There has been an ongoing argument among Bernie supporters about what to do in case Bernie does not become the Democratic nominee for president. First of all, we should not even be having this discussion. The primary season has not yet even begun. IF this situation were to happen, we'd all still have a full four months after the Democratic National Convention to decide. Our focus right now should be on making sure Bernie DOES get the nomination.
With the aforementioned all being said, no, I will not just "vote Democrat" or "vote blue." Why? Because I vote for the person I feel is the most qualified and not along party lines.
I come from a family of Democrats. My parents are both lifelong registered Democrats. When I registered to vote 13 years ago, as soon as I turned 18, I did register as a Democrat, I honestly didn't realize there was an option to not choose a party. I moved across the state in 2008, right after the Democratic National Convention. I finally remembered in the fall that the presidential election was fast approaching and here was my chance to help oust the Republicans! I got down to the Board of Elections as soon as I could and reregistered so I could vote for Obama. But as I was filling out the form, I saw the "No Party" box in the question of party affiliation. I quickly checked it, feeling relieved that I would no longer receive party solicitations.
When I heard that Hillary was going to try again, my immediate reaction was to hope someone would run against her. Some would say that means I don't want a female president. As a woman, of course I would love to have a female president. (I only mention my gender here simply because my name, Jamie, is a gender neutral name and I'd rather head off anyone saying "he" while I have a bit of context to do so.) But Hillary lost my support a long time ago.
I'll explain. When I first heard that Hillary was running for Senate in 2000, I was 16 years old and thought it was really cool that a former first lady was running for elected office...and that she was doing it in my state! But then came her reelection campaign...and along with it, an email from her campaign decrying the then-recent Supreme Court decision banning partial birth abortions as a violation of women's rights. I wasn't sure what that meant, so I looked it up and was horrified. I completely agreed with the Court's ruling. I am not a single issue voter but I stopped supporting Hillary right then and there because I couldn't believe that anyone would actually condone such a procedure. It was with this memory that I did not support Hillary in 2008 and did not support her current attempt.
Then a former classmate began sharing posts from Bernie's page. At that point in time, I considered myself to be a conservative, stemming from having joined a nondenominational church and believing that promoting God's laws meant being conservative. But as I kept seeing what Bernie had to say, just about everything I saw made perfect sense to me. So I "liked" his page and began to join the multitude leaving comments asking him to run for president.
I was so happy when he announced. I believe that supporters on both sides of the "nominee" vs "Bernie or bust" debate do truly believe Bernie is the best one for the job. The big source of contention is what to do if we fail.
I will agree that to be pro Bernie is not necessarily to be anti Hillary, although I, and many others, am vehemently both.
Here's a few points to think about:
Bernie has fought for LGBT rights for decades. Hillary began to claim support in 2013, after having supported DADT and DOMA and saying as late as 2004 that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Bernie marched with Dr. King in 1963 and has always fought for civil rights. Hillary worked on Barry Goldwater's campaign, a candidate who advocated for resegregation.
Bernie has always opposed TPP and other supposed free trade agreements. Hillary helped craft the TPP, called it the "gold standard" dozens of times...then turned around and claimed to oppose it right before the first debate.
Bernie has always opposed the Keystone pipeline. Hillary helped bring that about as well, initially gave an "elect me and I'll tell you" line, then claimed to oppose it, once again right before the first debate.
Bernie has always fought against corporate greed and will not accept corporate donations. Hillary has accepted many donations from corporations so her statement that they're her enemy is disingenuous.
I don't want someone who flip flops as president. I don't want someone I don't feel I can trust as president. I only changed to Democrat to vote for Bernie. I have no party loyalty.
The way I see it, if Hillary is the nominee, it will be because the DNC, and especially Rep Wasserman Schultz, forced her on us. They need to get the message that Hillary will not get the independent vote and she will certainly not get the Republican vote. What they don't seem to understand is that, while they may be seeing an increase in registered Democrats, they're all doing so in order to get Bernie the nomination. We even have Republicans joining us. NO other candidate can make the claim of having people crossing party lines and have it be true. A Hillary nomination would likely mean a Republican presidency because independents will not vote for her and Republicans definitely won't. Some may stay home, yes. But many will either vote third party or write Bernie in. And that Democratic loss will be on the heads of the DNC and especially Rep Wasserman Schultz for insisting on nominating Hillary despite the clear will of the people.
Yes, a Republican presidency, especially with this pool of candidates, is simply frightening. But a Hillary presidency is just as scary. It is quite likely that she would flip right back to the views we all know she truly holds. We cannot continue the status quo. A Hillary presidency would either mean maintenance of things as they are now or possibly making things worse by giving corporations even more free reign.
People need to stop saying "vote blue" or that they'll "vote for whoever the nominee is" because that sends the DNC the message that they can just manipulate things however they want and we, the voters, will just bow down and follow along. We can't let them get away with it. We can't send them that message.
Only Bernie will move us forward. We need to get the word out and go VOTE in the primary and make sure Bernie DOES get the nomination so that it doesn't become an issue!