Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential bid in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday morning, becoming the first sitting U.S. senator to back Sanders.
“After considering the biggest challenges facing our nation and the future I want for my children and our country, I have decided to become the first member of the Senate to support my colleague Bernie Sanders for president,” Merkley wrote in the op-ed.
The Oregon senator said that the “economy, both by accident and design, has become rigged to make a fortunate few very well off while leaving most Americans struggling to keep up.” He praised Hillary Clinton, but said that Sanders is “boldly and fiercely addressing the biggest challenges facing our country.”
“It has been noted that Bernie has an uphill battle ahead of him to win the Democratic nomination. But his leadership on these issues and his willingness to fearlessly stand up to the powers that be have galvanized a grass-roots movement,” he wrote. “People know that we don’t just need better policies, we need a wholesale rethinking of how our economy and our politics work, and for whom they work.”
YES!!! This is what I’ve been waiting for! Now that Sen. Jeff Merkley has made his decision, I’ll finally be able decide who to vote for!!! Thank you Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon for your brave decision, made so early in the process, which will have such a huge impact on who Democrats in NY, PA, and NJ will vote for!!!
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Huh. This is weird… wait… ah, I see my problem now. I forgot to hit this button… /snark mode off
Aaaah, much better now.
As ever, the exception proves the rule: Nearly all Democrats in the Senate support their former colleague, a Democrat running for President.
Merkley is, well, Merkley – and I trust he will enthusiastically support Clinton in November, despite his deviation from his fellow Democratic senators now!
Not entirely sure what Merkley’s play is here. He has to have some idea that Bernie is not going to be the nominee, so why risk alienating the future nominee? There must be something else…
Merkley is a jerkley. I never liked that guy. He’s doing this for the sole purpose of getting a headline on TPM.
Principle?