THE REVOLUTION IS NOT OVER

If Hillary Clinton gets the Democratic nomination for the presidency, then Bernie Sanders can stand as a third party candidate to continue his political revolution. Supporting the so-called 'lesser evil' that is Hillary Clinton should not be considered an option, says the Green's Jill Stein.

NOW THAT HE has all but got the Republican candidacy tied up, the United States is appears to be heading toward a showdown between another two representatives of big business, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, to see who next gets to sit in the White House on behalf of the rich and powerful.

That Bernie Sanders campaign for real change should be extinguished like this, not so much with a bang but with Sanders meekly surrendering to Clinton and the Democratic machine, would be a bitter pill to swallow for the millions of Americans who have been galvanised by Sanders campaign and swung in behind his bid for the Democratic nomination.

It would be an especially bitter pill to swallow because Clinton's lead over Sanders in the Democratic primaries is not as convincing as the corporate media likes to suggest.

The lead only lengthens when the votes of the super delegates (leaders and functionaries of the Democratic establishment) are added. They were never going to support Sanders call for a political revolution against the one percent. Their preference has always been the 'safe hands' (as Labour leader Andrew Little recently described her) of the corporate backed Hillary Clinton.

It's also worth noting that, nationally, only 15 percent of eligible Democratic voters participate in the Democratic primaries and it is weighted toward older loyalists of the Democratic status quo.

Sanders has even more reason to complain that the system is rigged against him because most of the polls show he is far more popular than Clinton. Trump was boxing clever when he claimed that race against Sanders would 'be at least as easy and easier' than one against Clinton. The polling figures tell another story. They all show Trump to be significantly more behind Sanders than Clinton.

Jill Stein: The lesser evil paves way to greater evil.

While the corporate commentators will be more than happy to shelve Bernie Sanders as an 'also ran', it doesn't have to end this way. The Clinton camp will be urging Sanders followers to unite behind Hillary Clinton to defeat Trump, but to accept her as the so-called 'lesser evil' opens up the America working class to more years of political and economic domination by the one percent. Incidentally, that is something to bear in mind when the usual suspects begin promoting Labour as the 'lesser evil' to the National Government next year in a bid to win votes.

The Green Party's presidential frontrunner Dr. Jill Stein makes this good point about 'lesser evilism':

“...the lesser evil paves the way and really makes inevitable the greater evil because people stop coming out to vote when they have been betrayed by the lesser evil, which is what lesser evilism is about. It’s about making that deal with the devil whereby the corporate money and powers are basically pulling the political strings.”

There is no reason that Sanders could not run as an independent third party candidate. Sanders has the popular support, the organisation and the financial resources required to run such a campaign. Without any corporate backing, he has raised far more funds than Clinton. In March alone Sanders raised $44 million to Clinton’s $29.5 million.

In an open letter to Sanders, Jill Stein has written:

In this hour of unprecedented crisis - with human rights, civilization, and life on the planet teetering on the brink - can we explore an historic collaboration to keep building the revolution beyond the reach of corporate party clutches, where the movement can take root and flourish, in the 2016 election and beyond?

As the neoliberal Democratic machine mobilizes to quash revolution in its ranks, I urge you to consider opening a window of historic possibility outside the Democratic Party. I would love to explore with you collaborative ways to advance that effort and ensure the revolution for people, planet and peace will prevail. Please let me know if you're interested in talking.

Kshama Sawant with Bernie Sanders.

Will Sanders be interested in talking or will he bail out and allow himself to be embraced in the clutches of a Democratic machine that despises him? Such a move can only lead to demoralisation among his supporters.

Says Seattle City Councillor Kshama Sawant: "To endorse Hillary, even with a more progressive platform, would be the opposite of political revolution and would abandon all the vital energy and momentum we have built over this historic past year."

The viable alternative is to build a progressive working class movement to fight the corporate machinations of both the Republicans and the Democrats. Perhaps its time for a new political party. The political revolution must continue.