Bernie Sanders should launch a third party

And if he won't, he should let the left move on without him.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gage Skidmore. Licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, in an email sent out this morning, writes:

Will the Democratic leadership learn the lessons of their defeat and create a party that stands with the working class and is prepared to take on hte enormously powerful special interests that dominate our economy, our media and our political life? Highly unlikely. They are much too wedded to the billionaires and corporate interests that fund their campaigns. Given that reality, where do we go from here?

It is time for Bernie to start a third party. He is uniquely positioned to do so, and at this stage in his career it is by far the most impactful decision he could make. Bernie has a claim to leadership that no one else has, and he can leverage this to recruit millions of Americans to his party. He can also leverage it to organize the party in a way that avoids the mistakes and shortcomings of other third parties. This will not happen without someone to build around. Bernie can be the foundation.