Our struggle over the Democratic Party platform is about making clear that we intend to create an economy that works for all of us, and not just the wealthy and powerful.
Now, we’ve made some great progress to include a number of very important initiatives that we have been fighting to achieve during this campaign. Major accomplishments that will begin to move this country in the right direction like breaking up huge financial institutions and enacting a 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, a historic expansion of Social Security, taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical companies, banning private prisons, eliminating super PACs, and moving to public financing of elections, and more.
But more needs to be done. And the most important issue is to make it clear that we must defeat the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership.
So I want you to mark July 8 on your calendar – that is the next meeting of the Democratic Platform Committee in Orlando, Florida. Between now and then, our job is to do everything we can to rally support for an amendment to the platform in strong opposition to the TPP.
And I believe that if we all make our voices heard between now and then, we can win this fight:
Let me be clear: this is not about embarrassing anyone. This is about preventing the outsourcing of jobs, protecting the environment, stopping pharmaceutical companies from increasing the price of prescription drugs, preserving our democracy, and respecting human rights.
This is about you and millions of other people making our voices heard that we need to create a Democratic Party which fights for working families and not wealthy campaign contributors.
If we succeed, we will be in a very strong position to stop a vote on the TPP and to fundamentally rewrite our trade agreements to end the race to the bottom and lift up the living standards of people in this country and throughout the world.
That is the work of our political revolution, and you are the revolutionaries. And I believe that if we continue to stand together and fight for the values we share, we will transform the Democratic Party.
But that starts with bringing the entire party together and speaking with one voice in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
It is imperative that this platform be not only the most progressive in the history of the Democratic Party, but that it includes a set of policies that will be fought for and implemented by Democratic elected officials.
I am going to do everything I can to rally support in Orlando for our amendment opposing the TPP. But I want to be clear that if we fail there we are going to take this fight to the floor of the Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia next month.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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