If there is one thing that politicians are good at, it’s talking. Maybe it’s because it is so easy to talk about the future, especially when you go out of your way to avoid talking about the past. Sanders did not mention that he once said Hillary was unqualified to be president or that he has continuously opposed her foreign policy, while endorsing her as the Democratic nominee for President last week. He did, however, say that he did not go into his latest rally with Hillary Clinton “to talk about the past, but to focus on the future.” The future that Bernie Sanders seeks is not one with a political revolution, battling the oligarchy, but one with any Democrat in the White House.
Sanders supporters feel like they’ve been misled, betrayed, and are now bummed out. After taking donations from 2.5 million Americans, Sanders stood on stage next to Hillary Clinton and said that she is “far and away, the best candidate” to “address the very serious crises that we face.”
In an interview with CBS, Bernie Sanders goes on to explain why he chose to endorse his former rival: “Hillary Clinton is, by far, the superior candidate for the middle class” (when compared with Donald Trump).
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have been working closely with one another since Clinton won the nominating process, Hillary announced at her recent New Hampshire rally her five-point platform that she plans on taking action on in her first 100 days in the White House.
- Make the biggest investment in good paying jobs since World War II.
- Clean energy jobs.
- Make college debt-free and help those who are struggling to make student loan payments.
- No tuition at public colleges for students who make less than $125,000/year.
- Crack down on companies that ship jobs and profits overseas, reward companies that share profits with their employees.
- Strengthen Obama’s policies on financial institutions.
- Make sure Wall Street, corporations and the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes.
- Our tax code is riddled with scams, loopholes and breaks.
- Step up and respond to the way American families actually live and work (social security expansion, paid family leave, equal pay for women).
- Families and workplaces have changed; our policies need to change.
This still leaves Sander’s supporters feeling…Bern’d. Even Donald Trump tweeted about Sander’s change of heart, and he makes a point. Hillary is everything that Bernie stood against: big money in politics and special interests. Hillary said, at the end of her rally in New Hampshire, that big money needs to be taken out of politics and that Citizen’s United needs to be overturned. This seems fairly contrary to what she has been doing since the beginning of this campaign.
It’s so important to understand how radically different the views of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are before just choosing to vote for Hillary because Bernie said so or because we fear a Trump presidency. She has voted in favor of the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, and has promoted fracking. Sanders voted against the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, and has refused money from companies that pollute our world. Bernie Sanders wants to keep the church and the state as separate entities, while Hillary believes that God should remain a part of our political process. Bernie Sanders has been fighting for social justice, and while not enacting much change, economic reform for over 30 years.
Hillary has been through hell and back with an ongoing battle with the Republicans over the past several years. Although she was not charged, and is unlikely to ever be charged, with criminal activity, she is unlikely to have any friends on the other side of the aisle that will be willing to work with her. Names like Killary, Crooked Hillary, and others have come out from Republican politicians, indicating their refusal to work with her professionally. That is not good news for the Democratic party.
Bernie Sanders has been accused of selling out, while some claim his endorsement of Hillary Clinton is necessary to be allowed to speak at the DNC. Some people have even charged that Hillary has threatened Bernie Sander’s livelihood if he did not endorse her.
One thing is certain, if Hillary supporters voted for Hillary, and Bernie supporters voted for Bernie, we would be looking at a Trump presidency. Bernie Sanders has stirred up the pot, enough to entirely divide the democratic party, and he might be regretting it. He’s brought important issues to the table, but choosing to step away is the wrong choice.
What do you think should happen? Should we come together to defeat Donald Trump? Or should we stand by our progressive principles of a political revolution?
