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To the grieving Bernie supporters
I know how you feel, sorta: I felt the same way when Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race. It'll take at least a few days to grieve the loss of a dream, and convince oneself that the remaining choice(s), while perhaps sub-optimal, are still pretty good and a lot better than the status quo. Especially since Bernie and Elizabeth have already moved the discussion in good directions.
It is quite possible that with Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, we'll lose some enthusiasm among young voters, just as with Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee, we would have lost some enthusiasm among black voters. But we need both young and black voters, as well as everybody else who believes in honesty, competence, humility, public service, fact-based decision-making, and basic human decency. Both Bernie and Joe (as well as Elizabeth and several other no-longer-candidates) have those qualities, and the current President does not.
What Bernie (and Elizabeth) wants to accomplish was more impressive and more inspiring than what Joe wants to accomplish (although just un-doing the damage of the past four years would keep any President busy). But what matters isn't what you want to accomplish but what you do accomplish. Unless there's a Democratic landslide in both House and Senate, no Democratic President is going to be able to accomplish more than a small fraction of the wish list anyway. At this point, the best thing any of us can do towards achieving progressive goals is to elect Democrats (even centrist Democrats, if that's what you've got) to the Senate -- anything to get Mitch McConnell's hands off the parking brake. And of course vote for the best available candidate for President.
Our electoral system stinks in so many ways, but it's the system we have, and until we can fix it, we have to work within it. This year the choice it gives us at the top of the ticket is between a decent, honest, boring grown-up and a vindictive, mendacious, utterly self-centered toddler. Complaining that the former isn't also "inspiring" seems like mourning the loss of the pennies in the back seat when somebody's stolen your car.
It is quite possible that with Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, we'll lose some enthusiasm among young voters, just as with Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee, we would have lost some enthusiasm among black voters. But we need both young and black voters, as well as everybody else who believes in honesty, competence, humility, public service, fact-based decision-making, and basic human decency. Both Bernie and Joe (as well as Elizabeth and several other no-longer-candidates) have those qualities, and the current President does not.
What Bernie (and Elizabeth) wants to accomplish was more impressive and more inspiring than what Joe wants to accomplish (although just un-doing the damage of the past four years would keep any President busy). But what matters isn't what you want to accomplish but what you do accomplish. Unless there's a Democratic landslide in both House and Senate, no Democratic President is going to be able to accomplish more than a small fraction of the wish list anyway. At this point, the best thing any of us can do towards achieving progressive goals is to elect Democrats (even centrist Democrats, if that's what you've got) to the Senate -- anything to get Mitch McConnell's hands off the parking brake. And of course vote for the best available candidate for President.
Our electoral system stinks in so many ways, but it's the system we have, and until we can fix it, we have to work within it. This year the choice it gives us at the top of the ticket is between a decent, honest, boring grown-up and a vindictive, mendacious, utterly self-centered toddler. Complaining that the former isn't also "inspiring" seems like mourning the loss of the pennies in the back seat when somebody's stolen your car.