Fighting Oligarchy: Sanders Campaign For Vote Blue in 2028

Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

HEO/GED

4-17-25

 

I was out walking the dog a while ago and passed a residence displaying a flag I didn’t recognize. On closer observation I saw the words Fight Oligarchy on it. I Googled the term and I see I can buy a “Fight Oligarchy”, flag which was described as an anti-Trump, or resistance flag for $10.

 

Then I remember watching a couple of clips from Sanders’ rally in Arizona and I see he has a new campaign entitled, “Fight The Oligarchy”.  Oligarchy is one of the terms that liberals like Sanders uses as a substitute for capitalists or capitalism when it comes to describing the system of production in which we live. Plutocrats or plutocracy is another term they often use to avoid the C word. Apparently, this self- described “socialist” fails to recognize that capitalists govern. As for “Our Revolution”, I assume it has entered the history books along with the Dodo.

 

I will give Sanders’ credit as he initially tapped in to the mood for change in US society back in 2016, particularly among the youth; they did not want more of the same and Hilary Clinton was widely despised. Numerous polls revealed that some 36% of Americans supported socialism or socialist policies back then. 

 

At the time, myself and the other co-founder of this blog, Sean O’Torain, figured that Sanders would betray much of his fresh young base and ultimately support the Democratic Party machine and call for a vote for Hillary Clinton which he did. We thought that many of his supporters would turn to the Green Party, the only other party that has significant ballot access.

We were wrong and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) , the left wing of the Democratic Party, or what many people refer to as “progressives” captured many of Sanders’ supporters and saw its membership grow from about 6000 to 70,000 in a matter of months making DSA the largest socialist (in name at least) organization in the US. We then joined DSA. I leave that experience to another time.

Sanders went on to endorse Biden in 2020 and then Kamala Harris in 2024. He is known as the best recruiter for the Democrats. Sanders’ failure to offer an electoral alternative to the Democratic Party, along with his weak stance on Zionism, has cost him and the rest of us.

 

So the Sanders rally in Arizona was part of the national Fighting The Oligarchy Tour starring Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez known as AOC. Cortez first ran for office in 2018 unseating entrenched Democrat Joe Crowley in the Democratic primaries for her district and is one of the leading “progressives” along with Sanders. Like Sanders, AOC has had the opportunity to change the balance of forces electorally and has refused to do so. In my view she has completely gone over and is a bright star in the Democratic Party’s future. 

 

Thousands have attended the rallies which is to be expected as much of Sanders’ reform program is supported among a huge sector of US society. Health care, public services and transportation, housing, climate change, economic inequality, immigrant rights and preserving social security to name a few. In addition, the madness, insecurity and extreme right-wing agenda of the Trump Administration has people scared. 

But appealing for a return to the status quo will not make it.

 

It is heart-warming to see thousands of people at rallies, picket lines, any gathering when the goals are inclusive and are for improvements in living standards and so on. But what are the end goals for Bernie AOC and the Fight Oligarchy Campaign? Well I received this appeal from Sanders yesterday:

 

“Richard, it’s Bernie Sanders.

 

𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒔.

 

At this particular moment in history, despair is not an option. Let us never forget that real change only happens when ordinary people stand up — by the millions — against oppression and injustice.

 

And as I have traveled all across the country, Americans are fighting back, saying loudly and clearly: NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, NO to kleptocracy, NO to massive cuts in programs that working people desperately need, NO to huge tax breaks for the richest people in our country.

 

If we are going to solve the problem of oligarchs’ massive influence over our politics, we MUST elect progressives to Congress who have the guts to take on the billionaire class and the rising far-right. Candidates who are prepared to take on the status quo in our political system.

 

But the Progressive Caucus doesn’t take money from Super PACs or max-out checks from billionaires. Instead, they rely on people like you chipping in $27 at a time.

 

Richard, I am humbly asking: Will you give $27 to the Progressive Caucus today? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cpc-p2p-ga-v-q22025-bernie?refcode=bs-txt-20250416-b2&amount=27&refcode2w=gJscJv

 

Together, we can elect a new generation of progressive leaders to Congress who will fight for working people, not big corporations and the 1%”.

 

So here is Bernie with the same, strategy, limited entirely to the electoral arena. Elect Democrats, the “progressive” ones like him and AOC. As I have pointed out repeatedly; the era of the domination of the two capitalist parties over US society is over. And I wrote in a previous post, “Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults currently agree with the statement that the Republican and Democratic parties do “such a poor job” of representing the American people that “a third major party is needed.”, according to a Gallup poll.

 

Sanders’ misleads people with his comments that people are “fighting back”. They are saying no, but saying no, is not fighting back if it is not accompanied by action; it’s merely expressing discontent. It’s a start, yes, but it will not stop an offensive like that we are facing now. Bernie wants us to say “no” on a ballot slip and elect AOC. 

Millions have opposed the US/Israeli genocide in Gaza and millions opposed the Iraq war but protests alone cannot stop prevent capitalism  heading rapidly toward the abyss.

 

Action would mean an appeal to workers, organized and unnorganized to join him and the campaign in building a movement that can organize strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns; that can encourage and help build self-defence committees in our communities as the militarization of the police and recent events prove very clearly that we need them.  As a socialist he should make it clear that working people can only rely on our own strength our own communities and our own organisations. We cannot look to the courts or the Democratic Party to change the disastrous path the so-called free market is taking us down

 

He can appeal to organized labor’s leadership to get off their asses and join in that campaign and not supress it. Sara Nelson of the Flight Attendants Union has said a General Strike is needed; The Fighting Oligarchy campaign should raise this at its rallies, encourage attendees to support Nelson’s call and help build on it. It is a serious mistake to just make those thousands feel good with the false hope that Democratic Party progressives can bring about health care, affordable housing, improved public education, social services and end to climate change. What sort of socialist ignores workers’ power on the job and our ability to stop the cogs of capitalism from turning?

 

As far as electoral politics goes, Sanders could have led a left split from the Democratic Party and ushered in a left reform alternative years ago; a genuine opposition. Who knows who would have followed him out. Winning is not everything, building sometimes take time. A new formation with already established leaders and a serious base would change the balance of class forces electorally as each election time the two Wall Street parties would have to consider their policies in the light of, “what if they all vote for the opposition”. It will have a huge effect on mass consciousness in the US.

 

I hope that something will arise out of this latest campaign, it’s not always easy to control people when they are called out. But Sanders has had his time and the opportunity to make some real change. He chose instead to maintain then status quo. History won’t be kind to him.