To those who felt the bern,
I voted for Bernie Sanders.
I endorsed Bernie Sanders.
I flirted with the possibility of going to Iowa to work for Bernie Sander's campaign.
I think super delegates (and the electoral college) should be abolished.
None of this changes one simple fact. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the Democratic primaries by 3 million votes, a victory margin of over 10%. She has won the Democratic primaries and will be the nominee because more Democrats voted for her. Period. There is no feasible or rational argument why that will not be the case and anyone who tells you otherwise is deluded, uninformed or intentionally misleading you.
Sander's receipt of just over 4 in 10 votes in the primaries is heartening to a young progressive who shares his vision for America. I believed in the revolution, and will continue to fight for progressive ideals for decades to come.
There will be natural successors to the #FeelTheBern movement. I, like so many of you, want to be one of them.
It is now incumbent upon Hillary Clinton to meet 4 in 10 Democratic voters halfway with a truly progressive platform built around un-rigging our economy and re-establishing our country's middle class. I truly believe that if given the opportunity, she will do so.
To those in the #BernieOrBust movement. Hillary Clinton's vision of America is so much closer to your's than Donald Trump's that I can't even put it into words. After these contests, she is indebted to people with your values, from your background. She was nominated by middle and working class people of all races and religions. She is aligned with the likes of President Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Sherrod Brown and others who have worked tirelessly to move us closer to the vision of the #PoliticalRevolution.
In time, all of these individuals will endorse her, and so will Bernie Sanders. They will tell you to join them as a unit, to deny Donald Trump access to the most powerful, sacred office that voters can bestow an American. In his place, they will ask that you support a former Senator, Secretary of State and First Lady who possesses boundless intellect, thoughtfulness and I truly believe with all my heart, a desire to leave a legacy of progress and prosperity in her wake as the 45th President of the United States.
When the time comes, you must make a choice. The choice is between Hillary Clinton's America, which is at it's worst a slower progression of the #PoliticalRevolution and Donald Trump's America. Life is about how you make hard choices. You don't get to ragequit politics and be derelict of your duty as a progressive to keep this country moving forward as quickly as you can just because your first choice candidate lost.
I've got news for you. Your first choice isn't always going to be a choice you get. GET OVER IT, or risk being complicit in a presidency which could endanger your very existence and the existence of those you love. You won't be shouting #BernieOrBust when Trump's raids come to throw immigrants over the wall and persecute women for exercising their legal rights over their own reproductive health just before he launches a nuke at Europe because he wanted to "win something" after his nephew beat him in a game of Yahtzee.
Put simply, I believed Bernie Sanders would have put us two steps forward as a country, I believe Hillary Clinton will put us one step forward. Donald Trump will bring us ten thousand steps back.
The revolution will live on well past 2016.
For now,
#ImWithHer