THE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS BERNIE SAID AT THE CONVENTION

Excerpts from Bernie Sanders speech at the Democratic National Convention, 

July 25, 2016

[For those who did not listen to the speech by Senator Sanders, I have excerpted what I think are the key points. Bernie’s speech was spot on, in my humble opinion. He gave credit to the millions of people who voted for him, the thousands who worked for and donated to his campaign, and to those delegates for him present at the convention. Bernie did two major things in his speech: 1) he outlined the basics of the political revolution his campaign started and vowed that it would continue, and 2) he clearly and very strongly endorsed and pledged his support to the campaign of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. 

Below are my excerpts from his speech.

I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process. I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. But to all of our supporters – here and around the country – I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved.

Together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution – Our Revolution – continues. Election days come and go. But the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1 percent – a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice – that struggle continues.

Let me be as clear as I can be. This election is not about, and has never been about, Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump, or Bernie Sanders or any of the other candidates who sought the presidency. This election is not about political gossip. It’s not about polls. It’s not about campaign strategy. It’s not about fundraising. It’s not about all the things the media spends so much time discussing.

This election is about – and must be about – the needs of the American people and the kind of future we create for our children and grandchildren.

[The following list is excerpts from Bernie’s speech. For each of these points, he stated that Hillary Clinton understands and will work towards change.]  

This election is about:

• ending the 40-year decline of our middle class; 
• the reality that 47 million men, women and children live in poverty;
• understanding that if we do not transform our economy, our younger generation will likely have a lower standard of living then their parents;
• ending the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we currently experience;
• remembering where we were 7 1/2 years ago when President Obama came into office after eight years of Republican trickle-down economics;
• not forgetting that as a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, our economy was in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression;
• which candidate understands the real problems facing this country and has offered real solutions – not just bombast, fear-mongering, name-calling and divisiveness;
• overturning Citizens United, one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in the history of our country. That decision allows the wealthiest people in America, like the billionaire Koch brothers, to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying elections and, in the process, undermine American democracy;
• the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country;
• the thousands of young people I have met who have left college deeply in debt, and the many others who cannot afford to go to college;
• climate change, the greatest environmental crisis facing our planet, and the need to leave this world in a way that is healthy and habitable for our kids and future generations; 
• moving the United States toward universal health care and reducing the number of people who are uninsured or under-insured; 
• the leadership we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform and repair a broken criminal justice system;
• making sure that young people in this country are in good schools and at good jobs, not in jail cells; 
• bringing our people together, not dividing us up.

We need leadership in this country which will improve the lives of working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor. We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger – not leadership which insults Latinos, Muslims, women, African-Americans and veterans – and divides us up.

By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that – based on her ideas and her leadership – Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.

It is no secret that Hillary Clinton and I disagree on a number of issues. That’s what this campaign has been about. That’s what democracy is about. But I am happy to tell you that at the Democratic Platform Committee there was a significant coming together between the two campaigns and we produced, by far, the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.

Our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratic Senate, a Democratic House and a Hillary Clinton presidency – and I am going to do everything I can to make that happen.

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