An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders at This Tenuous Crossroads
Senator Sanders,
The establishment has your back against the wall. By extension, they have us against the wall, too.
You said it wouldn’t be easy. And now — after being denied the momentum you should have gained from winning the first three states back to back — here we are after several more. Down, but clearly not out.
But to heed the convenient cries of the corporate media and establishment Dems and concede at this stage would be akin to forfeiting the Super Bowl after halftime because you’re down by a couple of touchdowns.
On behalf of a movement of millions who have put their time, energy, money, blood, sweat and tears into electing a true servant-leader to the highest office in the land, I implore you to ignore the establishment’s outrage.
“Do not go gentle into that good night!”
Half the delegates haven’t even been allocated as of now. It would be a disservice to voters across the remaining half of the country to be denied the opportunity to choose you, the last viable progressive running, over Joe Biden.
We need you in this, fighting for every last vote — both those cast in the past, and ones to be tallied in the future.
Now, I get trying to climb back up is not going to be easy, and we’ll need to continue doing all we can to help you.
I also recognize that the coronavirus situation has also effectively frozen you out of one of your key fuels — that of the rally, the town hall, of meeting, greeting, and simply being among the people. More practically speaking, your ability to campaign has, if temporarily, been sidelined.
I believe frequent, virtual, livestreamed town halls, where folks can Skype in to ask questions, may be one good workaround until the pandemic has been abated. You already have the social media channels and studio to make this work, after all.
The March 15th debate will be a pivotal moment for our country and the world. What you do there could fundamentally alter the course of the race and derail Biden’s runaway train, powered by hunger for Obama-era nostalgia in the face of a pandemic and stock market crisis.
Sure, “Not Me, Us,” but it is you who is in the position of being a viable candidate for President of the United States.
And trying times like these simply cannot be met with a nominee, nor president who privately tells corporate donors “nothing will fundamentally change.” Nothing less than an unbought statesman with a strong moral compass and alternative vision of the world will be able to combat Trump, and you need to stop suggesting otherwise.
We’ve been down the road of trying to make the establishment candidate work before. You and I both know how that ends! And even if Joe were to win, “nothing will fundamentally change,” and because the problems that led to Trump in the first place were not sufficiently dealt with, nothing stops another, perhaps more competent “Trump” to come along and make matters much worse for our country (shocking thought, I know) a few years from now.
No pattycakes and arguments for policy concessions from Joe will do on Sunday. No pulled punches. No repetitive insistence several dozen times on what a friend he is and how you’ll make sure to support him if he wins. You must go in hard on him with everything you’ve got. Leave nothing to chance, and leave it all out on the field.
Call out his record and his failed policy prescriptions. Call out the cash he takes, in excruciating detail. Call out how Trump will exploit those flaws to eat Joe’s lunch. And make it abundantly clear that Biden’s stances and record, in contrast with yours, show that he is the radical, and that you are the “electable” moderate when it comes to most Americans’ views on the issues.
I understand the prospect of going on such an offense may make you squeamish and uncomfortable. Because you’re a fundamentally decent person, your instincts are decidedly not towards taking down someone you consider more of a “friend” than Hillary ever was, let alone for the sake of power.
But for the good of the country and of the future of this planet, you have no choice. Lives in this country and around the world hang in the balance. Whether some of us can see a doctor before it’s too late, whether we can bring about more diplomacy and nuclear disarmament and less war, whether or not climate change is sufficiently addressed in time — all of it hangs in the balance and rests on your shoulders at this critical juncture.
To borrow a quote from the amazing Senator Nina Turner, “Only all that we love is on the line!”
We need you as president — not for the sake of being president, but to do what you always do: use the powers of the office to do the most good for the most people.
It’s not a coincidence that people from all over the world have stepped in to phonebank for you, and have even gone so far as to travel here and help canvass. Nor is it a coincidence I’ve tripped over Youtube comment chains full to the brim in international support.
The rest of the world already sees you as a leader. It’s time that you see yourself the same way.
And it’s past time for Joe Biden to see you that way, too, rather than smear you and your supporters only to look sheepishly away when you so much as stare him in the eye and tell him why he’s full of it.
It’s time to take the reins, Mr. President-Elect. We’re ready when you are.
In the immortal words of Tom Petty: Don’t. Back. Down.
In Solidarity,
HootHootBerns
