I’ve been debating saying anything about Bernie Sanders’s announcement, as I know I have a few friends who are Bernie fans, and while I don’t remember any specific issues with any of them, generally, criticism of Bernie doesn’t go over well with his supporters.
But I have the advantage of being a straight cis white male, and thanks to those genetic/social happenstances, it’s easier and safer for me to say this than it is for many other people who don’t fall into one or more of those categories: take a seat, Bernie.
I thought he had interesting ideas in 2016. At first, I supported him, and cast a WA caucus vote for him. I appreciated that he helped bring a number of progressive ideas to the foreground of the political conversations (ideas which, in many cases, had been advanced by other, less privileged people over the years, but which weren’t worth seriously considering until they were brought up by a white guy, but hey, that’s just a weird coincidence, right?).
But the longer things went on, the more it became obvious to me that however interesting some of the ideas he espoused were, he and far too many of his followers were far too problematic for me to support, and I’ve seen absolutely nothing in the intervening years to convince me otherwise.
If he really wanted to help and make a difference in 2016, he should have given his support to Clinton and encouraged his supporters to do the same. He should have listened to those who were pointing out the many problematic aspects of his policies and campaign and learned from his missteps. He should have worked to listen, to learn, to do better, and to encourage his fans to do the same. But nothing I’ve seen from him tells me that he’s made any progress an any of these fronts.
I do not in the least believe that he is the best choice for 2020. I do believe that his entry into the race is going to cause more problems and encourage more racist and sexist attacks on the other people seeking the nomination. And I really wish that he would just sit down and shut up — or, if he must be involved in some way, offer his support to the new candidates seeking the nomination. But re-entering the race is not helpful.
