THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

Bernie Sanders is right not to bend his knee and submit to 'Queen Hillary'.

THE RUSH BY THE Democratic Party establishment and its corporate allies to anoint Hillary Roddam Clinton as its presidential candidate was highlighted by the Associated Press declaring her the winner the day before voting took place in six primaries on Tuesday.

The rush to declare Clinton the victor was based on an Associated Press survey of superdelegates who have remained anonymous. That this secret survey was entirely dubious was of no concern to the corporate media. CNN was quick to announce Clinton as the 'presumptive nominee' while the AP's story was published mostly verbatim throughout the world. On BBC World, whose coverage of Bernie Sanders has been appalling, I actually heard a BBC journalist announce that Clinton had been 'crowned'. Now its Queen Hillary from the House of Clinton.

Some in the media though  were less than impressed by the AP's  announcement. Al Seib of the Los Angeles Times, for example,  described it as an 'election day slap in the face for Californians".

The fact that the Democratic Party candidate will be decided at its convention in a month or so is a something that continues to be downplayed by the Clinton camp and the media. The Democratic establishment don't want a contested convention and a show from strength from the Sandernistas. That just might highlight that the undemocratic machinery of the superdelegates, composed mainly of party functionaries and campaign donors, have protected and propelled Clinton forward- and fended off the Sanders challenge.

But despite enormous pressure on Sanders from the Democratic establishment to concede to Clinton he has refused to do so. The sense of disappointment in the CNN studios on Tuesday was palpable when Sanders announced, to a cheering crowd, that 'the struggle continued'.

 He told the crowd: “... we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania”. Philadelphia is the venue for the convention.

Sanders is intent on taking the battle to the floor of the convention, and he'll have the backing of his many supporters. That won't please the Clinton camp who want to display a facade of unity. Sanders owes them no favours.

Tom Dickinson of Rolling Stone puts it this way: “Clinton is asking Sanders to opt out of a nationally televised airing of the disagreements that have been the driving force of his candidacy—a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party that Sanders has loudly insisted he wants to see play out in Philadelphia...“Sanders won’t - and possibly can’t - muzzle his movement”:

So Hillary Clinton's victory may be confirmed but the battle for the Democratic Party is far from over. It is wishful thinking for the Clinton camp to think that the supporters of Sanders are going to meekly fall in behind a presidential candidate who represents the Washington establishment and 'politics as usual'.

Cornel West : Speaking at The People's Summit, June17-19

While the corporate media - and some so-called 'progressives' - have been going ga ga over Clinton's so-called nomination as an 'historic moment' because she happens to be female, she is little more than the symbol of a Democratic establishment woefully out of touch with the people it claims to represent.

Clinton's jibe at Donald Trump that 'America is already great' might have got a big cheer from her supporters but it blithely ignores the fact that for millions of struggling Americans, America is anything but great. People, especially the young who have flocked to the Sanders campaign, want real substantive change.

As Socialist Alternative's Kshama Sawant says: “America is angry at the corporate domination of politics. America is disgusted with the U.S. Congress and the two-party establishment. America wants social change that will have a transformative impact on people’s lives and the environment.”'.

So it is important that the movement began by Bernie Sanders continues to build and expand beyond this one presidential campaign. That is why events like The People's Summit later this month are important. Thousands of activists are expected to attend to hear speakers such as Naomi Klein and Cornel West. Bernie Sanders has also been invited to speak.

National Nurses United executive director RoseAnn DeMoro says that the Summit is a "declaration of independence from establishment politics that'll address the current rupture in the political fabric of this country." DeMoro was blocked by the Clinton camp from sitting on the on the Democratic Party committee that will draft the party's policy platform.

Bernie Sanders is right - the struggle continues.