#StillSanders

Hey Everyone!

Since it's the first day of the Democratic convention, I just want to give a quick shoutout to all my fellow Bernie Sanders supporters who are still supporting the one and only major party candidate in this primary cycle who is actually honest.  Kudos to you for recognizing that, as an honest person, he had to keep his word and endorse Hillary Clinton even though she's, at best, only the lesser of two evils.  Kudos to you for realizing that he isn't giving up the fight, he's just changing the battleground.

I guess, like me, you understand he had to keep faith with the Democratic establishment, not because they deserve it, but because he's a principled person who does what he thinks is right even when it's not easy and other people don't do what's right.  He gained no personal advantage from his endorsement, the only thing he gained were concessions to include progressive policies in the Democratic platform.  Those concessions don't go far enough, no argument, and they very well may ultimately prove to be meaningless if we don't insist our elected officials follow through.  But the fact that the Democratic establishment is even paying lip service to such ideas is largely due to Bernie Sanders's insistence.

That's not selling out, that's doing his job and fighting for the interests of the people he represents.  No, the fight is not yet won, but as Bernie Sanders has repeatedly stated, he intends to continue the struggle now and in the future.  But he can't do that without our help.  We need to all send a message to the people who claim to represent us in Washington that We, The People, are their bosses, not the corporate oligarchy they have been serving.  We need to let them know what we want and that we'll fight for it.  We need to let them know that Bernie Sanders does not stand alone, and that if they want to keep their jobs they need to respect the will of the people.

So, will I fall in line and vote for Hillary Clinton like Bernie urges?  Not just no, but fuck no!  If you want to know my reasons for that, I discuss them in detail here: Why I'm Saying #BernieOrBust. But just because I disagree with him about this one thing, that doesn't mean that I can't recognize that he's still on the side of The People and that he has earned both our respect and our support.  I'm glad to know that I'm not the only Bernie supporter who can see that, and who understands that we all need to stick together to get corporate money out of politics and bring democracy back to this country.

I hope we all will keep fighting the good fight with Bernie, and I urge everyone to reach out to your elected officials and tell them in no uncertain terms where you stand on the issues that are important to you.  We need to remind all those elected officials, either this year or within the next couple years, in both primaries and general elections, we'll see you at the polling places.

Peace!