Over the past couple of weeks I have read on social media and heard from friends, who supported Bernie Sanders in his campaign for president, voice their decision of voting for Trump. One friend, explaining her reason as “She [Clinton] is nothing like Bernie and I don't trust her as much. I would rather have Trump win than her”. This concerned me for many reasons, and I feel it my duty to say something about it.
Bernie Sanders has inspired many first time voters to become involved in their government; his words about a political revolution brought him many followers both old and young. I was one of many who felt the “Bern”, but unfortunately, his flame has started to burn out.
As of this moment, Hillary Clinton has the lead with 2,800 delegates next to Sanders’s 1,832. It has been presumed that Hillary will become the democratic nominee for the 2016 Presidential race against Donald Trump. Many have shown support for the presumption- even President Obama has officially endorsed Clinton. It seems that Sanders has started to realize that his campaign is over and when asked if he would vote for Clinton in November, the senator stated that “Yes. Yeah, I think the issues right here is, I’m going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump.” Yet, some of his supporters still claim that they will not vote for Clinton and instead vote for Trump, not vote at all, or vote for an independent third party. They claim to be Sanders’s supporters but now that their candidate is out of the running they have become bitter and instead of supporting the person who Sanders himself will vote for, they have turned to his ideological opposite.
Sanders and Clinton have their differences, absolutely. For the last year, we have analyzed their differing world views. They have a different vision on the path America should take, but would both be subjected to the same political restraints and lead to similar decisions and outcomes. That is evident from their time together in the senate, where they voted the same 93% of the time.
Clinton and Sanders have the same or similar stance on the majority of issues such as women’s health, education, the environment, equal rights, and immigration among others. On the other hand, there is Trump. A person who, since the beginning of his campaign, has belittled and ostracized minorities and continues to do so. A person who insults anyone who disagrees with him and makes a show of it. Trump believes global warming is a hoax, Sanders believes that it is the greatest threat to our national security. Trump is the complete opposite of Sanders in every sense of the word, yet Sanders supporters aren't stepping up to stop the presumptive GOP nominee, some are even planning to vote for him.
For former Sanders supporters intending not to vote or vote for an independent candidate- please rethink your decision and look at all your choices. Independent parties are a great part of our political culture and an important foil to our two-party system, but it may not be the right decision for this election considering there is so much at stake. As Senator Sanders stated, “I think Trump, in so many ways, will be a disaster for this country if he were to be elected president.” Let’s be honest, if Hillary Clinton is not elected president this November Donald Trump will nominate the next Supreme Court justice. This would shift the ideological balance of the court resulting in a decidedly conservative bench for years to come. This would shift the course of American history. Things that many people that take for granted, like the Roe v. Wade decision, for instance, could easily be overturned by that one vote. You could claim that it is not about Clinton against Trump and instead about the political revolution you heard Sanders speak about, but you cannot expect change if you go three steps back by letting Trump win. If you supported Bernie Sanders for president, not voting for Clinton now is contributing to a Trump presidency.
