I want Super PACs and the current campaign finance system abolished, but being a martyr for the cause by not taking any Super PAC money is not going to accomplish anything, Bernie has to know that. I don’t care how great of a team you have, when you put three players on the field against 11 players, and the referees are paid off, there is no way you are going to win. Bernie has to know that!

If Bernie transitions out of the Democratic primaries, it will give his campaign team much needed time to solidify his ground game and do the intensive small donation fundraising that he will need over the long run. Focusing his limited resources and his ground team’s finite energy on having to win grueling primary battles will hurt him in the long run. Transitioning to an Independent run will allow them to focus their energy on a general election push. The length and cost of the primary season, on top of the intensity of the general election, is asking too much from what will be a heavily outspent grassroots organizing team.

Bottom line, if Bernie is going to win the presidency, he needs to accept Super PAC support, or, at the very least, they need to focus their limited resources on the general election and not waste their energy and funding in the primaries.

#6) Rigged Presidential Debates Becoming Less Relevant “One can argue that the two-party system is a sham.”

– Bernie Sanders

A major force that keeps us locked into the two-party system is the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). It is a private corporation composed of Democrats and Republicans who rig the presidential debate rules and effectively block other candidates from participating in the debates. Up until now the fact has been, if you don’t get into the CPD-sponsored debates, you will not be taken seriously by the American public as a viable candidate. Therefore, candidates are forced to bow to the two-party system to get into the debates.

However, that’s also about to change in a significant way. With several other influential and viable candidates jumping in as third party and Independent candidates, and with several high profile media events in the works around these candidates, the CPD’s corruption in blocking these candidates out of their debates will make their debates become much less relevant. I feel confident that Americans will much prefer to watch genuine Independent debates on prime-time television that cut deep into real issues that affect their daily lives in an engaging and entertaining way, as opposed to a CPD rigged two-party, corporate-approved, scripted, sterilized and sanitized debate.

The point that I’m doing my best to get across to the Bernie Sanders campaign is that this election cycle WILL BE A #ParadigmShift! We have hit the tipping point! The corrupt two-party system and their rigged CPD debates will lose relevancy. Again, as polls show, the American people are now fully aware of the blatant corruption and they are ready for Independent and third-party candidates. The jig is up! Get off the sinking two-party Titanic, Bernie. Don’t go down with the corrupt ship. Running as a Democrat is a dead end!

Even if Bernie transitions to an Independent run, he should still be able get into the CPD debates. The CPD has a rule, which is of course designed to keep out non-two-party candidates, that favors people who participate in the primaries. They make it so you must demonstrate 15% support in early pre-debate polls. Being that Bernie started his campaign early and has been participating in the Democratic primary from the get go, he has achieved the required name recognition and polling support that he needs to be allowed into the debates.

If the fear of not participating in the CPD-sponsored debates is a major factor influencing Bernie’s decision process to run as a Democrat, it shouldn’t be. If he decides to transition out of the two-party system, he will have the required polling support to be on the CPD debate stage. So will Donald Trump, by the way. If Trump wants to jump in as an Independent, he can still do it, and he should for some of the same reasons that I’m advising Bernie to do so.

These silly party pledges, which make candidates sign their loyalty to a party, have no legal relevance and only make candidates and their parties look corrupt and desperate for doing it. The only loyalty oath candidates should pledge their allegiance to is loyalty to The People, not some archaic, corrupt party. If Sanders and Trump want to be elected, they should make a media spectacle of tearing up their party pledges. As the polls prove, the American public would love to see that! That would be the kind of bold leadership move that Americans love!

#7) A Pyrrhic Democratic Victory, Caught In The Partisan Trap, Lame Duck Status

Another major reason why it is such a tragic error for Sanders to align with a corrupt party: even if he wins, he will end up as another one-off lame duck president caught up in the partisan trap that prevents any meaningful change from occurring. When it comes to policies that benefit the most powerful global corporations, the two parties can come to agreement and pass legislation in support of their political funders. When it comes to policies that benefit the American people, partisan gridlock prevents any meaningful progress.

This is a major reason why I believe a president who has pledged their allegiance to either the Republican or Democratic Party will never be able to effectively lead our country in a positive direction, as Bernie has said himself many times before. One party will always try to block any positive steps that will make the opposing party look good in the eyes of the American people. The Republican vs. Democrat partisan blame game will not cease, and the best ideas will never emerge from this broken two-party system. If the Obama presidency has proved anything, it is that the two-party partisan system has one gear when it comes to passing legislation that benefits the American people – gridlock.

It’s also much easier to divide and conquer the American public when there are only two-parties. Having an Independent in the White House tips the scale in a positive direction for the American people. With a strong Independent president, who has the backing of a majority of Americans, both parties will be much more inclined to follow the Independent president’s lead, or they risk the death and increasing irrelevance of their party. From a purely strategic perspective, after analyzing the current political landscape, it is clear that it will take a strong Independent president to move our country forward in a positive and meaningful way.

Sanders cannot spend a moment past December 20th bowing to the corrupted two-party system for short-term access and attention, or he will undermine his overall potential and ability to create meaningful, long-term change. It may seem as if he is making clever political maneuvers within the old collapsing political paradigm; alas, he is attaching himself to a sinking ship.

Bernie running as another one-off presidential push within the two-party system totally undermines the long-term sustainable groundwork that is absolutely necessary for us to evolve our government.

Overcoming the Beaten Mindset, “Battered Person Syndrome”

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Why should we work within the Democratic Party if we don’t agree with anything the Democratic Party says?’”

– Bernie Sanders

When Bernie made the decision to run as a Democrat, he underestimated himself and the quickly shifting political zeitgeist. I don’t think Bernie thought he could have much of an impact outside of the Democratic primaries. I don’t think he expected to do as well as he is doing in the early polls. Perhaps he felt he needed to get the attention the Democratic debates and primary coverage brings to build the needed momentum and be taken seriously as a viable candidate. Clearly, he now has the needed momentum and has established himself as a very viable candidate. In this way, his move to run as a Democratic has been a genius early move. A strong showing in first three debates will give him all that is really beneficial from the Democratic primary. After that, running in the primaries becomes a serious liability. If Bernie transitions to an Independent after the third Democratic debate, he will become the Sun Tzu of electoral politics. He will emerge as the bold strategic leader that Americans have been yearning for.

All hopeful thinking aside, I think that Bernie made the decision to bow to the DNC because he suffers from the same beaten mindset that most of the “vote for the lesser of two evils” people do. Voting for the lesser evil or accepting the two-party system is akin to “battered person syndrome.” It is the mentality that keeps people locked in an abusive relationship. We’ve all been beaten down and oppressed within the two-party system for far too long. I know it is hard to imagine an Independent or third-party candidate winning a presidential election, but many indicators and polls prove that an overwhelming majority of Americans are ready for a president that is not part of the two-party system.

We have reached a point where politically aware people with a beaten mindset have become the last barrier to genuine change. Progressives and Libertarians who continue to put their energy into the two-party system are now the most significant obstacle to meaningful change. It is incredibly disheartening to think that Bernie, a career-long Independent leader, right at the moment the shift and breakthrough is being made, may fall into this trap.

Say it ain’t so, Bernie!

Don’t give up just as your life’s work is about to come to fruition. Have faith, the wind is at your back… The zeitgeist has aligned…

Bernie Can Keep His Word and Solidify His Legacy

“It would be hypocritical of me to run as a Democrat

because of the things I have said about the party.”

– Bernie Sanders

Bernie has said that he will not run as an Independent if he loses to Hillary. Bernie can keep his word if he transitions out of the primary race before voting begins. He also said that he made his decision to run as a Democrat because he believed it was the best strategy at that moment in time. Given the quickly changing political landscape, and the latest polls and information, it is now clear that it is not the best strategy. In fact, that strategy is now a dead end.

Bernie is the longest serving Independent in U.S. Senate history. It would be tragic, if after all these years, he ends up sinking on the two-party Titanic. He has said that the Democratic Party is a corrupt, ideologically bankrupt party cozied up with big money and corporate America. By running as a Democrat, Bernie Sanders is betraying himself, his legacy, his supporters and the American people. All for an obsolete strategy, which if successful, leads to a one-off partisan gridlock lame duck presidency that further perpetuates and entrenches the divide and conquer two-party system. C’mon Bernie!!

So the question is… Does Bernie have enough faith in himself and the American people to boldly stand as an Independent, as he has already done for his entire career? Does he truly want to be the next president, or does he just want to bring attention to important issues and increase his power in the U.S. Senate?

If he doesn’t truly want to be president, you can make a case that he should stay in the Democratic primary in exchange for increased power in Senate. I heard that he might have already signed a deal with the Democrats to support Clinton in exchange for more power in Senate. If that’s true, in the grand scheme of things, it will be a strategic benefit for him to have more influence in the Senate. However, if that’s the case, it’s a heavy price to pay for increased visibly and Senate power, because he is ultimately undermining progressive Independent and third-party progress at a strategically pivotal moment.

Ready For Teddy 2.0

This election is a potent strategic moment for an Independent candidate to rise up and truly evolve our political system in a significant way. The political zeitgeist has aligned for another Teddy Roosevelt-esque moment. The path is wide open for a bold Independent candidate to win the presidency. Candidates who will be entering the race come January are well aware of the paradigm shift that is underway and the historic opportunity that is presently unfolding. They know that being in bed with either of the parties at this unique moment in history is a fatal strategic error. It’s being on the wrong side of history, and it is even being on the wrong side of the current polls.

Running as a Democrat or Republican this election cycle is a fatal mistake. The two-party system is over; this election cycle it is D.O.A. This election is a pivotal strategic opportunity to lay the groundwork for a sustainable long-term paradigm shifting political era. A president cannot legitimately or effectively lead the shift while being part of the corrupted two-party system. We need a bold Independent candidate who will make Republicans and Democrats sound like dinosaurs in the days after the meteor hit. We need an Independent candidate who will boldly call bullshit on both bought off political parties, while also showing people how we are transitioning to an evolved way of life.

The entire political landscape and debate is about to be turned on its head. As the old political paradigm is collapsing, a new paradigm is organically emerging and evolving: new economic systems, sustainable communities, renewable energy, hydroponic farming, water purification, liquid democracy, new media and wireless communication. We can now provide basic necessities for much less economic and environmental cost. Hunger, poverty and economic insecurity can be eliminated. We can transition to a zero carbon footprint future.

For all the corruption by both political parties, which is holding back innovation, we currently have the wealth and technological capabilities to dramatically evolve society for the benefit of all. Despite the crisis that we are confronted by, there are existing viable solutions to all of our problems. We live in a time of unprecedented wealth and abundance.

A decentralized uprising is undermining systems of consolidated power. The two-party system is now obsolete. A new world is being born. A paradigm shift has begun… and a transition out of the old collapsing paradigm cannot happen soon enough.

After analyzing the data and evidence, and reading the tea leaves, it has led me to a profoundly clear conclusion: the next president will NOT be from the Republican or Democratic parties. The political zeitgeist is aligned for the next Teddy Roosevelt… and I know that there will be bold leaders who will throw their hats in the ring.

A powerful Independent is going to rise up and transcend the corrupted two-party system in 2016! I am very confident that we will get a paradigm shifting Independent candidate. That’s why I’m putting my energy into The Independent Project, TIP.vote.

Is Bernie Sanders going to be that Independent president? He could be.

As Bernie loves to say, “We need a political revolution!” And as he has said in the past and knows in his heart, you cannot seriously have a political revolution from within the two-party system. An Independent president gives us all the best chance to significantly evolve our government.

I invite constructive criticism and debate on all the points I’ve made. We are at a critical transition point in history. Let’s make sure we are making sound strategic moves.

My Message to Bernie Supporters

By all means #FeelTheBern and follow your passion! These are exciting times. Bernie’s early momentum is an inspiring force. Let’s make sure we maximize this energy. I hope he transitions back to being an Independent. If he runs as an Independent, I will support his efforts. However, if he stays in the Democratic primary race and loses, please have a solid backup plan in place and be ready to quickly transition to a candidate outside of the two-party system. Think about long-term strategy. This is a vital strategic moment. Let’s not allow the DNC’s diabolical deal-making to undermine it.