Easy! I’ll vote for Bernie!
If Bernie Sanders wins the nomination and he runs against Ted Cruz?
Easy! I’ll vote for Bernie!
If Bernie Sanders wins the nomination and he runs against Kasich? Ryan? Whoever?
Easy! I’ll vote for Bernie!
But wait! What IF… Hillary has a majority of delegates and popular votes, but Bernie manages to wrangle enough super delegates in a floor battle to win it at the convention?
Grrrr, OK… Easy! I’m going to grumble some. Then I’ll vote for Bernie!
If you really want to know, however, I’m a Hillary supporter. I think she has a better chance of winning the general. As a president, I believe she’ll be as effective for progressive causes as Bernie will be (in the world of real-life politics). I have weighed this decision carefully. I completely understand that some of you completely disagree with me. Maybe you think I’m an idiot. Thats okay. I respect your support of Bernie (I respect Bernie too). I respect his right to take this to the convention, even if I preferred he wouldn’t.
But in the end, what if Bernie doesn’t win?
The reason I’m writing this diary is because I just came from an article on Huffington Post, where nearly 100% of Bernie supporters in the comments are stating that if Bernie loses a) they won’t vote or will write-in or b) they will vote for Jill Stein or even c) they will vote for Trump.
Part of me wants to believe this is just “drama”. A sort of immature online gamesmanship where both side’s supporters think they can coerce others into voting their way “or else”. A new level of electoral “Game of Chicken”. Or perhaps just excessive online venting. Hillary supporters have been guilty of this too- its been a toxic primary. But I’m getting the impression that most of these people are dead serious.
Do they understand what is at stake? Some say they do, but then say its the DNC’s fault for giving them Hillary, who they can’t vote for (this is a paraphrased quote from HuffPo). Another says they’ll do it “for the good of the party”. I’m just at a loss for words. Do Bernie’s supporters honestly think that Trump is the lesser evil compared to Hillary? Are they factoring in the conservative control of 3 branches of government? Are they factoring in the staffing of the Supreme court that will shape it for perhaps half a century? Do they realize that conservatives plan to use all this power to undo all the progress we’ve made starting on “Day 1”?
To Bernie supporters: I understand one thing. You think I’m wrong- that Bernie has a better chance of winning the general. You believe that Hillary supporters are the ones who will cause the worst case scenario by nominating her. I respect that opinion. My crystal ball isn’t better than yours. God knows I am scared as hell about it. I wish I was as confident as you seem to be. I don’t mind your attempts to sway my opinion. Thats what we should be doing (hopefully not with coercion).
But if you can’t bring yourself to vote for Hillary in the general, at least as the lesser of two evils, how can you say it is my fault?
If Bernie wins the nomination, you can bet my credit card number will end up in his database. You may get calls from me as we work to drum up support and get out the vote. Its too important to stay home and pout. I believe he’d have a bigger mountain to climb than Hillary, but if he wins I’ll be there to help all of us climb it with him.
But if he doesn’t win, where will you be? Do you really intend to “punish” me by allowing the Republican to win? Is saying “I told you so” going to save the Democratic party?
I’m ready to stand with the nominee whoever it is, because this is the most important election in my fifty years on this planet. The Republicans have become so radical that Reagan and Goldwater would not be considered conservative anymore. And they will stop at nothing to enact their ruinous social and economic policies.