Bernie Gets Clinton, Dems To Endorse Public Option And $15 Minimum Wage

You really have to hand it to Bernie Sanders. He ran a great campaign against a Clinton juggernaut that no other big name Democrat was willing to take on. He rallied the progressive wing of the party and a lot of young voters to his cause. And he really played hardball with Clinton and the Democratic establishment even after Clinton had clearly won the nomination, using every ounce of his leverage right up until the end. And he’s gotten results.  Last week, Clinton basically adopted his plan for free college tuition. And over the weekend, he also got two huge concessions from the Clinton camp. First, he got the Democratic platform to adopt his proposal for the $15 minimum wage. On Saturday, he also got Clinton to endorse the “public option” within Obamacare and to allow people to enroll in Medicare at age 55.  This is a huge win that will help millions of Americans if it becomes law and set us on the path to a real national health care system like every other industrialized country. Sanders was not able to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership from being adopted in the Democratic party platform, but that was mainly a concession to the Obama administration – both Sanders and Clinton oppose the treaty.

Sanders took a lot of abuse from mainstream Democrats for not getting behind Clinton as soon as it was clear that he had lost the nomination. But he hung tough and fought for hard the positions that he had run on. And he succeeded in making Clinton and the Democratic party move significantly in his direction. Tomorrow, he will endorse Clinton and hopefully bring his dedicated voters with him in a united effort to defeat Trump. Because of his campaign, Clinton is a better candidate and the Democratic party is far more progressive. Thank you, Bernie!