​To Hillary or not to Hillary?

After a long, hard-fought campaign, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton this week; and wasting no time, his supporters lashed out at him.

The endorsement was rumored to be in the works for weeks, as he negotiated and received concessions from Hillary which resulted in the most progressive Democratic party platform ever. He got support from her on the $15.00 minimum wage, a price on carbon pollution, expansions of her college affordability plan, and support for a public option on Obamacare (which Obama also came out in favor of). Another victory was a pledge supported by Elizabeth Warren, which would prevent bankers from working in the administration in positions of regulation.

It wasn’t enough for some of his supporters, who say they would never vote for Hillary and feel as if he sold out the movement. What did they expect him to do? Continue contesting the race through the convention? Once it became clear that she wouldn’t be indicted by the F.B.I. over the email scandal, there was no way Bernie was getting the Democratic nomination.

Some of his supporters seem to be in denial of the reality of the situation. If Bernie really wanted to fight the Democrat establishment, he should have run as an independent. But he chose the conventional route and did an amazing job, coming up just short.

I can understand that some of his supporters would never vote for Hillary. I don’t understand why they would attack him for doing so. If they really want to continue his message and support the progressive cause, they should support progressive candidates who are running all across the country in races much tighter than his was, inspired by his run.

One question is how many of his supporters won’t support Hillary. To hear Bernie supporters say it, it’s as high as 80 to 90%. If you look at polls, and of course, some people never trust them, a recent Pew poll showed that 85% of Sanders voters would vote for Clinton this year as compared to 68% of Clinton voters saying they’d vote for Obama in 2008 at this time during that cycle. However, another Pew Poll shows that just 23% of voters under 30 are excited about their options on the Presidential ballot this year, versus 65% in 2008.

It could be that while they are not excited, they will still ultimately pull the trigger for her. Nobody denies that the biggest factor in their decision is fear of a Trump victory, which may have increased after the Brexit victory. Can we as a nation afford the cost of what Trump would do to us? It is Hillary’s biggest asset. Fear of McCain or Romney wasn’t as large because they weren’t nearly as reckless with their rhetoric. They didn’t motivate voters with racism.

I’ve heard that some Bernie supporters think his endorsement will cause a surge in support for Green Party candidate Jill Stein to the point where she could get 15% in polls, which would land her in the Presidential debates. I would be shocked if that were the case. She will see a bump no doubt, but one that large would be pretty incredible.

Why? Again the difference this year is Trump. Remember those who feel that Nader cost Gore the election because of the closeness in Florida? Again, Nader did well that year because of the lack of enthusiasm for Gore, but there wasn’t the unifying factor and fear that is Trump with Bush.

Libertarians are polling at around 10% and I think they could end up in the debates with Gary Johnson possibly but that pulls from Trump as much as it does Clinton. Another recent national poll showed 21% support for a third party candidate. It’s higher than normal but it’s not much to split between Stein and Johnson. They may see a bump after the Sanders endorsement but how much? 5 points?

The major conundrum is voting your conscience, i.e. voting for someone who can’t win. Is Hillary the same as Trump? On Supreme Court nominations?? The Supreme Court is old, retirements are coming, the next President will shape the Court for years. Trump will not be able to put up pro-choice nominees with his Republican constituency. Clinton will.

I was a Bernie supporter. I feel that we need more change in America than Hillary will bring. But we lost. Hopefully the Sanders run has put enough scare in Hillary that she sees she needs to do more. Worst case, she continues the Obama legacy -- which isn’t bad, even though more change is needed. Most importantly, I really fear what a Trump Presidency would do to this country. It’s downright scary.

To read online comments, you’d think that no Bernie supporters approve of his move to endorse Clinton. But that has always been the run with the Feel the Bern movement: plenty of support online and at stadiums and arenas, but not enough at the ballot box. You can blame it all on election rules and establishment shenanigans, but he could still have won, had more of his younger supporters shown up at polling places in all states, not just some, instead of posting comments online and sharing memes.

By all means, support Jill Stein if you feel she is the truest person on the ballot to continue the progressive legacy. But don’t attack the man who brought more excitement to progressive causes than anybody in recent memory. He has the right to his decision just as you do. Keep in mind, he used that endorsement to get things that you wanted, including a speaking role at the Convention.

The fight for bridging the gap between the rich and the poor is not over. The fight against Wall Street is not over, the fight against continued military action is not over. It’s time to decide who is most able to continue those fights. We may not be happy with the choices. Some of us may choose to prevent someone else from winning. Some are so fed up with the system that they will choose the one who represents them best, even if their candidate can’t win. Can we stop attacking people for that?