Bernie Sanders’ Inevitable Endorsement Speech
Bernie has a duty to the party that embraced him, despite his refusal to reciprocate that embrace till just six months ago. Bernie is responsible for relaying a message to his constituents. His message must be clear, firm, and delivered as effectively and memorably as his robotic pleas for breaking up big banks. His message must resemble this:
“Hillary Clinton is the leader that the Democratic Party needs in order to follow the wonderful template established by President Obama and Vice President Biden. I am grateful to everyone who came out to support me, but the time for coalescing behind one candidate is now. And considering the destructive propaganda coming from the Republican candidates, time is of the essence. I will do whatever is in my power to help get Secretary Clinton elected and I fully expect and I plead with all of my supporters to support Secretary Clinton as I do. If you have friends who are unsure who they should support, tell them, ‘I’m With Her’ and explain why you are. This election is in our hands, the world demands that we make a sensible decision to reject hate, to reject war mongering, to reject attacks on freedom, to reject obstructionism, to reject religious bigotry, to reject misogyny and to propel the single most qualified candidate to the highest office in the world. This election is too important to allow progressive purity to thwart everything the Democratic Party has fought so hard to preserve. Our future can’t be derailed because of a handful of ideological differences.
This general election will be decided between two individuals. One candidate has fought her entire adult life, for all of you and the betterment of this country. Her opponent will be someone who declares that healthcare is not a right, has pledged to deprive young people the opportunity to earn an affordable education, denies the existence of systematic racism in our criminal justice system, refuses to recognize the humanity of LGBT Americans, assumes climate science is a hoax, demonizes Immigrants, and wants to form a theocracy.
For all of these reasons, I am proud to announce my endorsement for Hillary Rodham-Clinton, for President of the United States of America! Thank You!”
Anything short of an equally affirming endorsement will fail to adequately convince rabid Bernie supporters of its sincerity and need to disseminate the, “support Hillary” directive. Bernie has disappointingly invited a ‘Bernie or Bust’ faction to the party. This sort of adolescent petulance has no place in presidential politics and has not infiltrated the Democratic Party in modern times. The fracture created by new, young, impressionable voters who want to take their ball and go home after their candidate loses, is a mentality grown from conspiracy seeds planted by the Sanders campaign.
These landslide victories for Clinton are not an anomaly. They are not a fluke. They represent a rejection of Bernie’s economically patronizing campaign. Dreadful Bernie showings are a referendum on his attempt to engage Democratic voters in a political revolution. To think that the millions and millions of Democratic leaning voters who cast ballots for President Obama would now prefer a “revolution,” is insulting! Exponential job growth and universal healthcare were experienced thanks to President Obama’s policies. Why would Bernie think voters would turn away from that record of accomplishment?
His incapacity to adopt nuance into an economic populist appeal was on full display in every debate and town hall. Bernie is too intelligent and passionate to have allowed this intellectually lackluster campaign to represent his value to the nation.
Moreover, his refusal to fully embrace a beloved sitting president and that president’s policies has been his downfall and he alone is to blame for that nonsensical political calculation. Bernie has been unable to deliver a message that resonates across demographics. He has yet to prove that he can comfortably pivot away from the same ‘break up the banks’ message.
The longer Bernie Sanders’ non-viable candidacy persists, the more fractured the Democratic Party becomes. His rhetoric attracted doubt and distrust of Clinton from the beginning. But now is the time for him to bow out gracefully and walk back statements he made to influence voters’ view of Secretary Clinton’s trustworthiness.
Actively courting constituents who harbor a “Bernie or Bust” mentality is not just selfish, it’s dangerous for the party. But, only a Democrat would concern themself with the future of the Democratic Party. Bernie has only considered himself a Democrat for the past six months. Most intriguing is Bernie’s consistent labeling himself a political “outsider.” This statement is absurd to anyone moderately politically proficient. How can a Senator who has been a member of the U.S. Congress for THIRTY years be an outsider? They can’t. And he’s not. The only thing Sanders has been “outside” of is the Democratic Party. His three decades in Congress have been spent as an unproductive Independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, but never officially joined.
To be clear: Sanders whole-heartedly believes himself to fully represent the Democratic brand. Yet out of fear of losing political capital, he remained on the sideline. His decision-making with regard to party affiliation was strictly out of political expediency, similar to his FIVE votes AGAINST gun safety. Clinton has been called to answer for her husband’s decisions from twenty years ago. Yet Bernie inexplicably receives a pass for pro gun lobby (anti-Brady Bill) votes he made within the past five years. This highlights more than a simple media double standard. This showcases the blatant hypocrisy in American politics. An independent, running for president as a Democrat, is claiming Progressive purity based on a pro-gun lobby voting record — it’s utterly ridiculous!
A Super Tuesday sweep (excluding Vermont) should spell the end for his campaign. Staying in the race hoping to reach the convention will further divide the party. The historic loss in South Carolina is a sign of things to come. There is no excuse for losing that badly. A near fifty percent margin of victory in neither party’s home state is an embarrassment! Who could have predicted such an epic collapse? Bernie did. That’s why his campaign snubbed South Carolina voters and conceded the state several days ago.
Bernie, for the good of the party, and the nation, your grace and compliance are needed.
Your endorsement speech for Hillary should be so profoundly complimentary that political science professors assign it as required reading for generations. For your campaign will most be remembered for how warmly you welcomed Secretary Clinton and convinced your disillusioned supporters to declare “Hill Yes!” and “I’m With Her!”
