In my latest interview, I spoke with Nick Braña, who served as the National Outreach Coordinator for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and is the founder of the Movement for a People's Party, a group of former Bernie supporters, progressive independents, and disenchanted Democrats who believe a new party is needed.
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Nick and I talk about the latest rule approved by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee that would establish a new "loyalty oath" for presidential candidates seeking the party's nomination. The rule requires any candidate seeking the nomination to “affirmatively demonstrate that they are faithful to the interests, welfare, and success of the Democratic Party of the United States.”
In other words, candidates who might have views that run contrary to the party platform or think there needs to be changes to how the party operates would not be allowed to run in 2020. Rather than open their tent to candidates like Bernie Sanders and other candidates who may not always toe the party line, their double downing on the "party loyalty before voters" policies of the past.
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Nick and I also talk about the role Bernie Sanders played in the party's decision to even consider such a rule change, as Sanders didn't challenge the party after it marginalized his campaign and disenfranchised millions of voters.
"You cannot move forward without addressing those things that caused the primaries to be stacked in the first place," Nick says.
Listen to the full podcast above. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Noah Mascarin / shutterstock.com
