Bernie wants to bust the Democratic Party’s corporate wing

Donald J. Trump has been selected as the next President of the United States, leaving many Americans feeling concerned and uncertain about the future of this country. The Democratic Party conceded more than just the presidency last week however, as they also face majority opposition in the Senate and failed to regain the House from Republican control.

In the face of such an upsetting upheaval it is clear that the Democrats will need to dramatically reconfigure their leadership to better reflect the concerns of the American people. The party has lost much of its white working class base to the message of anger and frustration voiced by Republicans, but it is unclear how a Trump administration will deliver on those campaign promises. Trump has promised to unravel the Affordable Care Act, which will most likely increase the amount of uninsured Americans by the millions. He has promised to be tough on trade, which could drive up the cost of products, and to restructure the tax code in favor of the wealthy.

So who will pick up the pieces while the dust settles from the political implosion of the left?

The voice of Bernie Sanders has emerged yet again to offer a vision of new Democratic Party leadership and his plans for continuing the political revolution he began. In a recent New York Times op-ed, Bernie described how he plans to continue fighting for the working class:

“When my presidential campaign came to an end, I pledged to my supporters that the political revolution would continue. And now, more than ever, that must happen.”

One indicator that Democrats need to embrace the populist message, favored by blue collar workers, from politicians like Bernie Sanders is the loss last Tuesday in historically Democratic states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The Vermont Senator believes changing the party begins with cutting corporate strings. Elizabeth Warren, a prominent progressive Senator from Massachusetts, has also voiced an agenda for moving forward and strengthening the Democratic Party to fight for progressive values and regain lost ground in the upcoming 2018 mid-term elections. Clinton’s loss signaled that Democrats have essentially hit rock bottom, and now progressives like Sanders and Warren are staging a political intervention.

Keith Ellison, a Democratic representative from Minnesota and a rising star within the Democratic party, is running to become the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. As the first Muslim-American elected to Congress, and an energetic and outspoken champion of progressive causes, Ellison has already been endorsed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who are figureheads of a large progressive wing within the left. As DNC Chair, Ellison would be a powerful proponent for Muslim-Americans and other minorities who feel threatened by a Trump presidency.

If a silver lining can be salvaged from the damage done last week, it is the surge of anti-establishment sentiments and the potential for disrupting the status quo of a political system perceived by many to be corporatist. In the weeks to come the Democratic party will be drafting a new strategy for the future, and hopefully it will favor the working class and liberals who were unenthusiastic and unmotivated by Hillary Clinton.