All Bernie had to do was pick up the microphone, after the 4.5 minutes of silence, and say something useful. Instead, he opted to shut down the event and leave. If this is how a relatively conservative 73 year-old white man reacts to discussions about racism and black lives, we have better options.
And Bernie has baggage. He supports a trillion dollar boondoggle, the F-35 fighter/bomber, which cannot even match the performance of the previous bomber costing 80% less. (The definition of profiteering.) He is also supportive of drone strikes which are known to kill an average of fifty innocents per strike. He condones illegal settlement-building and attacks on Gaza by the IDF. This is beyond the pale.
“The Sanders platform has a populist bent, but the Green Party platform is clearly to the left of that. Sanders has been silent on the increasing police violence against Black and Brown young men and women. In my opinion, no leftist who stands in solidarity with Palestine can make excuses for Sanders foreign policy positions.
…IT IS likely that the majority of Sanders supporters will follow Sanders into his already declared support for the Democratic nominee, the warmonger and 1 Percenter Hillary Clinton.
I agree with Ashley Smith that getting involved in the Sanders campaign will be demobilizing and take energy away from the radical movements of today
To continue to build a bigger and stronger left independent political movement, we need to organize around a declared, independent left candidate now. We cannot take for granted that the candidate of our movement will be on as many state ballots as possible unless we have everyone on board from day one.
To sum up, I don’t support the organized left actively participating in the Sanders campaign.
…And right after Jill Stein announces her bid for president as an independent, left candidate seeking the Green Party nomination, we need to get behind her 100 percent.
In 2016, we need to make sure there is a ballot line for any independent left or socialist candidate to contest the corporate party lackeys running for office.
We need to ensure that there is a healthy, viable independent presidential campaign, like Jill Stein’s, that will lift up and support our left candidates and their social movements around the country.
That, in my opinion, comrades, along with our movement and education work, will be the path to system change.”
GLORIA MATTERA, Socialist and Green Party Member
http://socialistworker.org/…/the-wrong-message-on-sanders
Dr. Jill Stein is the ticket.
She has a plan for shutting down dozens of wars of choice, including the ongoing brutality in Gaza and the West Bank. It is time we got past the last five angry militant men, and put a brilliant and capable woman (and distinguished physician) in the White House.
Dr. Jill Stein can provide the critical transition from exporting munitions, terror and war… to exporting knowledge, technology and medical and agricultural expertise… along with peace in our time.
Let’s allow her to help heal a nation in distress.
Dr. Jill Stein is endorsed by Noam Chomsky, a linguist, author and activist, and by Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and war correspondent, among others. She is as real as it gets.”
https://thepeaceresource.com/…/why-jill…/
SOCIALISTWORKER.ORG
http://writingresource.blogspot.com/p/please-donate-to-keep-these-resources.html
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Reblogged this on PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS VOICE and commented:
“And Bernie has baggage. He supports a trillion dollar boondoggle, the F-35 fighter/bomber, which cannot even match the performance of the previous bomber costing 80% less. (The definition of profiteering.)
Whether you agree or disagree with the thrust of this article, this statement if definitely true.
“He is also supportive of drone strikes which are known to kill an average of fifty innocents per strike. He condones illegal settlement-building and attacks on Gaza by the IDF. This is beyond the pale.”
Thanks..