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Taylor Huston

#BernieOrBust is Selfish and Shortsighted

I am #TeamBernie. Have been since the beginning. I have campaigned for him, I have phone banked for him, and for a brief time I actually really thought he had a chance of being the nominee.

But after that crushing, double digit defeat in New York, it’s time to start planning for the increasingly more likely chance that Hillary is the nominee. Don’t get me wrong, I am still hoping for a miracle. If he wins California by the same margin that he won Washington, he will be the nominee. But the polls aren’t showing that to be very likely.

I belong to a lot of Bernie Facebook groups. Hang out in r/SandersForPresident a lot. So, of course I am seeing a lot of #BernieOrBust people. People that are so caught up in Bernie’s revolution that they refuse to even think about voting for anyone else. They will either write him in or just not vote. And that’s the exact opposite of what Bernie would want. Lets look at some facts:

  • “What I did not want to do is run as a third party candidate, take votes away from the Democratic candidate and help elect some right-wing Republican. I did not want responsibility for that. So what I said at the beginning of the campaign is that I was not going to run as an independent. And I say it now, that if I do not win this process I will not run as an independent.” — Sanders, September 2015. By not voting, voting third party, writing him in, by splitting the Democratic vote, you are doing the one thing he doesn’t want you to do.
  • In the grand scheme of things, Hillary and Bernie are not THAT different. They voted the same way 93% of the time when they were both in the Senate. Most of the things they disagree on are related to foreign policy. I do not agree with Clinton on her foreign policy, but her foreign policy is still better than anyone on the Right. Bernie and Hillary have almost identical positions on a lot of progressive things including Women’s Rights, Immigration Reform, TPP, etc. On a lot of other things, like College Tuition, Minimum Wage and Universal Healthcare, they are both moving in the same direction. Sanders is farther ahead, but they are both on the right track. Again, 93%. As far as compromises go we’ve all made worse. Go ahead and take the I Side With quiz. Really go through the quiz, read every answer, rate them based on importance. I’ll bet you are a lot closer to Hillary than you think.
  • In the grand scheme of things, Hillary is exponentially better than Trump or Cruz. Again, her weakest area for a lot of us is probably her foreign policy. But as bad as hers may be, it’s still better than ‘all scary brown people are bad’ and ‘we’ll build a wall between us and our third largest trading partner.’ Hillary may have been late to the pro LGBT train, but now that she’s there she’s not going to actively try to take their rights away. Hillary may not support a Single-Payer Healthcare system, but she won’t repeal Obamacare either. Hillary may not be perfect, but she’s also not a blatantly racist, xenophobic, islamaphobic, misogynistic bigot. The thought of Hillary in the White House may be unpleasant to the most Progressive of us, but the thought of Trump or Cruz should be downright terrifying.

I have supported Bernie since the beginning, not because I ever realistically thought he could win, but because I believed in his message. Regardless of whether he is the nominee or not, Bernie’s campaign has been a success. He’s done better than anyone, myself included, thought he possibly could. He’s shown politicians and the news that there is a rising desire among young people (more and more of which turn 18 every day) for a truly Progressive government. He’s laid the groundwork for truly Progressive politicians to win other, smaller races. And, even if he’s not the President, he’s planted the seeds for another Progressive Democratic Socialist candidate in say, 2024. Over the next few years I believe we will see a real shift in our government, in our Senate, to truly Progressive policies championed by Progressive politicians, and we will be able to look back at Bernie’s 2016 campaign, win or lose, as the tipping point.

Or not. Or there will be so many short sighted #BernieOrBust people that we end up with a borderline fascist or a religious extremist (and possible lizard person) as President. If too many of Bernie’s supporters who, let’s be honest, would have just voted for Hillary if she had ran uncontested, stay home or write Bernie in… Best case scenario she still wins but only by a slim margin, which will only strengthen the GOP’s message. Worst case the vote gets so split that no candidate gets 270 Electoral College votes and then the Republican Controlled House gets to decide who the next President is. If that happens that means Bernie’s campaign will have, in the end, hurt America more than it has helped. How is that a good thing? How is that supporting his message? Is that what Bernie would want? Remember, Bush Jr. won Florida by only 537 votes, and it was enough to put us through 8 years of hell.

If a Progressive running leads to someone like Trump in the White House, no Progressive will ever risk running again.

It’s not just about you. Tens of thousands of Americans will be hurt if Trump gets into office. They will be forced farther into poverty. LGBT people will face renewed and reinvigorated discrimination. Our military members will be sent off to die in wars we shouldn’t be involved in. Not voting for WHOEVER the Democratic nominee is directly hurts everyone in this country. By not voting for the Democratic nominee you’re throwing the most vulnerable American citizens under the bus.

When Trump announced he was going to run, I thought it was the greatest thing that happened to the Democratic party. I thought to myself “this is great, he is so extreme, so bat shit insane, that he is going to whip up the Tea Party right wingers and totally split the GOP.” I never in a million years thought we would be immature and childish enough to fall into the same trap. Come on guys. We’re better than that.

So, support Bernie. Phone bank. Donate. Fight for him until he is either the nominee or he officially drops out. Spread his message. Show the American public that we want Progressive policies. After the election continue to spread his message, continue to support other truly Progressive politicians. Vote for Progressive legislation. But, in November when you’re in that voting booth, ask yourself “What would Bernie do?”, and then vote for the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be, because there is no doubt that it will be a much saner choice than whoever is on the GOP ticket.

It’s not just about beating Trump. It’s about destroying him. Beating him by the widest margin possible in the most states as possible to show America, and the rest of the world, that we do not believe in his hateful rhetoric, that he does not represent us. We need to destroy him thoroughly or he (and people like him) will just keep coming.

Bernie probably never had a real chance at winning. The country, the DNC, wasn’t ready for him. But he’s laid the groundwork. He’s paved the way. Because of him, by 2024 we will have a truly Progressive Congress and be ready for a truly Progressive president. Unless Trump wins in November. Don’t let Trump win and undo all of the work Bernie has made, don’t make it so no Progressive will ever want to run again for fear of the consequences.

“If it happens that I do not win that process, would I run outside of the system? No, I made the promise that I would not and I will keep that promise. And the reason for that is I do not want to be responsible for electing some right-wing Republican to be president of the United States.” — Sanders, July 2015

#NeverTrump #CruzMightActuallyBeWorseThanTrumpHesJustBetterAtHidingIt

EDIT: Well. You did it. Enough you entitled short sighted special snowflakes voted third party that Trump barely managed to squeak by in enough swing states that, despite losing the popular vote, we have to say “President Trump” for the next four years. Thank you very fucking much. And it’s not just Trump. It’s a surely conservative Supreme Court. It’s an entirely anit-lgbtq cabinet. It’s an EPA led by a guy who doesn’t believe in climate change. Seriously, if you lived in a swing state and you voted third party, or didn’t vote at all, because Clinton wasn’t Progressive enough for you, wasn’t Progressive in the right ways for you, go fuck yourself. God dammit.