Sanders: 'The Political Revolution Must Continue'
BURLINGTON, Vt. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said in an online address late Thursday that his "political revolution" must be part of the platform at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
The Brooklyn native did not concede the race in the address, but he did focus upon advancing his progressive political agenda – and working with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to do so – rather than continuing to try to win the race or become the nominee himself.
"Election Days come and go," Sanders told supporters. "But political and social revolutions that attempt to transform our society never end."
He said his "political revolution" is built on the same philosophy as the trade union, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and environmentalist movements.
"That's what the political revolution is about, and that's why the political revolution must continue into the future," Sanders said. "Real change never takes place from the top on down or in the living rooms of wealthy campaign contributors. It always occurs from the bottom on up, when tens of millions of people say loudly and clearly, 'Enough is enough,' and they become engaged in the fight for justice."
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Sanders seemed to draw the attention away from himself as a candidate early in the speech.
"This campaign has never been about a single candidate," Sanders said. "It has always been about transforming America," Sanders said.
After reiterating the major points of his campaign -- focused largely on wealth disparity, but also racial justice, climate change and other issues – Sanders emphasized that his campaign is also about defeating presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
"After centuries of racism and sexism and discrimination in all forms… we do not need a major party candidate who has bigotry as the cornerstone of his campaign," Sanders said.
Sanders said part of the goal of his campaign was to "make certain that Donald Trump is defeated, and defeated badly." He went on to say he plans to begin his role in that process ``in a very short period of time.''
But Sanders went on to say that defeating Trump cannot be the only goal, and, "We must continue our grassroots effort.
"We must take that energy to the Democratic convention on July 25 in Philadelphia, where we will have more than 1,900 delegates," Sanders said.
He said he would work with Clinton in an effort to transform the Democratic Party, and called on his followers to take on the current party at the grassroots level.
"We can no longer ignore the fact that sadly, the current Democratic Party leadership has turned its back on dozens of states and has allowed right wing politicians to win elections in some states without opposition," Sanders said.
Sanders asked his followers to consider running for office at lower levels, from school boards to county boards, state legislatures and governorships. He called upon his followers to see to it that such agenda items as universal health care, income inequality, and tuition-free state universities become part of the party's platform in the future.
"We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future," he said.
Sanders visited the White House last week and met with President Barack Obama, under intense pressure to drop out and clear the way for Clinton. Though he showed signs he understood the end was near, he then also vowed to keep fighting for his movement.
Clinton had enough delegates and superdelegates to clinch the nomination even before the Tuesday primaries, and had enough pledged delegates alone upon winning New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota on Tuesday. CBS News also estimated that Clinton was likely to win in California, but Sanders won in North Dakota.
Last week, President Obama officially endorsed Clinton, saying "I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office."
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
