Still in the race, Sanders says he will work with Clinton to transform party
Published June 17, 2016
(JTA) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said that he will work with Hillary Clinton to transform the Democratic Party, and the he would ensure the defeat of Republican Donald Trump.
In an address to his supporters Thursday, Sanders said that the major task they face is to “make certain” Trump is defeated. The Vermont senator, who is Jewish, said he plans to begin his role in that process “in a very short period of time.” Sanders, a socialist, added that his “political revolution” must continue, the Associated Press reported.
“But defeating Donald Trump cannot be our only goal. We must continue our grassroots efforts to create the America that we know we can become,” Sanders said, pointing to his 1,900 delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next month.
Sanders spoke from his Vermont hometown, Burlington, a week after Clinton secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to become the presumptive nominee. He did not concede the race, nor did he refer to Clinton as the likely nominee, instead offering a lengthy list of policy proposals he hopes to see approved by the party.
The two rivals met Tuesday night at a Washington, D.C., hotel to discuss policy goals and future plans. Sanders said that while it is “no secret” that he and Clinton have “strong disagreements on some very important issues,” it was “also true that our views are quite close on others.”
He said he looked forward to additional talks between the two campaigns to ensure that his supporters’ voices are heard and the convention adopts “the most progressive platform” in the party’s history.
Sanders said he anticipated working with Clinton “to transform the Democratic Party so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors.”
Looking ahead to the convention, Sanders said the party must support a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, pay equity for women, a ban on the sale and distribution of assault weapons and a defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Sanders thanked his supporters for providing more than $200 million in donations, most in increments of $27, and rattled off what they had accomplished: 1.5 million people who attended his rallies and town meetings and more than 75 million phone calls from volunteers “urging their fellow citizens into action.”
“We have begun the long and arduous process of transforming America, a fight that will continue tomorrow, next week, next year and into the future,” he said.
