Sanders Institute Brings Star Power to Burlington

TAYLOR DOBBS THU, NOV 29, 2018 AT 11:21 PM

Excerpts:

A star-studded crowd joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the Burlington waterfront Thursday night to kick off a three-day conference hosted by the nonprofit Sanders Institute. Though many of the national progressive leaders taking part in the event were prominent supporters of the senator's 2016 presidential campaign, organizers said it was not related to a potential 2020 run.


Dr. Cornel West and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt. | TAYLOR DOBBS

Dr. Cornel West gave a rousing introduction for Sanders and emphasized his dedication to disadvantaged people.

“We’re here to come together in such a way that the moral and spiritual dimension of who we are as human beings can spill over into politics to make this world, this nation, a better place in the face of all the ecological and the economic and the moral and the spiritual and various other kinds of catastrophes with which we must come to terms,” West said to a cheering audience.


Actor Danny Glover, right, is a speaker at the Sanders Institute Gathering. | TAYLOR DOBBS

Sanders’ speech covered a range of his own political priorities, from the plight of children starving in war-torn Yemen to voter suppression efforts in the U.S. He said progressive politicians can and should push “mainstream” media and politicians to focus on issues important to them. He cited the rising popularity of $15 minimum wage and universal health care proposals as successes.

“One of our jobs is to force discussion on issues that are not only right but in fact what the American people want,” he said.

Sanders said that even though Democrats failed to take over the U.S. Senate this month, their newfound majority in the House of Representatives would force Senate Republicans to publicly state their positions on key issues.

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