According to The Washington Post, Sanders didnt speak at the Democrats filibuster because It just didnt work yesterday.
According to The Washington Post, Sanders didn't speak at the Democrats' filibuster because "It just didn't work yesterday." Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock

If I were running for president, and if I were also a sitting senator who had voted against the Brady bill five times, and if I were looking to show that the polices of the peoples' political revolution can push through congressional gridlock even just a little bit despite suggestions that they'd be DOA, then I would have FOUND A WAY during the course of that heart-melting, grief-inducing, hope-stirring, 15-hour filibuster / moment of national catharsis in order to stand in solidarity with the other senators (and theater-makers!, and regular ol' citizens!) who were fighting to propose that congress have a conversation about maybe just possibly voting for common sense gun control laws that the majority of Americans (including 74% NRA members!) support.

The Washington Post reports that Sanders was in Burlington, VT—a one-hour flight from Washington D.C.—during the filibuster, preparing for the major announcement he's supposed to give today at 5:30 p.m. PST. To be fair, though, he did post a Tweet in support of Murphy yesterday:


He may as well have sent his "thoughts and prayers." And though Sanders has always backed an assault weapons ban, HE is one of the members of congress who have been "silent for too long," especially regarding the issue of federal background checks and waiting periods. Speaking to Politifact, Sanders spokesman Jeff Weaver said that Bernie's opposition to the Brady bill was merely a moment of him being a vessel for his constituency, "He said he would be against waiting periods, and he kept his word to the people of Vermont." Well, now the people of Vermont overwhelmingly want strict gun control laws.

Sanders lost the popular vote to Clinton in the primary by 3.7 million votes. He's down 919 delegates. Instead of dragging a successful but dead primary campaign through the mud, or spending time with his team trying to find the language he needs to transform himself into a revolutionary hero, he could have taken a few hours to do his job as a senator and represent the interests of his state on the Senate floor, where something might get done. True, the policies Murphy, Booker, and others fought for yesterday are small, but they are also concrete. They are things that exist within the realm of possibility, unlike a Sanders presidency.