I have been genuinely torn between Sanders and Clinton; I actually signed up on both their sites and receive emails from both campaigns.
I will never forget how it felt to see Barack Obama elected as the first African American president. That night I shed tears for my grandparents who lived their entire lives in Texas and endured racism and Jim Crow and never dreamed that a black man could ascend to the highest office in the land; my heart was broken that they weren’t still around to see it.
So I felt (and still feel to some degree) that same kind of historical imperative around breaking the boys club in the oval office, which was a pull towards the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. At the same time I felt my political views were more in line with Sanders.
Then the Black Lives Matters protests happened. For better or worse, the response from some Sanders supporters (including on this site) impacted and soured my opinion towards team Sanders. These things are not always logical; there’s an emotional component to our political decision making, and our interactions with each other as modern human beings on social media have psychological impacts that I don’t think anybody fully understands.
But what impressed me was how he responded. He listened, and is still listening, and responded with messaging and proposals that address at least some of the concerns being raised by these young black activists. He set an example that many of his supporters would do well to follow.
But the deal really wasn’t sealed for me until these last two weeks. First, the integrity and resolve he showed in speaking at Liberty was truly impressive. And the tenacity and wit he showed in his tweets about the republican debate thrilled me to no end. Here is someone who will UNABASHEDLY stand up for progressive principles, who is clear and incisive in what he believes and what kind of society he thinks we should have. I truly want to see him in a debate with the republican nominee because I think the contrast will be SO striking and he will mop the floor with any of them.
I still like Hillary Clinton and I am still disdainful of the anti-Clinton hit pieces and the demonizing of her and her supporters. I think she is one of the most qualified candidates we have ever had. I want Bernie to win more than I want Hillary to lose.
I also am still not convinced that Sanders can win either the nomination or the general election. Unlike some here who seem to be making the inevitability arguments for Sanders now (“of course his trajectory will continue”, “of course he will make the inroads he needs with POC”), I still think he has a huge uphill battle.
But I listened to a piece recently on Letters and Politics (one of the few pieces of programming on Pacifica radio that I can still stand to listen to) with Prof Peniel Joseph discussing his book on Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Toure). He was talking about how Carmichael evolved from advocating radical democracy, in which marginalized people took control of the institutions of political power, to believing that it was fruitless for the Black Power and black liberation movements to attempt to work through the political system. I feel I am at a similar crossroads, and to me, Sanders represents the last chance for us to even begin countering the American oligarchy and the corporate takeover of our democracy.
Given that, my not being convinced that he can win was not a good enough reason for me to not support who my conscience tells me I should. I am embracing hope, and embracing the idea that our country can still be righted.