Watching CNN on the night of the second “Super Tuesday,” I am as disgusted as ever. Between Don Lemon’s staunch advocation for Bernie Sanders to suspend his campaign and Jackie Kucinich labeling Bernie’s supporters as “nasty” in her snarky tone of voice, it is simply too much. In the face of such negativity, progressives need to continue the fight, even if it does not bring our candidate — Bernie Sanders — to the big win at the Democratic National Convention.
It is critical that Bernie ignores the pleas from the pundits and the moderate media to concede to Joe Biden. Bernie needs to stay in the race, even if he does not receive a single additional delegate. Every progressive needs to step up and turn out to cast their vote for Senator Sanders in the states that have not yet held a primary. Progressives need to become delegates to their county and state conventions, so that our voices can be heard and our policies can be infused into state platforms and ultimately the national platform for the DNC.
Moderates and media pundits, you are playing a dangerous game. Given the unwarranted insults being hurled our way, progressives are feeling very offended. To be clear, not all Sanders supporters are Bernie Bros engaging in the vulgar discourse that defines the Twittersphere. We are individuals of diverse backgrounds who care deeply about the future of our nation and the future of our planet. While many of us are old lefties like me, many more are young and enthusiastic about the message Bernie has championed his entire political career.
We are exasperated by the same moderates who criticize the Bernie supporters who failed to back Clinton in 2016, but habitually criticize and demean us now. Seriously, “Biden Bitches,” do you really think that your relentless disparagement of us now — in 2020 — will achieve better results? Personally, I will vote for anyone who is NOT Donald Trump, as I suspect most old lefties will also do. However, our younger comrades may not be so open-minded given the nature of the attacks against us.
To win this election, moderate Democrats need to kiss our liberal asses. The DNC has sold the American public a flawed candidate with Joe Biden. The Republicans are already calling out his many substantial flaws: constant gaffes, rude comments to people questioning his past or current policies, his sketchy voting record in the Senate, and his current inability to speak intelligently for longer than five minutes. You all better be prepared to witness his slaughter by the Republican Party and especially Donald Trump.
If our younger supporters are not won over and if they feel that the system is indifferent to their legitimate concerns, we will lose them forever, and the viability of the Democratic Party will be greatly diminished. Thanks, Jackie Kucinich, you have got me feeling “nasty.”
Joyce O’Day 