Focusing on Bernie Sanders as an individual is a harmful distraction

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

I did not support Bernie Sanders, I do not like Bernie Sanders, I don't think what happened in the 2016 primaries should have been allowed to happen and I would support any endeavor to make sure it never happens again. Although I voted for Clinton (for all the difference it made in California) I did not support her either because I didn't think she was nationally competitive.

However we have to be honest about what happened. Bernie Sanders found a significant amount of support among the leftist wing of our party. This was nothing but sincere idealism, there was nothing sinister about it. The problem however is that this expression was met with disingenuous allegations of deplorablism. You couldn't plot the differences between Clinton and Sanders supporters on any issue of gender, race or sexuality on a Venn diagram because there aren't any. Bernie supporters were no more motivated by misogyny than ISIS is motivated by Metamodernism but by casting Bernie supporters as our very own flavor of deplorable it became difficult to then unite behind Clinton as the camps meet with mutual suspicion or loathing.

Going into 2020 we are most likely going to have Gillibrand and Booker, a white woman and a black man running, both centrists with records and histories that the left aren't going to like very much. "The Tobacco Industry Lawyer" and "Hedge Fund Apologist School Privatizing Neo-Liberal."

We can not put ourselves in a position where the opponents of Gillibrand and Booker who sincerely enough support the other or follow another candidate entirely in the primaries (preferably an actual Democrat) are dishonestly attacked as misogynists and racists. You can not attack someone's character and then reasonably expect their loyalty when the dust settles.

I will not excuse anything the Bernie supporters did that was disruptive or otherwise inappropriate but the Clinton camp crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed and must never be crossed again. If we allow the supporters of primary opponents to be attacked in this way we will tear ourselves to pieces and permanently ostracize not just leftists but the mainstream who find themselves having bet on the wrong horse.