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Marylanders Supporting Sanders Issue Statement Making Their Case

When the presidential campaign of South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg wanted to show signs of strength in Maryland the other day, it released a list of prominent Free State supporters.

By contrast, the leaders of the Maryland campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has just released a policy manifesto and 1,700-word pitch for their candidate.

“With the climate crisis, the emboldening of racism and misogyny, runaway capitalism and wealth inequality, and an economic disaster worse than the Great Recession looming upon us, we need a candidate with concrete policy vision, a movement of energized grassroots support, and inspiration to defeat the current president and his cruel policy agenda,” the Maryland for Bernie Sanders news release begins.

“However, we seek to go beyond simply expelling the current Administration from the White House. We must also inspire a nationwide movement to support activism and unionization and elect democratic socialists and progressive Democrats to local, state, and national office so we can transform our economy and democracy with our mass movement. Most importantly, we must undo the legacy of capitalism, neoliberalism, and systemic oppression within the United States and imperialism abroad.

“The only candidate with the record, support, and moral compass to accomplish these goals as President of the United States is Bernie Sanders.”

OK.

The Marylanders laid out these arguments:

— Sanders is the most ideologically consistent of the Democratic White House contenders. “Bernie has stayed true to his message of justice across a lifetime of public service,” they wrote.

— Sanders is the “movement” candidate, they note, pointing to his support from young national progressive leaders like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and progressive Maryland activists and organizations who “will build youth engagement and support, bolstering progressive politics across the country for the coming generations.”

— Sanders is the most electable, they said, pointing to national polls and fundraising data from all 50 states.

— Sanders is the only candidate with a “transformative agenda.”

— Sanders is the “anti-corruption candidate,” who has never relied on high-dollar political donations in his long political career.

— Sanders is the candidate “who gets results,” they wrote, pointing to his ability to drive the national conversation on issues like a $15 an hour minimum wage. “In just 4 years, our movement has fundamentally shifted the mainstream Democratic Party towards the people and away from the corporate and transactional politics of bygone years.”

— Sanders has momentum. “There is no candidate with more progressive foreign and domestic policy, more trusted, more consistent, more honest, more energizing, more inspiring to the masses of working Americans, or better positioned to win the general election,” the Maryland supporters wrote.

The campaign promises to issue a full list of Maryland endorsements soon. The statement was signed by more than two dozen progressive activists from across the state. Keanuu Smith-Brown, an aide to state Del. Alice Cain (D-Anne Arundel), is listed as the state coordinator.

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Marylanders Supporting Sanders Issue Statement Making Their Case