WASHINGTON _ Bernie's Sanders' abrupt exit from the presidential race is a moment of deep disappointment for the progressive movement, which only two months ago began to truly believe that the democratic socialist from Vermont could win the Democratic nomination and radically alter the party's political direction.
But even on a day of mourning, many liberal leaders say they remain steadfastly optimistic about the future.
The failure of Sanders' campaign, they say, belies a movement that has made great progress in recent years and is poised to seize further control of the Democratic Party, both in future presidential elections, but also in state and local races. Their sunny forecast was echoed Wednesday by Sanders himself, when he argued that his movement had won the "ideological struggle" even as he was ending his 2020 campaign.
