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I hadn’t planned on supporting Bernie’s second run, but somehow I got sucked into it anyway.  And, it turned out to be just as soul-crushing and depressing as I expected it would be before I allowed my heart (and pollsters) to rule my common sense.   

It began sensibly enough.  I was just going to dabble, I told myself. I resisted getting on any lists or donating any money to his campaign. I stayed cool.

But as the race heated up, I got hooked. And anyway — the polls looked so good.  How could he lose? 

What I hadn’t fully taken into account were the malice and guile of the political establishment who really, really didn’t want Bernie to win.  Both in the media and in person, I came to hear the Centrist view loud and clear.  It didn’t sound like the Bernie I knew — Socialist, Commie, Brown Shirt, Nazi, nobody likes him, dangerous, polarizing, radical, old, unelectable.  So who is the DNC’s pick? Why, old, unelectable Biden, of course.  It’s enough to make your head spin.

I finally donated to Bernie 2020 the day after the NH primary because I felt sorry for him. It was so clear that the Dems were out to get him, and that dirty tricks would be played.  As indeed they were, all perfectly legal and timed to detonate at points calibrated to derail his campaign.  It was then that I became emotionally involved, even though I swore up front that I wouldn’t.  There was no way to watch this and stay calmly neutral.

So naturally, I was gutted on Super Tuesday.  Not surprised — I had watched the other candidates getting manipulated into the DNC’s master plan — drop out and endorse Biden — which they all did after a few last minute arm-twisting calls from Obama.  Americans heard the drumroll of negative reporting on Sanders, filled with intentionally scary buzzwords, and decided to vote for the guy the party wanted them to vote for — corporatist Joe Biden. 

Speaking of whom, the idea that Biden — this elderly, old school tool of the establishment — is regarded as “most electable” by the Democratic party is really an insult to the American people.  But we’ll leave that for another time.

Now is the time to thank Bernie Sanders for his contributions during this election cycle — the lessons of 2020 if you will that I extracted, however painfully, from the primaries so far. 

I learned just how much the Democrats hate Bernie Sanders, socialists, and progressives in general. This I learned from the rhetoric used  by the DNC insiders, pundits, and media who carried out the Destroy Sanders campaign in the weeks leading up to and after Super Tuesday.  Their venom Sanders and his progressive supporters was on full display.  It’s clear now that the Democrats will never allow a progressive to win the nomination.  Frankly, as a marginally involved, left-leaning citizen, I think this is good to know.

I also learned that absent a concerted full court press of pundits and media trying to scare and confuse voters, Bernie Sanders’ ideas are pretty popular and tend to generate a lot of enthusiasm.  That enthusiasm turned out to be fickle, alas.  But even if many people lack the courage of their convictions, it’s nice to know that they at least have some.  Clearly, there is a growing wave of Americans for whom the status quo is no longer attractive.  It’s too bad there isn’t a candidate to represent them, but at least such people exist.  

Finally, I learned that the Democrats have devolved into distinct and at times oppositional factions, specifically the Centrists,  the Moderates, and the Progressives.  Centrists run the show — they’re the globalizing, neoliberal, technocratic core of the party.  Moderates may hold some progressive views but since they align with the Centrists, the center-right gets the upper hand.  Out in left field, the Progressives back candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and are generally disparaged by the party faithful, who are overwhelmingly Centrist and Moderate.

Finally, I learned some uncomfortable lessons about the power of the media, the malleability of people’s views, and the ability of powerful people to use their power to overpower the power of the people.  If you get my drift.  Oh, and polls — don’t trust ’em.

Our choice this fall — no matter who they run in place of Biden — has got to be one of the worst in decades.  You can’t blame Bernie for that. It’s also hard to figure out what the takeaway is except maybe, Dems don’t want to win?  Hard to believe, but maybe it’s true that they’d rather lose with Biden than risk a win with Sanders.

This is where holding your nose usually comes up so I’ll address it before it does. My remarks amount to a question: when has it ever worked?  To put it another way, can you name a hold-your-nose candidate who won?  I rest my case.

Now that it’s all over but the shouting and Bernie has officially endorsed Biden, there’s no more reason for progressives who feel disaffected to stick with the Democratic party.  Progressives have tried influencing from within for a long time, and look what it’s gotten them. Their views are not just unwelcome but anathema to party doctrine.  

Very soon now, Progressives will have a choice.  They can learn the lessons of 2020 and look for another banner to gather under, or they can just keep voting for Democrats.  Either way — thank you, Bernie! for giving us a glimpse into the people and politics that keep us down.