Why I Chose Bernie Over Warren
In 2015 I was 23 going on 24, and I was beginning to form my identity as a progressive. I started consuming a balanced diet of mainstream/centrist and progressive outlets: long weekend brunches with The New York Times, short daily snacks from The Young Turks during mornings and nights, a bit of Vox and Mic to fill out some of my lunches. Around 2017 or 2018 — I can’t remember exactly when — I subscribed to Secular Talk, and recently I have nibbled on similar shows such as The Humanist Report, The Majority Report, The Rational National and the Hill’s Rising.
My opinions tend to mirror these progressive YouTube shows, but I rely on the mainstream media to make sure I’m letting air into my lefty bubble. It’s important to consider a range of perspectives, and the mainstream media still offers a decent amount of quality reporting. I don’t want to assume my people are always right, even if I feel like they are most of the time.
In 2016 I voted for Bernie in the primary and against Trump in the general. Warren was the only other person in the whole world I would have been proud to vote for.
For a year or so my excitement for Bernie and Warren was equal. Both of them seemed like the kind of empathetic, consistent progressive leaders who needed to be in the White House.
There was even a brief period when I favored Warren a bit. I hadn’t distinguished their politics yet, so I figured it might be better to back the woman. I used to say, “I want our first female president to be Elizabeth Warren, not Hillary.”
But as I studied Bernie and Warren’s respective policies and records, the choice became very easy. Of the three frontrunners, I believe there is only one true progressive.
What’s ironic is that I’m exactly the kind of person who has been flocking to Warren lately. My background is middle/upper middle class, both my parents are college professors, I grew up in the liberal center of a coastal city, I did my undergrad at a private college, I live in Manhattan, I’m white-passing (more on that later), and I work a white-collar job.
Specifically I’m a journalist, and recently some of the commentators I follow have said, “Warren is identity politics for journalists.” Most of my liberal colleagues prefer Warren, and some of them backed Hillary over Sanders in 2016.
So how did I come to the opposite conclusion? Why did I choose Bernie over Warren?
If you compare their political histories and current positions, you’ll see some stark differences. Here’s my breakdown of the issues and why Bernie has appealed more to me:
Strongest Support for Single-Payer Health Insurance
Because I am on the disability spectrum and have a long list of unavoidable health problems, every year I spend thousands of dollars on co-pays, deductibles and out of pocket/out of network costs. After I got married, I added my wife to my health insurance plan, so now the cost is even higher.
Even with my white-collar job, it’s difficult for me to cover all of these expenses. I can only imagine how much of a challenge it is for working class and poor people who have the same issues.
I want single-payer health insurance, and Bernie has been the strongest supporter of the policy. He wrote the damn bill, after all. Warren has joined him, but she was not as ardent about single-payer in the past.
Palestine and Israel
Bernie is the only presidential candidate who seems to give a crap about Palestinians. He even implied that, as president, he would withhold funding from Israel to force policy changes.
As a half Arab American (the other side is white-Jewish, but my dad is also pro-Palestine) who visited a Palestinian refugee camp, this stance means a lot to me. I’m sick of us funding Israel’s oppression of Palestinians when we could be spending those billions on our infrastructure, health care and green jobs.
Until very recently, Warren has expressed solidarity with Israel, and in 2014 she supported one of the many Israeli invasions of Gaza. I’d be shocked if she stuck her neck out for Palestinians.
On a related note, there are other problems with Warren’s foreign policy and military record. She voted for Trump’s bloated military budget, for example. When journalist Emma Vigeland asked her about the vote, Warren dodged the question.
No Billionaire Money vs. Some
Bernie hasn’t taken large donations from billionaires. Warren has called for an end to corruption while receiving donations from billionaires and other wealthy donors. She plans to solicit even more big money donations if she wins the primary.
Pocahontas vs. Crazy Bernie
If you’re a Warren supporter, you might already be rolling your eyes at the mention of “Pocahontas.” Yes, I know Warren got plenty of crap for that already. I know she has already apologized and tried to reach out to the Native American community.
Nonetheless, all of that drama will surface again if she faces Trump. She is the only Democratic candidate who earned her Trump nickname from a legitimate failing. The Native American community had to publicly ask her to PLEASE STOP. It was an embarrassing defeat against Trump.
My wife, a minority woman, was really into Warren before the whole Native American heritage debacle. She preferred Warren over Bernie and all other candidates. Now her enthusiasm is gone.
“Crazy Bernie,” on the other hand, is meaningless, baseless and ineffective. This insult won’t affect Bernie’s electability.
The socialist smear doesn’t seem to be doing much damage either. Behind closed doors, Trump admitted he was worried about competing against the appeal of socialist, progressive policies (“free stuff,” as he so elegantly put it).
Ethnically Diverse Working Class Coalition vs. White, White-Collar
Bernie’s coalition is primarily working class and more ethnically diverse than Warren’s base of white, college-educated liberals. I may be part of the latter, but we should not be leading the systemic changes in this country. After years of trickle-down nonsense, poor people should be setting our priorities.
Courting the Democratic Establishment vs. Hated by the Democratic Establishment
Lately Warren has been courting elites in the Democratic Party, assuring them she can play ball while passing a progressive agenda. How can we trust her to put working people first if she goes out of her way to appease the powerful?
She has also been taking advice from Hillary Clinton. Why would you take advice from someone who lost to the guy you might go up against?
The democratic establishment is afraid of Bernie, as seen when they conspired to help Hillary defeat him in the 2016 primary. This response makes me believe he is a much greater threat to their power.
Most of the top brass at the Democratic Party don’t represent working class people anymore. I want a candidate who will push them out and replace them with progressives, not compromise with them.
I could go on and on, but these are the issues that are most personal to me and where I see the most noticeable differences.
Attitudes and Types of Warren Supporters
Based on talking with Warren supporters, looking at second-choice polling data and watching interviews with them, I noticed a few common attitudes and types of people:
Identity Politics Centrists and Progressives
Once Harris and Buttigieg supporters realized their candidates couldn’t win the nomination, many of them drifted over to Warren. They couldn’t have a black woman or gay white man, so a white woman was the next best choice. Rather than voting based on policy, they voted against Biden and Bernie, the two straight white men.
Then there are progressives who are choosing Warren over Sanders because they believe their policies and ideologies are roughly the same. They feel like they’re being woke by choosing the woman.
These people have the same mindset I did in 2015, and I think they are the easiest to persuade over to Bernie. If you really research the candidates’ records, you’ll see plenty of differences. Then you can reexamine the choice.
People in the Middle of Being Progressive and Centrist
Some of my Warren-supporting colleagues have said Bernie is too “extreme” or “radical.” They don’t like the idea of their private insurance being abolished, and they don’t really believe Warren when she says she will make that happen. I haven’t met a single person who loves paying co-pays and deductibles, but I understand that the prospect of change is scary for some people.
These supporters want a capitalist, not a socialist or even a democratic socialist. Some of them are fine with democratic socialism, but they think the label makes Bernie less electable.
It’s hard to argue with these people. They seem to be afraid of too much change too quickly, but accusing them of this mindset is not constructive or persuasive.
Others don’t think Bernie’s approach is realistic. They opine that only someone who works “within the system” can succeed.
Believing Only Warren Can Defeat Trump
This one is also difficult to counter. There are many polls that portent all kinds of outcomes nationally and in battleground states. Some show that Warren could beat Trump by a higher margin than Sanders; others show Bernie coming out on top.
In this case I have told people that polls can be wrong. Look at what happened in 2016. I was one of the many people who thought Hillary had it in the bag. It’s too early to decide anyway.
Different Policy Priorities
Many Warren supporters really have done the comparative research, and they still prefer Warren. That’s fine with me. I feel like I can have a meaningful debate with these people. I’ll admit Warren is stronger on some issues.
But I Will Vote for Warren If She Wins the Nomination
Before you dismiss me as a Bernie Bro, know that I don’t think Bernie is some sort of perfectly pure messiah. There are parts of his record — such as votes on gun issues — that I don’t approve of.
I know he could fail. I know he could change, compromise, falter, etc. I’ve accepted all of those possibilities. Nonetheless, I continue to believe he is the most likely to herald a better, more just society.
I still respect Elizabeth Warren immensely. If she wins the nomination, I will vote for her against Trump, and I will tell other Bernie supporters to do the same.
It wouldn’t be a lesser of two evils vote. I would be proud to see a President Warren, and I think she would bring many positive changes. For every difference between her and Bernie, there is a shared policy she would hopefully still fight for.
I’m worried, though. I’m scared Warren will do whatever it takes to win, and she’ll lose her values in the process. Then she might become another disappointing centrist Democratic president who squanders opportunities to push a progressive agenda.
I would feel much more optimistic if Bernie won the nomination. Then perhaps my dream scenario would happen: Bernie asks Warren to be VP, and together they crush Trump. Then Warren is president later, assuming she holds on to her values.
But perhaps I’m thinking too far ahead. For now I will continue to donate modest amounts to Bernie’s campaign, and I will take every opportunity to persuade my peers to join me. No matter the outcome of the primary, Bernie and Warren supporters will need to come together to beat Trump.
On the other hand, I have a message for Bernie and his team: If you want to win, you need to show how you’re different than Warren. You need to demonstrate these differences in a way that is undeniable and easy for her supporters to understand.
I know she’s your friend, but you might need to criticize her. Once the primary is over, you can make up and unite against Trump.
If you haven’t already, watch Krystal Ball’s segment on this issue. She gives amazing advice. Jimmy Dore also gave you some great free advice.
At this rate Warren is going to beat you. Please don’t let that happen. Don’t let the Democratic establishment have their way again.
