What’s Next: Building the Revolution after the Democratic Convention

Reclaim Chicago enthusiastically endorsed Bernie Sanders, and our members volunteered thousands of hours to talk to voters about our shared vision for America. Our enthusiasm was grounded in the fact that Sanders’ shares much of our analysis about and many of our solutions for the root causes of our nation’s deep-rooted economic, racial and gender inequality. Sanders’ decades of organizing, activism and legislative fights gave us – and 13 million additional voters – confidence that he would keep fighting for those priorities as president.

Sanders’ campaign advanced the progressive movement by leaps and bounds. He inspired a diverse group people who had never been active in politics or who had long since given up hope that their voices mattered to give precious time and money to his campaign. Millions of working class, immigrants, communities of color, young people and long time progressive and independent voters were united by his vision for a more equal America.

Bernie Sanders didn’t sugar coat the issues, and he didn’t promise to be our savior. He was honest about the dire moment, and the mass movement we’d need to create change. But Bernie dared us to demand more. He inspired millions to dream about a green jobs program to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, universal health care and free college education. For a moment, millions of people had hope that a real champion of the issues affecting our daily lives would be on the ballot. When that hope was gone, many people naturally felt angry, sad and profoundly disappointed.

Although Reclaim Chicago leaders are also deeply disappointed that Sanders won’t be on the ballot, Reclaim Chicago fully and fundamentally rejects Donald Trump. We reject Trump’s politics of fear, and we reject Trump’s racism, sexism and xenophobia. But rather than canvassing for Clinton as a “lesser of two evils” candidate in a safely blue state, Reclaim Chicago’s members will spend the fall building on the momentum of Sanders’ campaign from a place of hope, not fear. We invite you to join us as we:

  1. Recruit and train progressive candidates to run for local offices, including Evanston in 2017, Cook County in 2018 and Chicago in 2019;
  2. Organize to win the Chicago Fair Elections Ordinance to get big money out of local politics; and
  3. Talk to voters on the doors and the phones about other vital issues that challenge corporate power and put political power back in the hands of people.

Bernie Sanders’ call for each of us to take responsibility for creating a political revolution, starting at the local level, might have been the most important message of his campaign. Sanders boldly proclaimed that without such a political revolution, the impact of his presidency would have been very small. Reclaim Chicago shares that belief wholeheartedly. It’s the foundation of all our work, and we welcome everyone who shares that vision to collaborate with us in making it a reality.

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