U-N-I-T-Y? Yeah, I Got That.

I've been around the Democratic Party for 14 years now. There has been more than one instance in which I've had to eat some crow at the end of an inner-party fight. I've been on the wrong end of races from local Mayorships to Presidential primaries. It happens to anyone who gets involved in politics on an organized level, because you can't command voters to support what you support. In general though, it's something that I take in stride. I chose to be an active member of the Democratic Party from the outset of my political involvement because I understood that I agreed with Democratic positions and actions more often than I agreed with Republican ones. I also understood that if you want a seat at the table, if you want to be an active part of solutions and have a voice in the discussions, you have to pick a team. If you think you can be politically active and not be in a party, you end up as the person yelling on street corners that no one listens to.

Recently, I was asked if I really believe in party unity, while campaigning hard against Senator Bernie Sanders candidacy for President. I was at least slightly amused. My record on party unity is beyond reproach- whether it was falling in line after President Obama became our 2008 nominee, Governor Wolf after he won the Gubernatorial primary in 2014, or now supporting Josh Shapiro after he won our Attorney General nomination. While I maintain there's a zero chance of it happening, if Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee in November's Presidential race, I will vote for him. I clearly know that while I have differences with the Senator from Vermont, I agree with him much more than Donald Trump. I've chosen to be in the Democratic Party, a decision that i'm quite comfortable with, even when things could be uncomfortable.

I believe UNITY is a one way street though. If you're on the team, your unity is to the person who wins the primary nomination for office, period. You don't get to negotiate, and there sure as hell ain't no "or bust" option. I do realize that most of the public isn't held to this standard, and that's fine- most of the public doesn't run for a seat on the Democratic State Committee. They don't hold a seat on the county committee. For that matter, the majority of Americans may not even vote. You choose your level of party loyalty, or lack there of, and you are then held to that standard. I am a committed, loyal Democrat- which is why I get to do things like vote on the Pennsylvania delegate selection plan for the convention, meet our candidates much earlier in the process and size them up, and vote for party endorsements. Not everyone has to make the level of commitment I do, but then not everyone also not everyone gets the privileges I get back (or even would want them, frankly).

The person who questioned me on unity did so because I have slammed the "Bernie or Bust" crowd, and at times Senator Sanders, and called for them to wrap things up. To be clear here, while I'd like Bernie Sanders himself to drop out and endorse our likely nominee at this point, I do agree that he has the right to run through the conclusion of this process as a candidate, whether that is June 14th or July 28th in his mind. Bernie is not the same as "Bernie or Bust" though. I am fine with Senator Sanders, if he somehow wins the nomination, and can live with him. I do not extend the same olive branch to people threatening to not support the nominee of the Democratic Party. Facing an actual white nationalist like Donald Trump, this is not acceptable behavior. Are there times where any decent person should oppose their own party in the interest of the country, regardless of their position in said party? Yes, I'd argue we're seeing that time play out right now for Republicans. We're not the party nominating Donald Trump though.

I'm not seeking to unify with a movement who will only unify with our party if they get the nominee of their choice. I'm definitely not seeking to unify with a movement where people are calling Hillary Clinton a "criminal," "corrupt," a "Democratic whore," or any of the other ridiculous things that have come out of some of the mouths of people who are voting in the Democratic Primaries, but assure us they won't support Hillary Clinton in November, no matter what. It is absolutely their right to pick who they vote for, I'm not going to negotiate that with them. If that's how they wish to behave though, there's nothing to unify around. There's no seat at the table to offer them. They don't get to be a part of the discussion about the party platform, or the future primary contests, because they aren't in the party. They are taking an absolutist position that leaves them absolutely outside of the tent. Some of us are prepared to vote for the party's nominee. Those that are not will be taken at their word.

As I said above, I always support unity. I supported unity when I collected signatures for both Presidential candidates AND their delegates from my county. I've supported unity in the past. I will support unity in the future. The unity will be on my terms, which are that I'm unifying with the people who agree with me about the direction of the country, that we need a Democratic President, and not with those that will demand their way at the end of the barrel of a gun. Unity doesn't work that way, whether you want it to badly enough or not.