No Empathy for the "Bernie or Bust" Crowd

This is too much.

I support Hillary Clinton for President. If Bernie Sanders defeats her and wins the nomination, I will vote for Bernie Sanders in November with no reservations. No, I don't think he can win the nomination. Yes, I would be on board immediately if he does.

When you line up either candidate against Donald Trump, there is no way you can support one but not the other. Neither wants to build a wall. Neither degrades women in public. Neither wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Neither is calling for a ban on Muslims. Against Ted Cruz, it's not really any different. Hillary and Bernie are closer to each other on the issues than they are to Trump and Cruz. Can you find some exceptions to the rule? Yeah, I'm sure you can. Overall, am I right? Yeah, I am.

When someone says they will never vote for Hillary Clinton if she's the nominee, or that they would back Trump, I stopped begging them not to. I'm not going to reward immature political thought. If you believe in Bernie's plans to regulate the banks, make health care universal, or make college more affordable, the second best candidate on those issues for you is Hillary Clinton.  If you support Hillary on equal pay for women, gun control, and access to abortion rights, the candidate closest to your position after her is Bernie Sanders. If you're going to threaten to vote Republican, sit home, or vote for Green Party nominee Jill Stein because you don't get your way in the primary process, no one should treat that as a rational position. That's the equivalent of a toddler stamping their feet because they want candy before dinner.

Eight years ago, I was not happy when then-Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination. I preferred Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and even John Edwards at one point. I became fully committed to Senator Obama's cause only after Sarah Palin came on the scene in August of 2008. I pulled it together, voted for him, and even attended his inauguration then. Eight years later, I am happy to say that President Obama has exceeded every expectation I had. He has advanced many of the causes I care so much about. Was he my preference? No. Would I have picked him over Dodd, Biden, or Clinton if I could do it again? Probably not. Am I glad that I pulled it together and voted for the person I agreed with more? Yes, I am. The world is better off for it.

If you want a President who generally agrees with President Obama more than Donald Trump, you have to vote for Clinton or Sanders in November. If you want a more progressive Supreme Court, a President who protects this President's legacy, and a better Congress than we have, you have to support the candidates who are closer to your beliefs. Can you fight hard for your candidate through the end of the primaries? Yes, you should. Just be ready to be one team when we get to June. I certainly will support either.

For this reason, I'm not interested in appeasing the "Bernie or Bust" crowd right now. If someone says they won't vote for Clinton, I tell them don't. I remind them though that they are essentially voting for Donald Trump. You usually get the "she's the same" garbage then, which is fine, because it's so ridiculous. We have elections. One candidate gets to win the nomination. That's it. There is no negotiating that. We have a system, it is carried out, and someone wins it. It's not necessarily true that someone has to "lose" the process (they can have huge input on the platform, the rules, the speakers, and other matters), and the other candidates can influence the future of the party. I suspect Bernie will be important in all of those matters. He's earned that. Some of his more abrasive supporters should embrace that, rather than make ridiculous and immature threats.