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MoveOn Endorses Sanders Following Record Smashing Membership Vote
Sanders wins advocacy group's official support with most membership votes in its history
Jan 12, 2016
Bernie Sanders has won the presidential endorsement of progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org by the largest margin in its history, the organization announced on Tuesday.
With a record-setting 79 percent of 340,665 votes cast by the group's members, MoveOn Political Action officially endorsed Sanders for president in 2016.
"His refusal to accept the status quo of the wealthiest Americans using their power to influence politicians matters to me. If we're going to push back against the rising oligarchy in our country, we need people like Bernie Sanders representing us in government," said one member, identified as Matt R. from Reston, Virginia.
In fact, according to feedback from voters, the top reason Sanders won their endorsement was his "lifelong commitment to standing up to corporate and 1% interests to fight for an economy where everyone has a fair shot."
Second on the list was his support for initiatives such as police demilitarization and an end to failed policies like mass incarceration and the so-called War on Drugs.
"In a nutshell, he exemplifies the 'We the People' style of democracy I believe in. He has stood by and with the people, supporting women, people of color, LGBTQ, seniors, and the poor against those who look to subjugate these historically oppressed groups for profit," said Natalie R. of Claremont, California.
Other reasons included his opposition to the Iraq war and other U.S. military intervention overseas, as well as what many voters see as his "electability" against the GOP over rivals Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.
MoveOn only endorses candidates following membership votes. "[I]n this case, the outcome of our internal democratic process was overwhelming: the vast majority of voting MoveOn members want the organization to support Bernie, so that's what we're going to do," the group stated in a press release Tuesday. "Bernie's vote total and percentage are MoveOn records--the best any presidential candidate has performed in our 17-year history."
For her part, Clinton received 14 percent of the vote, and O'Malley garnered .9 percent.
MoveOn added, "regardless of who wins the nomination, MoveOn will support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election to keep a Republican out of the White House, because the vast majority of members have made clear that it's what they want MoveOn to do."
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Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Bernie Sanders has won the presidential endorsement of progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org by the largest margin in its history, the organization announced on Tuesday.
With a record-setting 79 percent of 340,665 votes cast by the group's members, MoveOn Political Action officially endorsed Sanders for president in 2016.
"His refusal to accept the status quo of the wealthiest Americans using their power to influence politicians matters to me. If we're going to push back against the rising oligarchy in our country, we need people like Bernie Sanders representing us in government," said one member, identified as Matt R. from Reston, Virginia.
In fact, according to feedback from voters, the top reason Sanders won their endorsement was his "lifelong commitment to standing up to corporate and 1% interests to fight for an economy where everyone has a fair shot."
Second on the list was his support for initiatives such as police demilitarization and an end to failed policies like mass incarceration and the so-called War on Drugs.
"In a nutshell, he exemplifies the 'We the People' style of democracy I believe in. He has stood by and with the people, supporting women, people of color, LGBTQ, seniors, and the poor against those who look to subjugate these historically oppressed groups for profit," said Natalie R. of Claremont, California.
Other reasons included his opposition to the Iraq war and other U.S. military intervention overseas, as well as what many voters see as his "electability" against the GOP over rivals Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.
MoveOn only endorses candidates following membership votes. "[I]n this case, the outcome of our internal democratic process was overwhelming: the vast majority of voting MoveOn members want the organization to support Bernie, so that's what we're going to do," the group stated in a press release Tuesday. "Bernie's vote total and percentage are MoveOn records--the best any presidential candidate has performed in our 17-year history."
For her part, Clinton received 14 percent of the vote, and O'Malley garnered .9 percent.
MoveOn added, "regardless of who wins the nomination, MoveOn will support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election to keep a Republican out of the White House, because the vast majority of members have made clear that it's what they want MoveOn to do."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Bernie Sanders has won the presidential endorsement of progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org by the largest margin in its history, the organization announced on Tuesday.
With a record-setting 79 percent of 340,665 votes cast by the group's members, MoveOn Political Action officially endorsed Sanders for president in 2016.
"His refusal to accept the status quo of the wealthiest Americans using their power to influence politicians matters to me. If we're going to push back against the rising oligarchy in our country, we need people like Bernie Sanders representing us in government," said one member, identified as Matt R. from Reston, Virginia.
In fact, according to feedback from voters, the top reason Sanders won their endorsement was his "lifelong commitment to standing up to corporate and 1% interests to fight for an economy where everyone has a fair shot."
Second on the list was his support for initiatives such as police demilitarization and an end to failed policies like mass incarceration and the so-called War on Drugs.
"In a nutshell, he exemplifies the 'We the People' style of democracy I believe in. He has stood by and with the people, supporting women, people of color, LGBTQ, seniors, and the poor against those who look to subjugate these historically oppressed groups for profit," said Natalie R. of Claremont, California.
Other reasons included his opposition to the Iraq war and other U.S. military intervention overseas, as well as what many voters see as his "electability" against the GOP over rivals Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley.
MoveOn only endorses candidates following membership votes. "[I]n this case, the outcome of our internal democratic process was overwhelming: the vast majority of voting MoveOn members want the organization to support Bernie, so that's what we're going to do," the group stated in a press release Tuesday. "Bernie's vote total and percentage are MoveOn records--the best any presidential candidate has performed in our 17-year history."
For her part, Clinton received 14 percent of the vote, and O'Malley garnered .9 percent.
MoveOn added, "regardless of who wins the nomination, MoveOn will support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election to keep a Republican out of the White House, because the vast majority of members have made clear that it's what they want MoveOn to do."
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