Early winter hits Sanders revolution

At the heart of the controversy is OR’s legal status that allows it to accept unlimited amounts of money from undisclosed sources.

A little girl wearing a Bernie Sanders during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in late July.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton, will address his supporters in 2,600 locations through live-streaming on Wednesday night outlining the future of the movement he built, now named ‘Our Revolution’, or OR.

But the spring revolution has been hit by an early winter of discontent within, as eight of the 13 senior members of the new movement resigned over questions of leadership and the structure of OR.

At the heart of the controversy is OR’s legal status that allows it to accept unlimited amounts of money from undisclosed sources. According to critics, this goes against the core principle of the Sanders campaign. Moreover, OR will be barred from coordinating its activities with the candidates that it seeks to promote. In effect, its mode of operation will be similar to Super Political Action Committees (PACs) that funnel big money into politics.

Influence of big money

Overall, the Sanders movement will move away from being a grassroots one to a platform that will raise money from big donors and run TV ads for and against chosen candidates, alleged the staffers who quit. Jeff Weaver, who was the manager of the Sanders campaign, will lead OR too, a move that others on the staff resisted unsuccessfully. Dissenters accuse him of wasting campaign funds on TV ads.

Mr. Sanders has not responded to the charges. He is, however, pressing ahead with the initiative to turn his supporters into agents of change. Mobilising support for Congressional candidates who will oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and who support raising the minimum wage will be immediate priorities of OR.