Bernie’s Endorsement was the Right Move

There are some things you simply cannot change. That is an immutable truth.

I’ve found that the path to a happier, more successful life lays in accepting the realities of your situation and focusing on those areas where you do have some control, rather than lamenting circumstances that you are powerless to change. One of those circumstances that many of my fellow Bernie supporters have had a lot of trouble accepting is this:

Bernie lost the nomination.

It wasn’t a fair contest, in many respects. The media bias alone was a big fat thumb on the scale. The DNC was in the bag for Hillary from day one. There were long lines at polling locations, and a host of other problems that may have turned voters away. We can complain about these things ad nauseam, circulate online petitions demanding recounts, accuse the DNC of rigging the election, and so on, but we can’t change the reality that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.

Today we face another reality that many of us find untenable: Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton.

The reaction among supporters ranges from understanding to disappointment to outrage. Just as with Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement, there was a very vocal faction of Bernie supporters throwing out terms like “sellout” and “traitor”. I even saw one person float the outrageous idea that he capitulated under threats of violence to his family.

Many of these people have long believed Hillary to be the ultimate symbol of everything that is wrong with our political system. Their anger and frustration is not surprising, but I do not share the assessment that Bernie has betrayed his followers.

Bernie has always been more politically savvy than people think. He’s been fighting against a corrupt system from within that very system for his whole career. He’s always fought for big changes by extracting smaller concessions. This is why he became the ‘amendment king’ while dealing with a Republican controlled House of Representatives. He couldn’t change the fact that Republicans controlled the House, so he fought to minimize the damage they did.

This is exactly why, in my opinion, he endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Soon after the California primary there was tremendous pressure on Bernie to end his campaign and endorse Clinton. After the remaining primaries were finished, that pressure amped up even more. He was called selfish, delusional, and many other less kind words. Yet still he refused. Why? Just like his time in the House, Bernie was working with what he had to get the best outcome he could.

Here is the cold hard reality: Hillary Clinton will almost certainly be our next president. It might make you angry. It might make you sad. I don’t like it myself, but it’s the truth. Bernie Sanders knows this, and that’s why he held off on endorsing her. His endorsement gave him leverage.

Do you think it was a coincidence that Clinton and Obama both suddenly started talking about the Public Option for Obamacare again a few days ago? Do you think it was a coincidence that Clinton just adopted an expanded plan for free college tuition?

Bernie didn’t “sell out”. He used what he had available (in this case his endorsement) to affect as much positive change as he could. He couldn’t be president, so instead he tried to influence the person who very likely will be president.

Did he get everything he and his supporters wanted? Of course not. Will Clinton follow through with everything she’s promised? Of course not. Does that mean Bernie wasted his endorsement? Of course not.

Many feel that Bernie should have endorsed Jill Stein, since she is closer to him on policy. Many Sanders supporters vowed to vote for Stein once it was clear Bernie wouldn’t be the Democratic nominee. I understand the sentiment, but what would that endorsement have accomplished? The answer is nothing.

The Green Party hasn’t even done the work required to get Stein on the ballot in all 50 states. She has yet to break 5% in the polls. For her to win it would take a lot more than just an endorsement from Sanders. Even if everyone who voted for Sanders in the Primary voted for Stein, she still would not have enough votes to win. In that scenario we would still end up with President Clinton, or more likely President Trump.

Some might argue that Bernie should have simply refused to endorse anyone in this election. This might have made a powerful statement about the corruption of the 2 party system, but in the end it would not have any real impact on the outcome. Withholding his endorsement would have ended up sacrificing all the political capital Bernie has built throughout this primary. We would still end up with a Clinton presidency, and she wouldn’t have even had to move left on any of her positions.

Look, I know many of us are so fed up with the state of things that we are ready to burn the whole system to the ground. I understand that feeling, and even share it in some respects. In the end, however, I understand that my feelings of frustration do not change the reality of our situation: the system isn’t going anywhere.