Run Bernie Run!
Last
summer you said you would not run as a third party candidate if you did not win
the Democratic nomination.
You said, “the reason for that is I do not want to
be responsible for electing some right-wing Republican to be president of the
United States.”
This was before the unexpected and unprecedented success of
your grassroots campaign where you won 22 states and almost half of the
delegates in a primary process that was stacked against you every step of the
way.
We
take you as a man of your word and we certainly don’t want Trump to be
president either. A Trump presidency would be a terrible step backwards for
working people, people of color, immigrants, students, retirees, the LGBTQ
community, the environment, and the entire world, which is why more than ever
we need you to reconsider the situation and make a third party run.
Polls show that Hillary
Clinton, the official Democratic nominee, is an incredibly weak candidate in
the general election. Even after spending $57 million in ads (vs. $4 million by
Trump) she is trailing slightly, and Trump is actually leading in several
important swing states. Frankly, Hillary Clinton does not have the credibility
to take on the dangerous appeal of Donald Trump.
For a
variety of reasons, many justified and some not, people don’t trust her. We are
now faced with two of the most disliked presidential candidates in the history
of the country. Unfortunately, too many people are disillusioned with politics
and the lack of inspiring viable candidates will only hurt voter turnout. If
there was ever an opportunity to break the corporate two party duopoly, this is
it.
So, we respectfully ask you to consider Jill Stein’s offer of a united
Green Party ticket.
A Sanders/Stein campaign would be more popular than Hillary Clinton and
more successful against Trump. If polling shows you in the lead before the
election, we trust that Secretary Clinton would do the right thing and not be a
spoiler.
The
stakes are too high. If Donald Trump wins, all the progressive change we have
fought for will vanish. Secretary Clinton’s recent vice presidential pick makes
us question that she will run the kind of economically populist campaign it
will take to defeat Trump. Furthermore, in light of the platform committee
discussions, it makes us question where she really stands on important issues
such as the TPP, fracking, single payer healthcare, war and military spending,
Israeli occupation of Palestine, financial regulation, and money in politics.
With
your steadfastness and consistency in talking about the issues, you educated us
and inspired a whole generation to get involved in politics. We look forward to
continuing the political revolution and working with your successor organizations, however right now the
country still needs you to run for president.
In Solidarity,
Ace Acosta, Field Organizer (NV)
Rolando Aguirre, Regional Field Director (NV, AZ), Delegate Team (WA)
Betsy Avila, Deputy Digital Outreach (NV)
Rob Byrne, National LGBT Outreach Coordinator
Ricky Cárdenas, Field Organizer (NV, WA), Regional Field Director (CO, CA)
Carol Čizauskas, Field Organizer, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Alicia De Toffoli, National Women’s Outreach Coordinator
Giulianna Di Lauro, National Latino Strategist, Field Director (Puerto Rico)
Benjamin Erkan, Field Organizer (KS, WY, NY, CA)
MacKenzie Ewing, Regional Field Director (IA), Field Director (NE), Constituency Outreach Coordinator (OR), Field Organizer (CA)
Anthony Garcia, Regional Field Director (NV), Deputy Field Director (AK)
Matthew Glasgo, Field Organizer (NV, MN)
Austreberto Hernandez, Field Organizer (NV)
Wesley Irwin, Field Organizer, Chair of the Caucus Advisory Group (WA)
Phillip Kim, Labor Outreach (NV, WA, CA)
Marc Leonard, Field Organizer (NV, UT, CA)
David Lewis, Field Organizer (IA, KS, MO, WY, IN)
Laura Llamas, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Billie McFadden, Field Organizer (NV)
Alonso Montes, Deputy Field Organizer (NV)
Kevin F. Solis, Outreach Coordinator (NV), Field Organizer (WA, CA)
Andee Sunderland, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Caesar Vargas*, National Latino Outreach Deputy Director
Rolando Aguirre, Regional Field Director (NV, AZ), Delegate Team (WA)
Betsy Avila, Deputy Digital Outreach (NV)
Rob Byrne, National LGBT Outreach Coordinator
Ricky Cárdenas, Field Organizer (NV, WA), Regional Field Director (CO, CA)
Carol Čizauskas, Field Organizer, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Alicia De Toffoli, National Women’s Outreach Coordinator
Giulianna Di Lauro, National Latino Strategist, Field Director (Puerto Rico)
Benjamin Erkan, Field Organizer (KS, WY, NY, CA)
MacKenzie Ewing, Regional Field Director (IA), Field Director (NE), Constituency Outreach Coordinator (OR), Field Organizer (CA)
Anthony Garcia, Regional Field Director (NV), Deputy Field Director (AK)
Matthew Glasgo, Field Organizer (NV, MN)
Austreberto Hernandez, Field Organizer (NV)
Wesley Irwin, Field Organizer, Chair of the Caucus Advisory Group (WA)
Phillip Kim, Labor Outreach (NV, WA, CA)
Marc Leonard, Field Organizer (NV, UT, CA)
David Lewis, Field Organizer (IA, KS, MO, WY, IN)
Laura Llamas, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Billie McFadden, Field Organizer (NV)
Alonso Montes, Deputy Field Organizer (NV)
Kevin F. Solis, Outreach Coordinator (NV), Field Organizer (WA, CA)
Andee Sunderland, Outreach Coordinator (NV)
Caesar Vargas*, National Latino Outreach Deputy Director
*current staff