It's pretty clear that Bernie Sanders is still the leader of the American Left, even though he's pretty clearly not going to run for President again. The idea he was going to "go away" after losing in 2020 was ridiculous: He's still the most visible progressive in U.S. politics.

This is not an optimal arrangement: Sanders is one of the greatest Senators in American history and would've been the best President this country has ever had, but obviously it's important that a younger leader emerges who can run for President in coming cycles.

But the fact of the matter is that Sanders is not going to go away: He's going to be the leading proponent of e.g. Medicare for All on the national stage for probably the next four years or so.

Anyway, it's obscene how many accusations of "egoism" the guy received in (especially) the 2016 campaign: He's one of the few politicians completely motivated by a desire to help others as opposed to personal promotion.

He's not up there working his ass off to get Americans $2000 because he thinks it'll boost a future presidential run or whatever, it's because he's one of the few major politicians who actually cares about material deprivation in America and will never stop fighting to solve it.

But yeah, 2022 will be crucial in building the next generation of progressive leaders. Hopefully we see some statewide victories.