Jeff Weaver - How Bernie Won: Inside the Revolution That’s Taking Back Our Country--and Where We Go from Here

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This book is dedicated to the staff and volunteers of the campaign. They were the heart and soul of the Revolution and I was honored to work for them.

T HERE ARE MANY PEOPLE who deserve thanks for their support during my time as the campaign manager of Bernie 2016. First and foremost is my family. A campaign affects not only those working on it but those around them. In many ways, more so. Barbara, Sydney, Paul, and Will, your love and unwavering support through this journey made it possible. Thanks also to the many friends who pitched in to help my family during the campaign, especially the Tomans.

I also want to express my appreciation to the staff (Greg, Gareth, Sam, and the rest of the crew) and the customers of Victory Comics. You made sure that Virginias Comic and Gaming Superstore kept going strong during my absence. My friend Al Stoltz and his family as always had my back, as well.

To all the Bernie 2016 staffers who fought against incredible odds to move our country forward, you have my undying gratitude. Although we came up a little short of the nomination, your work has changed politics. In that very real sense, we did win in 2016. I know each of you will take the skills you learned into future progressive campaigns. A special thanks to the headquarters staff I worked with most closelyand to each of our state directors and their staff, who deserve much of the credit for our success, as do the advance staffers who made sure we pulled off Bernies packed event schedule. I also have to mention our constituency outreach teams. Despite the false narratives, your work ensured that the political revolution became the multiracial coalition our country desperately needs.

Thanks to our consultants and vendors, especially Devine, Mulvey, Longabaugh; Tulchin Research; HaystaqDNA; Revolution Messaging; our researcher Edward Chapman; Solidarity Strategies and our trio of mail vendors. Each of you brought invaluable expertise and gave Bernie 2016 the modern campaigning tools that most progressive campaigns never have access to.

The individuals and organizations who endorsed Bernies run faced incredible pressure to stay out of the race or to support Secretary Clinton. Thank you for your courageous stand.

Bernie 2016 was ultimately successful due to the hard work of hundreds of thousands of volunteers and the generosity of millions of small donors. All those phone calls, door knocks, and $27 contributions made the impossible possible. Your commitment to Bernie 2016 was inspiring then and continues to be. I want to give a nod to those who supported me personally with words of encouragement, defense on social media, and even by wearing blue superhero capes at the convention.

Millions of people across the country voted for Bernie (and many more wanted to vote but were disenfranchised by closed primaries, improper voting roll purges, and outright voter suppression). Despite the establishment and media narrative about the futility of our fight for progressive change, you expressed your support in the most American way possibleat the ballot box. The impact your votes have had on the politics of our country is a testament to why it is so important to protect the right of every American to vote.

This book would not have been possible without the support of my agent Ron Goldfarb and the dedication and incredible patience of Tom Dunne and all the folks at St. Martins Press/Thomas Dunne Books. I appreciate your recognition of the lasting significance of Bernie 2016 and your willingness to give readers a glimpse behind the scenes of our campaign.

Finally, I want to thank Bernie and Jane Sanders. Together they have dedicated their lives to creating a more just and equitable world. They have never lost sight of what is importantimproving the lives of everyday people in every community. For allowing me to do my small part in this continuing fight, I am forever grateful.

T HIS BOOK IS A CHRONICLE of Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign for president of the United States. It is an attempt to give the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of this historic endeavor.

I have tried to be true to events as they occurred, but this account is admittedly written from my own perspective. I have worked for most of my adult life with Bernie Sanders in his effort to create a more just and equitable society. He inspired me as a young man of twenty, and he continues to do so to this day. I hope the reader comes away with an appreciation for why I consider him one of the great modern American political figures and why I am honored to have been his lieutenant in this most recent fight.

The number of people who are responsible for the success of the political revolution Bernie gave voice to is huge. At the peak of the campaign we had some 1,200 staff and canvassers. Hundreds of thousands of people knocked on countless doors, made phone calls, or otherwise volunteered. Even a book this size cannot capture every important detail of how we took on the entire establishment, almost won the Democratic nomination, and changed modern American politics for the foreseeable future. I apologize in advance for those whose important contributions do not get the recognition here that they deserve.

As with any campaign this size, we had our share of personality conflicts and personal disagreements. Except to the extent they are important to the story line, I have omitted them. I am pleased to have served with each and every person on the campaign, and I have no ax to grind with any of them, here or elsewhere. I wish every one of them well and hope they all continue to push the political revolution forward in their own way, even if we choose not to exchange holiday greeting cards. That being said, I have included accounts of some internal policy disagreements because it is important to understand what was going on at critical moments.

In addition, I have spent a lot of time in a very intense environment with many people. I hold many confidences from people on our own team, from folks in the media, and even from Clinton-world. I have no interest in gratuitously embarrassing anyone; I have no interest in airing anyones personal matters; and I have taken my responsibility as a keeper of trust in the writing of this book seriously. I have at times, because a fact is important to the story, attributed comments to an unnamed source, the way reporters use information on background. If you dont blush when you read them, no one will know you were the source. I have tried, however, to limit the use of unattributed material. A book based almost entirely on such sources does a great disservice to its readers and its subject. Without the source, it is not possible to weigh the credibility of what is recounted; nor is it possible to make judgments about whether a recollection is just a self-serving narrative meant to advance the sources or the writers personal or political agenda.