For Immediate Release: May 20, 2017

BREAKING: Corporate lobbyist Eric Bauman just became chair of the California Democratic Party. His achievements include taking $100,000 from pharmaceutical companies to block the initiative for lower drug prices in California. An initiative backed by Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic Party doesn’t need any help from the Republicans to lead our country to kleptocracy. Last year, it was the Democrats who supported billionaire coal baron and former Republican Jim Justice for governor in West Virginia. In January, it was the Democrats who threw out their own rules to make billionaire developer and former Republican Stephen Bittel the state party chair in Florida. Now, it is the Democrats who are courting billionaires to run for governor in three more states.

For months, Bernie Sanders has pointed to California as the bright spot in a bleak effort to reform the Democratic Party. Now that state party has just elected a proud corporate lobbyist as its leader.

Democrats have supermajorities in both houses of the California state legislature and they have governor Jerry Brown. But instead of passing the single payer bill that has been part of their state party platform for years, they have vowed to block single payer in the legislature. What is the point of trying to elect Democrats who side with Republicans the minute they take office?

It’s time for an intervention in the progressive movement: Is this what reform looks like? Is this what Bernie meant when he said the Democratic Party must become a grassroots party?

In November, Bernie said the Democratic Party had to choose if it was going to go through with a “fundamental restructuring” or remain with the “failed status quo.” They made their choice. Now the choice is ours: Do we submit to the establishment parties and allow the spiral into oligarchy to continue, or do we form a party for the progressive majority?

When NNU nurses broke rank at the convention and spoke up for single payer, the outgoing party Chair John Burton told them to “Shut the fuck up and go outside.”

California Democratic Party chair John Burton yelled at nurses protesting for single payer to “shut the f*ck up and go outside.” Burton condescendingly told the protesters, “There’s [sic] some people who have been fighting for that issue before you guys were born.”I think it is Time for John Burton STFU and go outside!!!! Posted by Progressive Unity Project on Saturday, May 20, 2017

This time, we’re going to take your advise.

Draft Bernie for a People’s Party!