Dear Friend,
You haven’t heard from me for several days, as I had to process what it meant for me that we had disappointing results in New Hampshire. This moment is a fork in the road, as I’ve had to decide whether now is the time for a dignified exit or continue on our campaign journey.
It has not been an easy decision. But one thing has stuck with me and overshadowed my thinking: If I were to leave now, I could go back to my life and I would be absolutely okay. But who would not be okay are the countless people who have come up to me at events and written to me over the last 5 days, who have seen in this campaign the hope that perhaps their chronic economic burdens and unearned suffering could be relieved.
They still do not have health care, they still hold huge college debt, they still have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet, and they still live with the constant fear of an environmental disaster. There would be no candidate left to discuss A Department of Peace, or a Department of Children and Youth, or the housing emergency, or ending the War on Drugs.
Therefore, I have decided to continue. We are not going to do what the establishment expects or demands of us. I have seen how our system works, and I will not just walk away. Money is used to squash people and that is wrong. The fact that that was done to me is inconsequential — but for far too many others, it is not inconsequential at all. For them - and with them - I dedicate the next phase of my campaign to smashing the machine that would mute my voice, and by extension, theirs.
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Thank you so much for supporting me in the next phase of things. I promise we will rock it.
With true love and affection, |