Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Why I Work Against Bernie Sanders During the Primaries [View all]Tom Rinaldo
(22,912 posts)At this point I can easily see scenarios that would have me voting for Biden, or Warren, or Klobuchar rather than Sanders when the New York Primary comes around, even if Sanders was still in the running. I of course will back any Democrat in November. I am watching the electorate very closely this time around because, like everyone else, I know we have to get Trump out of office in November. Loyalty to the Democratic Party is not at the top of my list of priorities. At the top is saving our Democracy. Below that is reversing the consolidation of riches and power in America into fewer and fewer hands.
I choose to be a Democrat because we functionally live in a two party system rather than in a parliamentary style democracy in which governing coalitions are routinely assembled from several different parties. My values and priorities have a seat at the table within the Democratic Party, they do not within the Republican Party. Almost all of my political heroes identify as Democrats, essentially none of them are Republican. I have always rejected the Green Party because backing it siphons votes away from the one political party that can defeat Republicans. Sanders is an Independent who functionally, in varied ways, coordinates with Democrats, with the most obvious example being his membership in the Senate Democratic caucus. If I back Sanders for President I back him only as the candidate of the Democratic coalition. I would not back him running against a Democrat in November.
Yes Sanders has a long political career as an Independent. A plurality of Americans also self identify as Independents. Most Independents end up voting for one of the two major party candidates in November. I believe that the appeal Sanders has with many Independents was not obviously recognized by conventional wisdom in 2016, and for the most part isn't adequately recognized this year either. Independent voters don't care how loyal a politician is to the Democratic Party, rather they care how loyal that politician is to them. And yes, many 2016 Green Party voters also have positive feelings for Sanders. Some of them would abandon the Green Party for Sanders if he wins the Democratic nomination and is on the ballot in November. In a close election that may matter.
I am comfortable by and large with the policies that Sanders advocates for, so I have no reason not to support him on ideological grounds. If I sense that he has the chance to put together a more likely winning coalition in November than the more standard Democratic playbook calls for, because of his cross party line appeal to swaths of voters who are fundamentally dissatisfied with the long time status quo in America, Sanders will keep my support in the primaries. If not it will go to another one of the candidates for the Democratic nomination who are more clearly identified with and loyal to the Democratic Party. In the big picture everything else is just static
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden