(Posted this on FB, thought I’d post it here too)

I support the campaign of Bernie Sanders, and I’m urging my friends to do the same. He’s been fighting against income, education, and healthcare inequality for his entire career, and has by far the most widespread support of any progressive candidate I’ve seen in my lifetime. 

I am genuinely sorry if fervent Sanders supporters have ever made you feel harassed or uncomfortable. I can only say that the people I know who support him and his campaign are kind and empathetic souls that share a common interest in protecting and lifting up society’s most vulnerable, marginalized people. There are aggressive people across the political spectrum that are prone to attacking others and disrespecting boundaries. Sanders, for his part, doesn’t attack other candidates — he’s done less of it than anyone else in this primary. To withhold support for him because of “Bernie bros” feels misdirected. 

I understand the appeal of Elizabeth Warren and what she inspires in people. I’ve been inspired by her, and have supported her. We are desperately, woefully long overdue for a woman to become president of this country. But there are now only two choices for who we nominate to become the Democratic candidate. If you have supported Warren and her agenda, I humbly ask that you shift your support to the Sanders campaign. 

Leaving everything else aside, Biden has an extremely poor policy track record. He voted for the Iraq War. He championed a terrible 2005 bankruptcy bill that Warren opposed so strongly it propelled her transition from academia into politics. Biden has been extremely problematic on issues including (but not limited to) mass incarceration, climate, segregation, immigration, trade, and income inequality. 

There are so many areas where his policy agenda stands in direct opposition to that of Sanders and Warren; one that comes to mind is his insistence on continued support for fracking, in the midst of what every credible scientist (and even he) calls a “climate emergency.” Warren and Sanders have both strongly opposed this practice and are committed to ending it immediately, if elected. But Biden plays this card when it’s politically convenient to win states. If we decry Trump for weaponizing destructive industries like coal for political gains, how can we support someone who is effectively doing the same thing?

Nobody I know within about 15 years of my own age actively supports Biden, let alone feels inspired by him or his vision. We need someone who can galvanize people and has a clear, ethics-driven policy agenda and a record to back it up. There’s only one candidate left that fits this description.