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Bernie Sanders Addresses Supporters: We ‘Won The Ideological Struggle’

   DailyWire.com
Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and former 2020 presidential candidate, pauses while speaking during a livestream event on a laptop computer in this arranged photograph in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Sanders ended his presidential run today after an unbroken string of losses in recent weeks that cemented Joe Biden's all-but insurmountable lead in delegates. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addressed his supporters through a live-stream Wednesday morning after abruptly ending his presidential campaign, clearing the way for former Vice President Joe Biden to snag the 2020 Democratic nomination.

In his speech, Sanders told his followers that they “won the ideological struggle,” and built a lasting movement, regardless of whether they chalked up primary wins.

Sanders began by announced that his team had reconsidered their “narrow path” to the nomination, likely after consulting with Democratic leadership that noted that Sanders both would not reach a plurality of delegates before the August convention and that any “brokered” convention would lean toward a more moderate candidate.

“I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth,” Sanders said. “The path towards victory is virtually impossible.”

Sanders was holding out hope, but his senior advisors became increasingly pessimistic about his chances, according to reports from earlier this week. Even Sanders’ campaign manager was, reportedly, telling the candidate to drop out in order to preserve what sway he might have over any changes in the Democratic party platform.

“While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not,” Sanders said, noting that he believes Biden is a “good man” who will carry on with Sanders’ plans. The Vermont socialist, however, did not officially endorse the the former Veep.

“If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination, I would certainly continue the campaign. But it’s just not there,” Sanders said. “I congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man, who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward.”

Sanders congratulated his supporters for making a “profound impact in changing our nation” and suggested that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic “has exposed for all to see how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is,” leaving the door open for a Medicare-for-All style healthcare plan.

“Together we have transformed the American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become,” Sanders said. “Our movement has won the ideological struggle.”

The Sanders 2020 campaign, he added, was “a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice.”

Those are strong words for a candidate who never quite lived up to expectations. At the start of the 2020 race, Sanders promised to “expand” the electorate, drawing younger voters, more progressive voters, and voters of color into the Democratic “big tent.”

But, after winning a handful of primary victories, Sanders’ numbers belied a difficult truth: the Sanders coalition was smaller in 2020 than it was in 2016, not more expansive. Although Sanders was able to repeat victories in places like Iowa and New Hampshire, he struggled to replay his 2016 success in more meaningful contests, like the all-important Michigan primary.

Later, Sanders’ core supporters would resist expanding their numbers to include any new adherents, revolting against Sanders for embracing non-traditional figures, like controversial radio talk show host Joe Rogan.

Sanders says he will stay on the ballot in upcoming primary states so that he can carry delegates to the August convention “where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform.”

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