I was disgusted by the Bernie-or-Busters in 2016 and assign them a big share of the blame for Trump, but I’m also NeverBernie in 2020. Does this make me a hypocrite?
I’m glad you asked, but the answer is no. First of all, there’s no parallel once you look at the details. Clinton was an actual Democrat who earned the Democratic nomination by an overwhelming majority of the votes. Sanders is a non-Democrat who is attacking the party from its radical left flank with yet another scorched-earth campaign.
He does not represent the best interests of the party that I am a member of, he does not care about equal rights outside of economics, and he is tainted by the same foreign ties that the Traitor-in-Chief has. Ultimately, he is not a viable candidate, whereas Clinton was supremely qualified and would have become president if the Bernie-or-Busters had instead supported her.
Second, it comes down to game theory. The Bernie-or-Busters are back, and they want to hold the entire country hostage. Again. Either we give them their preferred candidate or they give us Trump. Again. Fuck that!
Rather than negotiate with terrorists, we call their bluff. Let them stay home or not. Let them vote for Trump, as an eighth did last time. Let them threaten whatever they like, but we will not give in to them by ever voting for their candidate.
Go ahead, make my day.
The deep principle here is that every strength is a weakness, every weakness a strength. To gain the strength to stop someone from chopping down a tree, you accept the weakness of being chained to it. Yes, it would be better if you could walk away from the tree if they come at you with a chainsaw, but by removing that option, you call their bluff.
The same applies to chaining yourself to a commitment to vote only for a real Democrat; it calls the bluff of those who would try to force you to support them by refusing to vote for a real Democrat. It is the natural counter to their political power play.
Last time, Sanders lost the nomination by millions. I fully expect that he will lose again, so I consider this to be a safe bet. In other words, by committing to NeverBernie now, I am making it less likely that I will be in the position to have this commitment tested.
So, no, I don’t think I’ll ever have to choose between Sanders and Trump. But, yes, if push comes to shove, I will shove: I will not vote for Sanders under any condition. I will only vote for a Democrat. I don’t think they will ever be able to call me on it, but if they do, they will find that I do not bluff.
P.S.
By committing to never voting for Bernie, we compel his supporters to respond by doubling down on unity. They have to insist that we’re all Democrats and should agree to vote for whoever gets the nomination. Of course, this means that, when Bernie loses, they’ll be the ones who’ve insisted all along that they should vote for the nominee even though it’s not Bernie.
Does this mean they’ll actually vote for the Democrat who can oust Trump? Maybe. Some of them will remain Bernie-or-Busters and go bust again, no matter what they say now. But others will deal with the cognitive dissonance by avoiding hypocrisy. At the very least, they’re going to find it harder to justify bailing on the party.
So add this as one more game-theoretic benefit to calling their bluff.
Bernie will not be running against Hillary this time. It is a wide open field with younger and fresher candidates with realistic ideas. His con game will not work this time.
From your lips to God’s ears!
Jonathan, you are very right. What allowed him to prosper (but still lose) last time was the complacency of the DNC and the Clinton campaign. They all thought it would be best to treat Bernie gently so as not to scare off his crazed followers. This time, he will be vetted and vetted hard.
Absolutely correct – and emphasize increasing majority in House including flipping democratic seats from Justice Democrat or other Sanders front to real drmocrats.
And flipping Senate or scaring Republicans so badly they will cooperate with Senate Democrats. Sanders would do to democrats what Trump is doing to Republican party.
The “BernieCrats” are the Herbal Tea Party. They are trying to do to the DNC what was done to the RNC: purge it of moderates at the primaries.
We must avoid Bernie being nominated at all costs. The Republican machine is salivating over the prospect of their dream opponent for Trump. It’s all make nice and kid gloves right now, but once he’s nominated, the gloves will come off and the GOP attack will leave the Berniebots gasping for air. Their fantasy will be shattered as he’s attacked on a half dozen fronts and each of them blown into a Benghazi or child sex pizza parlor story that’s hammered on day and night for months. He’ll be accused of everything from being a fake democrat to a closet communist. Plus, the federal fraud investigation of his wife. It wouldn’t surprise me if Mueller’s report has ammunition in it too. Bernie is toxic. Pick somebody else.