Almost exactly nine months ago I wrote my first Daily Kos diary titled “Now is Not Joe Biden’s Time.” My, how the political landscape changed in that gestational period.
From the beginning of the current (mal)administration I was alarmed by the prospect of a person driven by narcissism, nepotism and greed becoming President. The last three plus years has shown that such alarm was well founded. To begin the long process of restoring some of our teetering institutions, to remove the foxes guarding the hen houses (Wheeler, DeVos, Pompeo, etc.) and to stem the tide of installing a zealously right judicial apparatus that will thwart any progressive legislation for a generation or more, it is imperative that the occupant be defeated in his quest for re-election. We need only look to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to truly understand how endangered we are by him. That’s merely the most profound example in a litany of malice and incompetence.
I was a fervent Bernie Sanders supporter and grass roots donor in 2016, excited that for the first time in my lifetime economic justice issues about which I had deeply cared since before I even began voting were finally being debated seriously in the context of a presidential campaign. I was among the cohort urging Sen. Warren to run in the last cycle and when she declined to do so, I welcomed Bernie’s candidacy and wholeheartedly supported him. In the general election I voted for Hillary Clinton, though I was among the few who predicted that the abomination who currently inhabits 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. would succeed President Obama (I did not predict that Hillary would have a nearly 3 million popular vote advantage) because I saw many of the 2016 electorate embrace the faux populism, rank hatred and racist resentment of the “others” that was the core message of the Electoral College victor and his party. I knew little about Russian interference that would play so prominent a role in our election, but was well aware of the voter suppression efforts aimed at groups assumed to be Democratic Party voters. It was a toxic stew that gave us what we have been living with since January 20, 2017.
Bernie has brought many issues into the mainstream of Democratic Party discussion. Who would have believed a scant five years ago that universal healthcare would figure so prominently in party dogma. Each of this year’s primary candidate embraced some form of universality in healthcare coverage for Americans. It went from being a pipe dream to becoming orthodoxy. Bernie started that. While Medicare for All is not the vehicle for universal coverage at this moment, I have a belief that we will eventually get there. Income inequality? While the occupy movement highlighted the gross inequities in our economic system, Bernie did much to bring the issue into common consciousness. Expanding Social Security? Thanks to Bernie who steadfastly opposed any “grand bargain” and advocated for increases, that position became one that all 2020 primary candidates embraced. Relief from crushing student debt? Corporate accountability? Other progressive issues? Plainly, Bernie’s presence as a candidate in both 2016 and 2020 has moved the conversation to the left within the Democratic Party and for that we progressives are grateful.
This cycle there were many I could envision capably performing the duties of President. While not enamored of several, any one of the Democratic candidates would have been an improvement over what we’ve been living under. My two choices were Sens. Warren and Sanders, with Elizabeth Warren being my first. I had followed Sen. Warren from the time she burst on the scene with the CFPB idea and was inspired by her backstory and ability to synthesize complex problems so that they could be better understood by rank and file citizens. Yes, she had plans, good ones. I still believe that she would be the best President of all who were running, but it was just not meant to be. I donated to her campaign and to Bernie’s and after Super Tuesday when Sen. Warren ended hers, my support went to Bernie. Now, after the results in Michigan, Illinois, Florida and other states, I am among those who clearly no longer see any path for Bernie to win the nomination. Primary voters have spoken. Although my candidates did not prevail in the primary process and I have many reservations about the winner, I respect the outcome. It’s democracy.
I am not particularly enamored of Joe Biden’s candidacy, concerned on many levels about the progressive issues he may compromise on, or abandon. I worry that his belief that the opposition party will somehow miraculously become bipartisan and cooperative when their leader is vanquished in November shows a grievous misreading of the danger Republicans pose. After all, he was front and center for the Merrick Garland fiasco — hardly a profile in conciliatory behavior. I am also concerned that he will choose a milquetoast running mate that will fail to drive excitement and turnout, but I hope that I’m wrong. Nevertheless, despite my misgivings, I support him. The threat of re-electing the occupant presents a clear and present danger and we must unite to sweep him and his ilk out of Washington. To do that it is absolutely critical that we be united.
The time has come for Bernie to step away from the spotlight, give his full-throated support to the presumptive nominee and urge his supporters to get behind him fully and completely. As much as many will miss Bernie as a candidate and wistfully ponder what might have been, the stark reality counsels that withdrawal is the best course for him to follow now. We progressives cannot sulk or sit on our hands, but must instead work tirelessly to build coalitions of allies and not alienate them so that we rid the nation of the nightmare with which we’ve been living. I will miss Bernie’s focus on the important issues that gave life to his candidacy, as well as the energy and the enthusiasm he instilled in so many. That energy and enthusiasm must now be channeled to one singular purpose — a new President taking office on January 20, 2021. Bernie has given voice to issues vital to our future and those will no longer be dismissed or discarded. The fulcrum of the Democratic Party has shifted left and, like him or not, Bernie played a major role in that. However, it is clear to me that, to borrow from the title of my first Kos post, now is not Bernie Sanders’ time. It is his time to gracefully exit and become a unifying force to defeat the existential threat at 1600. His legacy is secure and he must now take the next step to secure the White House, and hopefully Congress too, so that we can begin to reconstruct our democracy and continue to advance a progressive agenda to which he has been dedicated.