On NY tour, Sanders pressures Clinton, Democrats

ALBANY - In a speech that was both a retrospective of his campaign successes and a call for further action, Bernie Sanders on Friday urged supporters to continue to press for his progressive agenda in the Democratic Party and vowed to push Hillary Clinton to embrace his ideals.

Sanders spoke to a crowd of 450 people in a small theater in the shadows of the state Capitol, knocking New York's "absolutely regressive and outdated" elections laws and stressing that his campaign's message won't be lost with Clinton or Democrats at the national convention in Philadelphia next month.

"Right now, to be very frank with you, we are talking to the Clinton campaign to try to determine whether or not they can come up with some very serious proposals, which will help us transform America," he said. "Whether it will happen or not remains the big question."

He said he would also push the convention delegates to back a $15 minimum wage in the party platform and other reforms that propelled him to the national spotlight in his primary fight with Clinton.

Sanders hasn't formally ended his campaign or endorsed Clinton. He said he plans to use the influence of his 1,900 delegates at the convention to revitalize the party.

"What we are trying to do also is to come up with the most progressive platform that the Democrats have ever had," Sanders said. "A platform is a piece of paper; it doesn’t mean anything. What we have to do is demand and make certain" it's implemented with political leaders.

Sanders was visiting Albany and Syracuse, his first upstate swing since he campaigned in the Democratic primary in New York in April. On Thursday, he was in New York City.

Sanders has essentially conceded he won't be the party's nominee, but he continues to tour in a bid to force change within the party and in the national debate.

On Friday morning, he indicated on MSNBC that he would vote for Clinton in November. But in his speech in Albany, he offered no signs of embracing her candidacy.

The Vermont senator lost to Clinton 58 percent to 42 percent in New York. Sanders picked up 108 delegates, while Clinton secured 139 delegates.

Sanders is a Brooklyn native, and Clinton lives in Chappaqua, Westchester County.

Sanders blasted his native state's election laws. New York has a closed primary system; so only people registered in a party can vote in that party's primary.

That meant more than 2 million independent voters and other third-party enrollees couldn't vote in the state's Democratic and Republican primaries — which likely hurt Sanders' showing in the state.

"That’s totally absurd. That’s a corrupt system, and everybody knows what’s going on," Sanders said in his one-hour speech, which also included some questions from the audience.

"That’s a system that maintains the established leaders in both parties, I guess. We have to break that down."

Sanders struck on the themes that garnered him success with primary voters: creating a better health-care system, limiting income inequality, reforming the criminal justice system, addressing climate change and getting big money out of politics.

And in his speech titled "Where We Go From Here," Sanders also urged supporters to run for local offices to create a national political movement that would lead to the type of changes he said is needed for the country's long-term stability.

"It really is nice as I look at and see all the Bernie T-shirts; I got to tell you something: It’s not Bernie. It’s you. Bernie can’t do it alone. By definition, that’s not what it’s about. It’s not about Bernie or anybody else. It is about people coming together in a democratic way to transform this country," he said.

In the television interview Friday, Sanders said he would not let his effort distract from beating presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in November.

“Yes," he said about voting for Clinton. "Yeah, I think the issue right here is, I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump."

Sanders' supporters and delegates said they will head into the convention hoping to influence the party's policies.

"It’s sad for us who are supporters of him to know he’s not going to be our candidate," said Abby Reifsnyder, of Williamstown, Mass., who attended the Albany speech. "But I thought it was really motivational of him to try to get people to remain engaged in the political process."

Mike Zillig, of Menands, Albany County, said Sanders has changed the national debate.

"I think his message is very important to the people of this country," Zillig said. "I hope that he can influence the convention because obviously his message resonates with many people."

JSpector@Gannett.com

Joseph Spector is chief of Gannett's Albany Bureau.