Bernie Sanders to Campaign for Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders was able to get the things he wanted in Orlando over the weekend – a platform stamped section after section with his progressive values.

At the same time, Hillary Clinton also got what she was looking for – a pathway to entice supporters of Sanders to support her campaign a week prior to the Democratic National Convention to be held in Philadelphia.

Marathon negotiations held over two days that included deals on such issues as energy, healthcare, minimum wage, helped get the final draft approved by the platform committee of the party early Sunday.

Clinton has embraced the call by Sanders for a federal minimum wage of $15 with Sanders conceding that the rate would be phased in over a period of time.

Clinton’s campaign also announced support for the public option, which is an alternative operated by the government to private health insurance. That decision brought her much closer to Sanders when it comes to healthcare.

This resulted in Sanders being sufficiently pleased with the party platform that he committed to a joint event in New Hampshire on Tuesday and is now prepared to give her his endorsement.

The meeting over the weekend might be the last hurdle Clinton needed to clear in order to consolidate support from Democrats in her campaign that has seen Sanders attract millions to vote for him with his populist platform.

A statement by Sanders said the two had made great strides and much of that was due to millions across the nation who became involved. He called today’s Democratic Party platform the most progressive in the party’s history.

He added that the country needed to elect both a Democratic president and Congress and to make certain that the Democratic platform language is translated into U.S. law.

Clinton’s campaign said it was proud of the work the Democrats did while in Orlando and for joining together to strengthen further the progressive platform.

One top policy advisor for Sanders said that the Sanders camp got over 80% of what it wanted on the platform and downplayed the idea of major clashes during the convention calling the new platform a victory, which reflects the influence of Sanders on the party.

Another supporter of Sanders, former head of the NAACP Ben Jealous gave a nod to Clinton on Saturday night by saying let’s put a president in the White House that can deliver the platform and make sure she does it.