My first activist experience was gathering signatures for the Nuclear Weapons Freeze initiative in the early 1980s in Orange County, California. It was a wonderful experience for me. The comradery of working with like-minded, passionate people, sharing the ups and downs of the work, and feeling my natural idealism aligned with my daily work for the first time. It was rly intoxicating (in a way that I’ve never felt again). I was a political virgin; the 1982 election was the first time I voted.
The local campaign office was run by a dynamic duo, a brother and sister team, David and Sharon. Both of them were full of contagious enthusiasm and an ability to brush aside the obstacles to doing this kind of work in an ultra-conservative place like Orange County.
When the signature-gathering phase was over, the question arose of what to do next. David and Sharon were unable to agree on this. Sharon wanted to continue under the umbrella of the Democrats, who would also fund continued outreach. Part of the deal would be registering democratic voters. David felt this was a mistake, that the freeze movement would become strictly partisan, and that the mission of preventing nuclear war would get sidelined and watered down.
So they went they separate ways. Sharon went with the democrats. David started a super grassroots, shoestring budget campaign that focused on outreach and registering voters so they could vote for the freeze. The OC signature-gathering activists were left with a choice to follow David or Sharon, who were trying to be good parents and not bad-mouth the other parent. For the most part, we scattered. We had lost the wind under our sails. And I think a subset of Bernie voters have also experienced this kind of loss.
Even though I voted for Bernie in the primary, it was a close decision for me, and I had no difficulty switching over to Hillary when the nomination was clearly hers. I watched the convention on television, and had other conventions from the past to compare it to. Damn, but it was good! I felt impatient with the boos that kept interrupting speakers whose words I wanted to hear. Booing Elizabeth Warren? Booing Bernie? Why?
When I think back on my entry into political activism and how exciting it was to, for the first time, have my ideals and what was available in the political system not feel so diametrically opposed to one another, I have more patience with the Bernie hold outs, particularly the political virgins. Bernie’s more seasoned supporters probably understood that he would support Hillary if he didn't get the nomination. Many of the less seasoned felt betrayed by his endorsement of Hillary.
They had been supporting Bernie and fighting Hillary for the nomination. Not so strange that some might find switching allegiances to the candidate they had been fighting difficult. Hillary?!! I thought we were against her and everything she stands for! She is part of the corporate elite. She is in bed with Goldman Sachs. So what if some of Bernie's ideas were incorporated into the platform--Why should we trust that she will follow through on them? And so on.
I can imagine some readers thinking--So what? We have a campaign to do and we can't just keep handing out tissues to the Bernie supporters who are feeling burned. It is time to get on with it!
It is, and the enthusiasm of Bernie's supporters carries great potential and they deserve some patience. Pragmatism gets things done and we certainly hope that ideals form the foundation for pragmatism, but idealism is also the chi that gets and keeps people involved. We need both. Bernie not only inspired many to get involved, he did it on issues that have been shut down in the mainstream because of the successful demonizing of all things socialist. It would be great to keep the newly inspired involved, not just for this election, but for elections to come.
Many of Bernie's supporters are disillusioned and disappointed. To be politically involved is to encounter disillusionment again and again; is it not? After the discouraging years of Bush Jr., Obama re-inspired me and gave me hope again. And then like many, I felt disillusioned with Obama for making some of the compromises he did on health care. Even though I know he is not an emperor that can just blow past congress, I was deeply disappointed. Yet I still support him and have great admiration for him. He got something done that many have tried to do and couldn't.
There is so much to admire about Hillary Clinton. She is a strong, ambitious, amazing woman who has withstood attack after attack after attack from the Republicans. She is not just still standing, she is triumphant! I learned things about her during the DNC that I didn't know, which increased my respect and appreciation for her lifetime of work. I could be wrong, but I have always suspected that she has kept her more liberal cards close to her chest because of the political environment of recent years. Thank you to Bernie for successfully doing the groundwork for her to play some of those cards. And what a bittersweet victory that must be for Bernie.
Coming back to the disillusionment of some of Bernie's supporters, if he had gotten the nomination and gone on to win, it would only have delayed disillusionment for many of his supporters. Trump may have deluded himself that he could be the all powerful god-emperor, but Bernie has no such illusions. A seasoned politician, he knows about Washington gridlock and the frustratingly slow grinding forward on liberal goals. At some point, he would have made a compromise that disappointed the idealists. Because he did not win the nomination, he made that compromise sooner rather than later.
Bernie inspired a following with a desire to be involved and make a change. It would be great (and smart!) to keep the newly inspired involved, not just for this election, but for elections to come. Some won't come around to supporting Hillary because they can't get it to fit with their internal compass. I don’t agree with that choice, but I hope they are respectful and respected.
For the others Bernie supporters, I say welcome! There are lots of different ways to feel empowered about your hopes and dreams. If you can resist demonizing Hillary, perhaps others will listen, find out what it is you are afraid you have lost, and see if it can be found again.