Non-gender-specific bros, I see where you’re coming from. I’d be extremely troubled and angry too, if the honest, earnest, and passionate man I voted for was forced out of the presidential race by a woman who I viewed as a dishonest shill.

And I’m not going to trot out the same tired arguments about electoral college, or make any comparisons to Hitler, or attempts to convince you to vote for Hillary on her merits. You can find those elsewhere and feel proud of yourself for remaining unconvinced.

No, what I’m going to do is ask you a question. I want to know why you’re calling Bernie Sanders a liar.

Throughout this campaign, you’ve been so excited about Bernie because he is honest. He is earnest. He says what he means, and what he means is astonishing! He really wants to lift everyone from poverty, give them working conditions that they deserve. He believes education is a basic human right. He abhors racism in all its forms. He wants to kick big banks to the curb and put the common citizen at the forefront.

Sanders spoke truth to power. He slammed Clinton on her connections to big banking and the establishment, and called her out when she fell back on casual racism and uninformed judgments. He has forced the entire Democratic platform to take on wage equity, and a Sanders presidency would usher in a real revolution — a complete teardown of the system that’s oppressing millions.

And then, on Monday, he asked you to vote for Hillary Clinton for president of the United States.

From the responses I’ve been hearing on NPR, on Facebook, on various blogs, on the Daily Show and Late Night, I can see that you are not happy about this. “Bernie or bust,” you say, ready to vote for a third-party candidate to keep Hil-lie-ry out of the White House. Jill Stein deserves a shot maybe, and Gary Johnson’s been working hard. My vote is my own, and I’m going to make a statement. We will write in Bernie Sanders, not elect a two-bit tool.

Why?

Why do you think Sanders is any less earnest about his desire that you vote for Clinton in November than he has been about a $15 minimum wage? What makes this statement any less believable than his scathing indictments of Wall Street? Sanders has said nothing less than what he means and completely believes to be true this entire election cycle. Politifact has never given him a “Pants on Fire” rating, which is probably the highest praise they can give to any politician regarding honesty. Even as he encouraged you to vote Clinton and unite under the blue banner, he hammered on the message that this election is about wealth inequality.

“Much, much more needs to be done,” he lamented. Sanders is well aware that Clinton will not espouse his economic or social policies exactly, but he also knows that you — yes, you! the Bernie voter! — have forced her to take some of them more seriously than she thought she’d need to. Before the primaries, bank regulation was not on her personal issues list. Now? “Wall Street reform” is a topic on her website’s Issues page. She’s moved her support from a $12 minimum wage to $15, after seeing your vote. Arctic drilling, the TPP: she won’t support them any further. You told her that if she wanted to be a real Democrat, she’s stop. So she did.

And Sanders has praised her for it. Here’s a transcription of his Monday night speech. He’s telling you: she gets it! Clinton understands what you (the voter, by voting for Bernie Sanders) put on the Democratic ballot. She will fight for these issues as the Democratic candidate and then the Democratic president of the United States.

So why are you calling him a liar? Why are you now rejecting Sanders and his ideology, his revolution, by saying you won’t vote for the woman he’s endorsed?

If you have a real answer to that, I want to know. Because the Bernie voter I believed in wouldn’t stop trusting Sanders just because he said something you don’t like.