In the wake of Tuesday’s primary results, many have written Senator Bernie Sanders off and turned their reluctant attention to Secretary Hillary Clinton. One person who has not? The Senator himself.
You have probably already seen countless articles saying “oh well, we tried” and encouraging readers to switch their alliances to Clinton in fear of Trump. These articles will also say, “if you’re in states that have yet to hold primaries, you should still vote for Bernie,” but what sort of backwards encouragement is that? It seems a bit dishonest to abandon your candidate in your headline and then throw him a weak line of support in the midst of your #ImWithHer flip-flop.
I get it. It is important that we defeat Trump, no matter the cost. Those who want a Trump presidency simply to see the whole system burn to the ground are playing a dangerous game and I do not condone it, but why do we have to give up on Sanders so soon? Why is it that the only option now available to progressive liberals is to either support Clinton or be a part of the country’s downfall?
Things are not looking good, and more likely than not, Sanders will never be our Democratic nominee. But don’t those who supported him so fervently in past months owe it to him now to stick around just a bit longer?
Either way, the Sanders campaign rages on, with or without flighty fair-weather supporters. Sanders will attend a town hall event today in Flagstaff, Arizona. Tomorrow, he will head to Utah and Idaho to continue to spread his message.
On Thursday morning, the senator posted this tweet:
Despair is not an option – not if you want a decent future for your kids or grandchildren, not if you understand this country’s potential.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 17, 2016
His concession speech on Tuesday had no hints of defeat in them, as he continued to spread the same strong message that he has from the beginning. That same message is what drew so many to him, the unlikeliest of candidates. Why are they leaving him so soon?
As long as the primary rages on, we owe it to ourselves and our nation to be honest about who we truly support. If not, what was the point of all of this?
