Unless you have been sleeping under a rock the last couple of days, you know that Hillary Clinton has proclaimed herself to be the 2016 Democratic nominee. I wish I could say that there is still a great shot for Bernie to get elected, but I can’t. One thing that I value most is honesty, and I’m going to give it to you straight. Bernie Sanders still has a slight shot at becoming the Democratic nominee. (We’re looking at a 5 percent shot, at best, here.) The most likely situation that would enable Bernie Sanders to slide in is if Hillary Clinton gets indicted. I understand the Bernie or Busters and I want to emphasize that it is certainly a possibility. However, the chances of it happening before the convention are not looking good. With that being said, I want to formally announce my endorsement for the 2016 presidential race. But before I do that, I want to explain a few things.

First of all, I cannot stand Republican nominee, Donald Trump. I have enjoyed watching him destroy the Republican Party, but his bigoted ideas need to be far away from the White House. They belong on a country hillside somewhere, where the fewer people to hear him, the better. On the flip side of that, I cannot stand projected Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, either. I have identified myself as a Democrat for many years. I voted for Obama in 2012, and I am very actively involved in politics. With that being said, I cannot bring myself to vote for a candidate like Hillary Clinton. It pains me to say it, but perhaps the Democratic Party is too far gone. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. I thought that maybe it could be fixed. I thought that maybe we could put it back together again. That is why I supported Bernie Sanders. I thought that his political revolution was what the Democratic Party needed. Unfortunately, there are no true progressives left in the party. The party of FDR and Jimmy Carter is dead and has been since the Bill Clinton era. It pains me to say that the Democrats elected the most pathetic candidate imaginable, not the most logical. For that reason, I can no longer call myself a Democrat. I cannot support a party that stacks the deck against someone just because he is not an insider. I cannot support a party that chooses the corporations of the people of America. I cannot support a party that distorts information to fit their agenda. That is a Republican tactic. I thought that we as Democrats were above that. Obviously, I was wrong. With that, I want to renounce my registration as a Democrat. I just cannot support a candidate that crosses so many of my moral red lines or the party that encourages it.

For me, this isn’t about choosing the lesser of two evils. Why must we choose an evil at all? This is about choosing the best candidate running, which is why I supported Bernie Sanders up to this point. But it doesn’t look like Bernie Sanders will be the nominee. It is a shame. But given the results, it is a very painful truth. I need a new champion of the people. I need a good candidate, not one as pathetic has Hillary Clinton. That is why I want to formally announce my endorsement of Jill Stein. I am aware that this announcement will ruffle the feathers of my Democratic colleagues, but please understand. I cannot, in good conscience, support a candidate like Hillary Clinton. I cannot support someone who feels the need to switch her position every election cycle, someone who feels the need to pivot between liberal and conservative ideas from the primary election to the general election. It goes against my morals. That is why I am hereby endorsing Jill Stein of the Green Party for President in 2016. I’ve come to my senses. I’ve sobered up. I’m going somewhere more progressive. I’m going rogue. I’m going home.