Two writers (among many) look at some of the worst of the "Bernie- or -bust" rationales. To get the context, please read the entire articles.
How privileged do you need to be to imagine that it’s a good idea to risk the actual lives of vulnerable Americans because you “hate” Clinton so much that you vow to stay home if Sanders doesn’t get the nomination? How protected from the consequences of a Trump presidency do you need to be to think your hatred of Clinton constitutes, as I saw someone say earlier this week, an “inviolable principle,” meaning that it’s more important than the lives of vulnerable Americans? That all applies equally to any Clinton supporters saying the same about Sanders. (We have yet to see the full weight of American anti-Semitism aimed at Sanders, and if he wins the nomination, we most certainly will.)Scott Lemieux at LGM:
Vote for whoever you like in the primary. But let’s step away from vicious attacks and hatred. Let’s step away from buying into debunked conservative propaganda about Clinton’s trustworthiness. Let’s look at the candidates’ actual proposals and weigh those proposals’ actual strengths and weaknesses. Let’s respect each other’s choices in the primaries.
Another thing with the taking your toys and going home flounce is that it understates what Sanders has already accomplished. He was always a massive longshot to win the nomination. Clinton was one of the strongest frontrunners in the history of the contemporary primary process, and a 74-year-old white guy from a small, unrepresentative rural state isn’t the ideal candidate on paper to make a challenge from the left. And yet, he’s been more successful than anyone could imagined, and successful in a way that will make a real difference in the party. This is a long game, not a short one. Forget heighten-the-contradictions nonsense — keep up the fight for Bernie and ensure that he shows strength through June. And then think of how the political energies he’s unleashed can effect political change at every level. The 2016 Democratic primaries aren’t the end of the struggle (and wouldn’t be even if Sanders won.)As with the pro- Clinton PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) folks in 2008, "Bernie or bust" folks are deluding themselves if they think sitting out this election will bring them an aura of nobility or a victory for their "principles." Regardless of what they say, regardless of how they label themselves, they're not "progressives" if their actions would in any way visit a presidency of Donald "Rump" Trump or "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz upon us, especially our most vulnerable citizens. (In the case of a few =cough= former Rand Paul supporter HA (ha) Goodman =cough= the odeur of Republican ratf*cking lurks in the background.) For all the rest of us who live in a world of real consequences for our actions -- both Bernie and Hillary supporters -- we would like to offer this moment of truth, spoken by the man himself:
"On our worst day... We are one hundred times better than any Republican candidate" -@BernieSanders #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/SG8msqGHB6— Mashable News (@MashableNews) February 5, 2016
BONUS: Or, as Charles Pierce says in relation to one of those "Bernie or bust" characters pooh-poohing who might be filling the Supreme Court vacancy, "Get glib about your own life, fool."
