Portside

We Are People for Bernie

We are activists and organizers trying to build a broad, effective movement for democratic change. We come from different backgrounds, and were inspired by different issues and fights for peace, rights and the planet. Our goal is a government that carries out the will of the people, and not serve to increase the profits of the 1% at the expense of the rest of us.

To that end we support Bernie Sanders in his bid to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.  We stand firmly behind Senator Sanders as the strongest progressive possibility in the race right now. His commitment to our values is one of long standing commitment. Sanders is the bold alternative.

As a truly progressive candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, Senator Sanders has the chance to inspire millions of Americans with policy proposals that put the interests of the 99%, front and center.

Franklin D. Roosevelt called out the "economic royalists" of his day. Senator Sanders is picking up the banner. He answers to "We the People" and not to the corporate and financial sectors. Bernie brings the kind of leadership that is necessary to building a real, living democracy.

The initiators of this letter are veteran grassroots organizers of Occupy Wall Street, and are joined by many energized brothers and sisters we have met along the way. In September 2011, our efforts changed the narrative of American politics, helping to focus it on the issues of our time: inequality, surrender to the power of concentrated wealth, the corruption of our democracy by moneyed interests, and the need for solutions as radical as our problems.

We are signing as individuals hoping to kickstart a small `d' democratic movement. People For Bernie won't be a corporate-style, staff-driven, controlled-message, top-down enterprise. It will reflect diverse constituencies from a broad range of movements, which in many cases haven't seen the Democratic Party as a home for their deepest aspirations. It will reflect our commitment to fundamental change, not just a change of faces at the top of the political pyramid. People for Bernie it will reflect the urgency of more and fiercer grassroots political activity at the base.

We call on all other progressive forces to unite behind Sanders so we can have a united front in this important campaign.

• Moumita Ahmed
• Phillip Anderson - The Albany Project
• Betsy Avila - Young Democratic Socialists
• Kazembe Balagun - Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
• Brett Banditelli - Occupy Harrisburg
• Beth Becker - Occupy DC / McPherson
• Nadine Bloch - Nonviolence International,(Ruckus Society)
• Joe Brusky - Overpass Light Brigade
• Melissa Byrne - Occupy DC-Mcpherson, Project Springboard
• Isham Christie - OWS
• Heidi Chua - Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
• Mary Clinton - OWS, @occupywallstnyc
• Damien Crisp - OWS, Occupy Sandy, @OccupyWallStNYC
• Kelli Daley - OWS, @occupywallstnyc
• Ethan Earle - Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
• Shana East - Meme Against the Machine, Chuy Garcia Campaign
• Rick Echevarria - Changer
• Michelle Esi - OWS Labor
• Caleb-Michael Files - Sankofa.org
• Kim Fraczek - The Peoples Puppets of Occupy Wall Street
• Amber Frost - Journalist
• Gan Golan - MayDay Space, Movement Net Lab
• Priscilla Grim - OWS Media Cleric
• Lane Hall - Overpass Light Brigade
• Matt Hopard - OWS
• Gabriel Johnson
• Aly Johnson-Kurts - Former staff, Teachout-Wu campaign
• Howie Klein - Publisher, DownwithTyranny.com
• Charles Lenchner - OWS Tech Ops, co-founder, RFW
• Joe Libertelli - Co-Founder, Progressive Democrats of America
• Angela Linneman
• Lisa Moline - Overpass Light Brigade
• Justin Molito - Ready for Bernie
• Larry Moskowitz - Left Labor Project
• Jesse Myerson - Occupy The Ballots
• Ed Ott - Faculty, Murphy Institute/CUNY
• Annabel Park - Filmmaker and founder of the Coffee Party
• Mark Provost - Us Uncut
• Jeff Rae - OWS, Ready for Bernie
• Paul Russell - Occupy Faith, Judson Church
• Audrey Sasson - OWS, 99 Pickets
• Daniel Sieradski - Occupy Judaism
• Andrew Smith - Rockaway Wildfire, OWS
• Zak Solomon - MayDay Space, Rising Tide NYC
• Nadya Stevens
• Bhaskar Sunkara - Jacobin Magazine
• Maria Svart - Democratic Socialists of America
• Diane Sweet - Blogger, OWS, Occupy the Boardroom, Environmentalist
• Robel Tekleab - OWS
• David Unger - Labor Organizer/Educator
• Stan Williams - OWS
• Winnie Wong - OWS, @OccupyWallStreetNYC, Ready for Warren, Artists for Warren
• Ethan Young - Left Labor Project, Portside.org

* organizations listed for identification only

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GRASSROOTS GATHERINGS FOR BERNIE

Click here for links to gatherings in:

99 Grassroots Gatherings for Bernie

Supporters of Bernie Sanders have been waiting a long time for him to enter the race - so they can finally roll up their sleeves and get to work. Presidential campaigns have the potential to draw in many new people into political activity. We'd like to see as many local groups as possible, where citizens from a variety of backgrounds can see who else is eager to get involved.

Learn more about who we are and why we're doing this here.