But the socialist Bernie Sanders’s fierce campaign in the ten months before the national convention of the Democratic Party and the wide support Bernie’s economic and social agenda has created among the young Americans and the women that the Democratic establishment has been forced to adopt an agenda for implementation by the new president which is most progressive in the recent American history. Hillary has been depending on Sanders for projecting an image that she is a changed person and she really means what she is saying. She is promising to take forward President Obama’s agenda and give it further progressive direction in the manner suggested by Bernie Sanders.

The US Communist Party and the followers of Bernie Sanders strongly feel that Donald Trump is the symbol of extremist right wing tendencies in the present US politics and his policies are reflecting the frustration of the white workers of US who are suffering for the neo liberal economic policies of the successive US governments. Donald is taking advantage of that social anger by offering a package which is marked by racism, anti-immigration, anti worker and anti-women perspectives. In the name of his slogan of Making America Great, Donald is pitching to rob America of the values which for long, have been cherished by the American people. He is in fact seeking to take America backward.

John Bachtell, the national chair of the Communist Party of USA explains in his analysis that Trump is a danger to the whole world, not just USA and there are stark differences between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on every issue. While some describe Clinton as a hawk and Trump as a dove, in reality, the US communist leader says, on every issue, Trump poses an immense danger to humanity and nature. According to Bachtell, Trump’s foreign policy approach totally lacks coherence. His advisers are an eclectic collection of right wingers, crooks, and extremists. Some have no foreign policy experience whatsoever, including two advising on Israel and Palestine-Jason Dov Greenblatt, a real estate attorney and David Friedman, a bankruptcy expert.

As against this, the US communists feel that overall Hillary Clinton is likely to continue the broad framework of the Obama foreign policy including his pivot to Asia with emphasis on diplomacy and multilateralism. But Mr. Bachtell points out that Clinton’s history also shows she has been responsive to public pressure, including during primary battle with Bernie Sanders and she will face new realities, both global and domestic including shifts in public opinion. As the CP of USA sees it, any substantive change in domestic and foreign policy begins by blocking Trump from the presidency and breaking the GOP majorities in Congress. The present electoral coalition united behind Clinton will have to continue to fight during the post election period to implement the Democratic Party platform - the most progressive ever - including massive infrastructure projects. But then, it will take a broader intervention of American people, bigger movements and higher levels of mass consciousness and a changed composition of the Congress to dislodge Wall Street and the military industrial complex from their domination of US domestic and foreign policy.

On the same lines, Bernie Sanders is addressing meetings in support of Hillary Clinton urging his young millions of supporters that by electing Hillary and defeating Trump, the first objective of his “Our Revolution“ movement, will be achieved. The movement will have to continue at grass roots level even after the victory of Hillary since the overall goal is to help develop the next generation of progressive political leaders, empower millions to fight for progressive change and elevate the nation’s overall political consciousness. Bernie further said that the real change never takes place from the top to bottom, it always takes place from the bottom on up when millions of people come together and demand fundamental change in the system.

Both Bachtell and Sanders feel that a defeat of the right and especially winning the Senate and House could constitute a political turning point creating new possibilities for advancing the peoples struggle in America. It would create more favourable circumstances to reform the electoral system itself, build the labour movement and broaden and deepen coalitions. Sanders is of firm view that the progressives have to get elected to the Senate and Congress in large numbers to influence the agenda of the Democratic Party and to ensure its implementation by the new President. Over time, Our Revolution will involve hundreds and thousands of people and these are the people who will be fighting at the grassroots level for changes in their local school boards, in their city councils, in their state legislatures and in their representation in Washington.

Bernie wants to carry on the peoples movement with greater force after the election of Hillary since he knows that the Democratic establishment will create problems for the implementation of the economic agenda like US$ 15 an hour minimum wage incorporated in the Democratic programme due to his pressure. This will require constant vigil by the grass roots workers of the Democratic Party who have opted for a change. So what is of crucial importance for the American left is that the voters and the movements have to be engaged in a big way after the presidential elections too. That way the challenge before labor, communities of colour, women, youth and the LGBT community, climate justice and other democratic forces is to continue to build the biggest, broadest and most diverse movement possible to win in 2016 presidential elections and set the stage for a major change in US economy and polity under the new Democratic regime.

For the first time in America, “Left” and “Progressive” are the most adored words among the new generation and even Hillary Clinton during her election meetings, is claiming that she will implement the progressive agenda. From Jesse Jackson to Dennis Kuci-nich to Howard Dean, a galaxy of peoples leaders has participated in Democratic Presidential elections, but like Bernie Sanders, nobody has been able to expose the ills of crony capitalism on US people and the need for an alternative programme for change in favour of 99 per cent of the population and none also got such massive response from the white Americans, both old and young. Bernie has been a phenomenon and that has given a big opportunity to the American Left to make an entry into mainstream US politics with full vigour and high credibility. (IPA Service)