TO  ALL  BERNIE  SANDERS  SUPPORTERS:

(Note: I am a Bernie Sanders supporter)

Bernie’s political revolution will not die with this election.

It is because of his tenacity and commitment, that the 2016 Democratic Party Platform is the most progressive in the history of the Democratic Party. You can read it and/or print it, as I have (it’s 51 pages long) — from the link below (at the bottom of my statement). Read it carefully.  It’s a good platform.

If Bernie had run his campaign as an Independent from the get-go, I think that this year we would have seen the beginning of a tri-party political system. His passion, charisma, authenticity and the simple truths he speaks (and has consistently spoken for the last 5 decades) would have won him the presidency.

His Democratic campaign was sabotaged. We know that.  We’ve all seen the leaked emails, as proof.

Jill Stein (the Green Party candidate), while being intelligent and possessing many of the qualities of Bernie Sanders, simply does not attract or excite the populace the way Bernie does. Even with solid financial contributions, she will likely not win.  Remember, America is made up of many diverse people, they (not just you and I) have to be stimulated by her leadership.

So that leaves us with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald J. Trump.

Now many of you are saying that when faced with the lesser of two evils, choose none. It’s a noble statement. I agree with it, in principle. In practice, however, not voting for Hillary Clinton will ensure a Trump victory. It WILL… just look at the numbers.

We know that Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump at the polls, by a landslide. But he is no longer in the race.

So yes, by not voting for Hillary, you will stay true to your convictions.  And that’s great. But the result will be that we will have President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence running this country into oblivion, taking whatever progress we’ve made in this country over the last 50 years (LGBTQ rights, women’s reproductive rights, human rights, civil liberties, etc) and flushing it down the toilet. We will endure this for the next 4, maybe even 8 years.

For Democrats and Independents (and even some Republicans), this has become an election focused on: “Hell no, NOT Trump!”

The facts are simple:

The more people vote for Hillary, the more chance of not having Trump as our president.

If Bernie Sanders supporters (myself included) choose to take the moral high ground and abstain from voting, or vote for an Independent party candidate like Jill Stein or Gary Johnson, we will have a Trump presidency.

Personally, a Trump/Pence win is simply not palatable. I just can’t support it. It makes me anxious, just imagining a country with those two men at the helm.

So, I will grit my teeth and support Hillary…. as Bernie has – he’s doing it for the same reasons I am….. so as not to have a Trump/Pence Administration.

But in the meantime, I will continue to be an active participant in Bernie’s political revolution — working with his people, to be the thorns in Hillary’s behind… by serving as a constant reminder to her that she promised to deliver on this progressive Democratic platform, and by continuing to push for justice and equality for all Americans.

— Heather (heatherfromthegrove)

To read and/or print out the 2016 Democratic Party Platform, go to: https://www.demconvention.com/platform/).

“We are stronger together.”

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons and Hands in unity image via Wikimedia Commons.