Bernie Sanders & The People's Summit Highlight Progressives' Future Agenda

By aaroncynic in News on Jun 12, 2017 6:34PM

Thousands of progressives and other activists spent their weekend at McCormick Place for one of the nation’s largest conferences of those seeking to network and organize with left-leaning movements.

The three day long “People’s Summit” featured workshops, teach-ins, trainings, lectures and speeches from a host of progressive activists, organizers and others seeking to build and sustain a movement in the face of both an emboldened right wing and traditional centrist and neoliberal Democrats, who critics say have abandoned or sidelined the ideals of the left.

“We are corporate free, fat cat free, and lobbyist free,” said author and columnist Jim Hightower, who spoke on Friday at the summit’s opening reception. “It's not enough to be progressive anymore—we also gotta be aggressive.”

The summit featured sessions and speeches covering many issues progressives and others have long fought and tried to propel to the national stage, from combatting income inequality and big/dark money in elections to the media’s role in movements, organizing in local elections, and environmental justice.

"I'm an indigenous environmental organizer from the so-called land of Minnesota,” Dallas Goldtooth, who spoke on the protests at Standing Rock surroudning the Dakota Access Pipeline told the crowd on Friday night. "What did we learn in Standing Rock? When you let indigenous people lead, tremendous action will happen...we are our ancestors' wildest dreams. Let's live up to that.”

Delivering the keynote address on Saturday night, Vermont Senator and former Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders criticized both establishment Democrats and President Donald Trump.

“Trump didn’t win the election, the Democrats lost the election,” Sanders told a packed house who cheered and gave him many standing ovations. “The Democratic party must finally understand what side it is on.”

The firebrand politician had harsh words for the President as well. "Today in the White House we have perhaps the most dangerous president in U.S. history...the degree which he tells lies is unprecedented for an American president.”

In addition to Trump, Sanders also called out Illinois’ Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, urging him to sign a bill championed by state legislators for a $15 an hour minimum wage. "I understand in Illinois there's a bill for $15 minimum wage. Governor Rauner, sign that bill.”

The Vermont Senator ended the evening with a short question and answer session, and also told his supporters to look beyond him in their fight to bring their issues to the forefront.

“It’s not about Bernie. It’s about you,” he said. “We are in this together. We always have been and always will be.”