One of my closest friends is a Bernie-or-bust person—she’s
not going to vote if he isn’t the Democratic nominee. And the possibility that
Trump could become our president, if she and other Bernie supporters stay home,
isn’t enough to make her vote for Hillary. She echoed Susan Sarandon’s sentiment
that a Trump presidency might bring about revolution faster.
I was flabbergasted. She’s not stupid, not an asshole. She’s
smart, analytical, well read and well traveled. I couldn’t believe someone I
respect had this view.
Both my friend and Sarandon talk about revolution, something
we’ve never had in the U.S. unless you count the one that separated us from
England. And with the checks and balances we have in place, how does revolution
happen in America?
Bernie says the plethora of new, young voters he’s brought
into the political process will force their congressional representatives to,
“vote the right way.” I couldn’t decide if I thought he was naïve or delusional
when he said this during his Hardball conversation,
or should I say monologue because he interrupted every time Chris Matthews
tried to speak. Scads of new voters supported Obama’s first presidential run
but didn’t stay engaged. Why does Bernie think he’ll have a different outcome?
I agree with something that Bernie supporters have been
posting on Facebook, “that the real enemy is the multi-national corporations
who are trying to control this nation and the world.” Where we differ is, I
don’t think Bernie, a progressive socialist, is the person to lead this fight
in a capitalist democracy.
I share many of the same opinions with my Bernie-or-bust
friend. I want to get corporate money out of politics, want the minimum wage
raised, significantly, what public education to prepare students for the current
work market whether that means free higher education or restructuring the secondary
education system. But if by some miracle Bernie is the democratic nominee, I’ll
vote for him. Even though I think he doesn’t listen to people whose views don’t
mirror his, that he doesn’t know how to make alliances and build bridges and
that a President Sanders will assure four more years of congressional gridlock.
How does he expect to get Congressional support? His ideas are far more radical
than Obama’s. Does he think he’ll get more cooperation inside the beltway
because he’s white?
I can’t risk a Trump presidency by staying home because the
candidate I prefer doesn’t win the nomination. I have to do everything I can to
ensure that Trump doesn’t appoint the next Supreme Court judge. That he doesn’t
alienate many of our global strategic partners and that the U.S. doesn’t become
theatre of absurd.
Unlike Susan Sarandon, who is someone I can ice—I’ll never see one of her films again, this is someone I want in my life. I’ve never known my friend to be a selfish person but staying
home if Bernie isn’t the nominee is a profoundly selfish act. Decisions like
hers could negatively impact the lives of millions.
