With South Carolina and Super Tuesday over many Hillary supporters would like that Bernie would stop fighting and concede to Her. This is absolutely wrong for the following reasons.
ALL states and their voters have a right to have their say. This isn’t a case of the South gets to choose our candidate because their states are front loaded. They have no more right than IA or NH. Southern states are NOT any more representative of the country as a whole than those other two states. Yes, they are more diverse especially with POC, but they are also much more conservative than a great portion of the country.
Bernie’s supporters are building a movement not just a campaign. This is a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party. Frankly, it is the last chance for the party to have relevance with the younger generations. They will be going to other parties that truly represent their interests and those parties are much easier to find than ever before. In addition to younger people, a lot of older people are going to start giving up on the party. People here my not like hearing that, but they better learn to accept it because this is supposed to be a “reality based” community. Besides, the people won’t be leaving the party, the party will have left them as it continues to drift right into the arms of Corporate America and the Oligarchs.
Going all the way to the convention will slow Hillary’s (if she ultimately wins) dash to the “center”. The longer we fight the less likely that she will be able to move to where she wants to really be. We also will have a platform to be fighting for. The more delegates Bernie has, the more leverage he will have in keeping Progressive ideas in the platform.
We will need a true Progressive as the VP. No more fucking Al Gores or Joe Liebermans. We need someone who will be on the inside fighting for our interests should Hillary win. They will have to be high profile and not willing to be pushed aside, and if Hillary’s people try to, the VP will have to fight back and in the open.
Hillary set the precedent by going all the way to California in 2008. She even took it beyond California by that stupid fight over seating MI and FL delegates that had been blocked because their primaries were moved without DNC approval. So what is appropriate for the goose is definitely appropriate for the gander.
And speaking of the long march towards California, as Hillary reminded us in 08, “anything can happen” between now and the convention. Now I am not suggesting something terrible like assassination, you know like she did when she referred to what happened to Bobby Kennedy in 1968, but rather the potential for a new Clinton scandal or a revelation about an existing one. People around here have convened themselves that the email scandal doesn’t matter, and among Democrats it doesn’t, but they are ignoring the rest of the voting public who might still care about it. Besides, Trump is going to keep hammering on this regardless, and this is going to drive her favoribilities down even further. Hell, she is already halfway to China in this regard, and she might make it all the way there by the time of the general.
There is another reason for a real Progressive. A lot of people won’t like this but fuck it. If Hillary wins the WH, there is a strong chance she will not complete her term of office. The RWNJ’s will do everything they can to impeach her. The House will surely move to Impeach. There is already talk about it. Will they have enough votes in the Senate? “Oh, but we will have the Senate”, you say. Really, you have a crystal ball? You know that for a fact? We need to talk then, so I can place some bets.
BTW, they don’t really need to convict her. All they have to do is tie her up with a long and drawn out process. All the while, the next cycle will be coming up. By 2019 they could have the numbers to do it. And they don’t have to worry about the political impact of such a move. This isn’t 1998. Their seats are shit load safer than they were in 1998 or even 2000. If anything, the opposite affect will be in play. Those GOPers who don’t try to impeach her could be at risk from their own right, and now that would be a risk they wouldn’t want to take. In the scenario, we have to make sure a strong progressive is the VP.
So, Bernie shouldn’t drop out. He needs to go all they and let the game play out. I for one will keep donating, and I am sure that there will be many more just like me.