Hillary Folks- Stop Telling Bernie People to "Unite"

Eight years ago this month, Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race for President, conceding the nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama. During that campaign, I had worked for her, and at that time I was very, very disappointed. It took me a little time to accept the result and move on. I did, and I voted for President Obama, and I'm proud that I did. I can't lie and say it was easy though.

Right now, supporters of Bernie Sanders are in a similar situation. Hillary is about to be nominated in July's convention in Philadelphia. Bernie Sanders, after a long and hard fought campaign, is going to come up a little short of victory. His supporters, some of whom have put their heart and soul into the race, are now forced to come to grips with that, and make their decision about how to move forward. It's tough. I wasn't with them during this campaign, but I feel their pain. You don't come around over night, despite pledges to do so every time.

I have complete and total faith in most of the Sanders supporters. Are there some "Bernie or Bust" people who can't be reached? Sure, and I have made my opinions clear about them in the recent past. The overwhelming majority of Sanders supporters are smart and decent people, with whom I share many values- a commitment to combatting climate change, a living wage for an honest day's work, support for public education, a desire to see universal health care, a belief in common-sense gun laws, and many more progressive positions. We may not agree on the details to do it, but we share the goals. I believe that 85-90% of the Sanders supporters are good, decent people who will come to the responsible decision about moving forward in this Presidential race, in part because of our shared values, and in part because of Donald Trump.

The Sanders supporters don't need my advice on what to do, they're adults and can figure out what's right for them. They also don't need me to tell them "it's time to unite." They should work on their time line and come to their own decision. The folks who need my advice are my fellow Clinton supporters. We need to win with some level of decency. Stop telling Sanders people what they need to do right now. It's June. They can think and come to their own conclusions. Do they need to accept the reality of the race at this time? Yes. Do they have to "get on board" with it today? No. Give them time.

I have faith that things will work their ways out. Give them time to do so. For my fellow Clinton supporters, put your energies into positive things, working hard to talk to voters and donate to the campaign. Don't put your energies into badgering Sanders volunteers into supporting us.