Sanders lays out demands in op-ed

Bernie Sanders laid out his vision for the U.S. in a Washington Post op-ed published early Thursday, calling for major progressive reforms across the board.

{mosads}“As we head toward the Democratic National Convention, I often hear the question, ‘What does Bernie want?’ ” Sanders wrote. “Wrong question. The right question is what the 12 million Americans who voted for a political revolution want.

“And the answer is: They want real change in this country, they want it now and they are prepared to take on the political cowardice and powerful special interests which have prevented that change from happening,” he continued.

The Vermont senator’s chances at securing the Democratic presidential nomination have been all but eliminated, and he has admitted that he is no longer courting superdelegates — who hold his only real chance of winning. Sanders has not dropped out of the race, though. He’s hoping to use his leverage as a candidate to bring the party more in line with his progressive vision, which he laid out in the op-ed Thursday.

He called for economic reforms that do more to help the needy, campaign finance reform, an end to mass incarceration and stiffer environmental regulations to combat climate change.

“What do we want?” Sanders wrote. “We want to end the rapid movement that we are currently experiencing toward oligarchic control of our economic and political life. As Lincoln put it at Gettysburg, we want a government of the people, by the people and for the people. That is what we want, and that is what we will continue fighting for.”