THE THREE FACTIONS OF BERNIE OR BUST
Posted on- June 2, 2016 at 10:25 P.M.(Written By Joshua Hill)
I myself am a member of the Bernie Or Bust movement which is currently at 33% of Bernie supporters & growing. There are three different factions within Bernie Or Bust. The first faction consists of Bernie Supporters who will either stay home or write Bernie's name in. The second faction consist of Bernie supporters who will vote for a third-party candidate like Jill Stein. The third faction consist of Bernie supporters who will vote for Donald Trump. I was actually quite split on the specific path in which I would take as a supporter & a participant of the Bernie Or Bust movement myself. For me it was between writing Bernie's name in & voting Jill Stein. In the circumstance that Bernie Sanders isn't the Democratic Nominee & it comes down to choosing another option if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination than we together must figure out the best option. I believe I have finally made up my mind on the subject & I would like to share my perspective with you regarding the different options within the Bernie Or Bust movement, but also why I believe the Bernie Or Bust movement is so vehemently important.
Hear me now quote me later... "If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination & / or the Presidency, the Democratic Party will die. Perhaps not immediately, but in the long run a Hillary Clinton win will kill the Democratic Party." Hillary Clinton will literally destroy the values of Liberals & Progressives, it'll give an opportunity for the Right-Wing to point at Hillary Clinton & say, "See we told you Liberal & Progressive ideas & regulations don't work."
Yes, the Right-Wing will say the same thing about Bernie as well, but the difference is he will actually fight. Bernie fights for real Progressive & Liberal policies & works toward fixing the systemic fundamental core problems within the country (Which Would Actually Help The Economy), but when things get worse under Hillary Clinton's Neo-Liberal policies, especially if the next banking collapse happens under her, just because of the fact that she's not going to break up the big banks or re-implement regulations such as Glass-Steagall & instead only do tiny incremental Left-Wing change. Hillary is also pushing for a majority of diet Republican policies & not changing the fundamental core issue in this country regarding the corruptive broken system with money in politics. People who would generally be more Politically Left in their beliefs but don't heavily follow politics will be hesitant in the future to support Left Wing candidates & ideas.
This is the problem with Neo-Liberal policies, they rig the economy against the poor & middle class & disenfranchises them so badly that voters are more reluctant to get involved in the political process at all because from the outside looking in it will appear that Liberal & Progressive ideas are failing when in reality almost no real Left-Wing ideas will actually be proposed or implemented under someone like Hillary Clinton. A Hillary Clinton Presidency not only will be a pure establishment circle jerk that I'm not necessarily interested in, but it will also be a vehemently devastating blow to every policy idea the Left believes in. In the short term would Hillary Clinton be better than Donald Trump? Perhaps she might. Although in the long run would Hillary Clinton be destructive & counterproductive not just to every single thing we on the Left believe in, but also destructive to our Democracy as a whole? The answer is: without a doubt!
Okay, now I'm going to do my best to try & explain the perspective of the Bernie Or Bust moment that will vote for Trump. You may disagree with this portion of my article & / or how I perceive things, but I can to some degree understand any vote that was originally for Bernie, but is now simply against Hillary Clinton, even if it goes to Trump. The portion of the Bernie Or Bust movement that is voting for Trump isn't doing it because they like Trump or because they think he would be a good President; they're doing it as a protest vote against Hillary Clinton & to send a message. They believe a Trump Presidency will burn things down, but allow our country to flourish in the future for generations to come. As I just explained, in the long-term Clinton would be far more destructive to Liberal & Progressive values than Trump could ever wish to be. I'm not personally voting for Trump; it goes against my principles & everything I believe in. Although even though I disagree with that particular path of action I honestly on a certain level do understand why some people are taking that path. I guarantee 4 years of a Trump presidency would send the Establishment Democrats, the DNC, & the American people a message that would almost guarantee a real Left Wing Progressive Presidency in 2020. (Maybe Like Tulsi Gabbard, Nina Turner, Zephyr Teachout, or even Jill Stein)
Like I said before I have honestly struggled with what I would do if Bernie is not the nominee, & I believe I finally have come to the conclusion that I would vote for Jill Stein. I would also advocate for everyone else to do so as well. At first, I was leaning toward writing in Bernie's name because I wanted to say (No Matter What) I voted for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Although as I thought about it more, I started to have second thoughts as I came to realization that in most states Write In votes are not even counted. So, ultimately writing in Bernie's name would be nothing more than a Throw Away vote. Although in the case of a protest a Throw Away Write In vote still makes sense because it still accomplishes the goal of a protest in the same way staying home & not voting at all would. Although when there is another candidate running in a third party who is also anti-Establishment & very similar to Bernie Sanders on policy, I can't help but want to throw my support behind that third party candidate. Jill Stein is that Candidate! The added benefit of Jill Stein is not only is she similar to Bernie on policy as an anti-Establishment candidate, but she also is running in the anti-Establishment Green Party.
So, as I have been repeating over & over again for the last several months, I am Bernie Or Bust, & if you care about fixing the real issues with this country, I suggest you join the Bernie Or Bust movement as well! No matter what path the Bernie Or Bust individuals choose, simply using your vote to send a message when we have this rare opportunity is the right thing to do. Even though my vote as a participant of the Bernie Or Bust movement is going to Jill Stein, I still understand the Bernie Or Bust movement that do otherwise. Although just because I understand their vote, in the end if Bernie isn't the Democratic nominee & also doesn't decide to run as an independent or in a third party than I am still going to be advocating for the importance of your & their vote going to Jill Stein in the Green Party for President of The United States Of America.
I myself am a member of the Bernie Or Bust movement which is currently at 33% of Bernie supporters & growing. There are three different factions within Bernie Or Bust. The first faction consists of Bernie Supporters who will either stay home or write Bernie's name in. The second faction consist of Bernie supporters who will vote for a third-party candidate like Jill Stein. The third faction consist of Bernie supporters who will vote for Donald Trump. I was actually quite split on the specific path in which I would take as a supporter & a participant of the Bernie Or Bust movement myself. For me it was between writing Bernie's name in & voting Jill Stein. In the circumstance that Bernie Sanders isn't the Democratic Nominee & it comes down to choosing another option if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination than we together must figure out the best option. I believe I have finally made up my mind on the subject & I would like to share my perspective with you regarding the different options within the Bernie Or Bust movement, but also why I believe the Bernie Or Bust movement is so vehemently important.
Hear me now quote me later... "If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Nomination & / or the Presidency, the Democratic Party will die. Perhaps not immediately, but in the long run a Hillary Clinton win will kill the Democratic Party." Hillary Clinton will literally destroy the values of Liberals & Progressives, it'll give an opportunity for the Right-Wing to point at Hillary Clinton & say, "See we told you Liberal & Progressive ideas & regulations don't work."
Yes, the Right-Wing will say the same thing about Bernie as well, but the difference is he will actually fight. Bernie fights for real Progressive & Liberal policies & works toward fixing the systemic fundamental core problems within the country (Which Would Actually Help The Economy), but when things get worse under Hillary Clinton's Neo-Liberal policies, especially if the next banking collapse happens under her, just because of the fact that she's not going to break up the big banks or re-implement regulations such as Glass-Steagall & instead only do tiny incremental Left-Wing change. Hillary is also pushing for a majority of diet Republican policies & not changing the fundamental core issue in this country regarding the corruptive broken system with money in politics. People who would generally be more Politically Left in their beliefs but don't heavily follow politics will be hesitant in the future to support Left Wing candidates & ideas.
This is the problem with Neo-Liberal policies, they rig the economy against the poor & middle class & disenfranchises them so badly that voters are more reluctant to get involved in the political process at all because from the outside looking in it will appear that Liberal & Progressive ideas are failing when in reality almost no real Left-Wing ideas will actually be proposed or implemented under someone like Hillary Clinton. A Hillary Clinton Presidency not only will be a pure establishment circle jerk that I'm not necessarily interested in, but it will also be a vehemently devastating blow to every policy idea the Left believes in. In the short term would Hillary Clinton be better than Donald Trump? Perhaps she might. Although in the long run would Hillary Clinton be destructive & counterproductive not just to every single thing we on the Left believe in, but also destructive to our Democracy as a whole? The answer is: without a doubt!
Okay, now I'm going to do my best to try & explain the perspective of the Bernie Or Bust moment that will vote for Trump. You may disagree with this portion of my article & / or how I perceive things, but I can to some degree understand any vote that was originally for Bernie, but is now simply against Hillary Clinton, even if it goes to Trump. The portion of the Bernie Or Bust movement that is voting for Trump isn't doing it because they like Trump or because they think he would be a good President; they're doing it as a protest vote against Hillary Clinton & to send a message. They believe a Trump Presidency will burn things down, but allow our country to flourish in the future for generations to come. As I just explained, in the long-term Clinton would be far more destructive to Liberal & Progressive values than Trump could ever wish to be. I'm not personally voting for Trump; it goes against my principles & everything I believe in. Although even though I disagree with that particular path of action I honestly on a certain level do understand why some people are taking that path. I guarantee 4 years of a Trump presidency would send the Establishment Democrats, the DNC, & the American people a message that would almost guarantee a real Left Wing Progressive Presidency in 2020. (Maybe Like Tulsi Gabbard, Nina Turner, Zephyr Teachout, or even Jill Stein)
Like I said before I have honestly struggled with what I would do if Bernie is not the nominee, & I believe I finally have come to the conclusion that I would vote for Jill Stein. I would also advocate for everyone else to do so as well. At first, I was leaning toward writing in Bernie's name because I wanted to say (No Matter What) I voted for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Although as I thought about it more, I started to have second thoughts as I came to realization that in most states Write In votes are not even counted. So, ultimately writing in Bernie's name would be nothing more than a Throw Away vote. Although in the case of a protest a Throw Away Write In vote still makes sense because it still accomplishes the goal of a protest in the same way staying home & not voting at all would. Although when there is another candidate running in a third party who is also anti-Establishment & very similar to Bernie Sanders on policy, I can't help but want to throw my support behind that third party candidate. Jill Stein is that Candidate! The added benefit of Jill Stein is not only is she similar to Bernie on policy as an anti-Establishment candidate, but she also is running in the anti-Establishment Green Party.
So, as I have been repeating over & over again for the last several months, I am Bernie Or Bust, & if you care about fixing the real issues with this country, I suggest you join the Bernie Or Bust movement as well! No matter what path the Bernie Or Bust individuals choose, simply using your vote to send a message when we have this rare opportunity is the right thing to do. Even though my vote as a participant of the Bernie Or Bust movement is going to Jill Stein, I still understand the Bernie Or Bust movement that do otherwise. Although just because I understand their vote, in the end if Bernie isn't the Democratic nominee & also doesn't decide to run as an independent or in a third party than I am still going to be advocating for the importance of your & their vote going to Jill Stein in the Green Party for President of The United States Of America.