Something to Think About . . .

What are you asking me to do when you ask me to vote for [Hillary Clinton] in the primaries over Bernie Sanders?

You are asking me to consciously give up on any hope I may have of living a sane life in our country. To vote for her in the primaries, I would need to believe that the establishment on both the right and the left have so thoroughly strangled the political system that it is no longer “reasonable” to even try for reform.

. . . [F]or me to choose Hillary over Bernie right now is to literally choose to give up on the best chance we have ever had to finally become a reasonable, civilized nation, and say instead “No, we can’t do it, I am too scared of what might happen.” . . . [T]o lay down now and accept the position that our political system is so thoroughly bankrupt that I should drop any expectation of living beyond paycheck to paycheck in order to prevent something even worse from happening . . . well, that’s it. It’s over.

The powerful can sit back and relax, knowing that if we didn’t stand up now, we never will — they know their manipulations work, their place (and ours) is set. We shut the door and I embrace the hand-to-mouth class status we’ve tried to move out of for so long.

I hope you see why I can’t go there, and I won’t. I will continue to fight for Bernie. And if he doesn’t get the nod, then I’ll hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton in the general because . . . we can’t let the opponent side in.

– Robyn Morton
Excerpted from "When You Ask Me to Vote for Clinton"
via Medium.com
January 28, 2016

Related Off-site Links:
Sanders: "Virtual Tie" in Iowa Sends Establishment a Profound Message – Jon Queally (Common Dreams, February 1, 2016).
Iowa Proved Bernie Sanders Can Win – and That Hillary Clinton is Beatable – Lucia Graves (The Guardian, February 2, 2016).
The Big Winner of the 2016 Race: Democratic Socialism – Elizabeth Bruenig (New Republic, February 3, 2016).
Bernie Sanders Explains Democratic Socialism – Alex Seitz-Wald (MSNBC, November 19, 2015).
After Dead Heat in Iowa, Will Clinton Move Further Left to Stop the Sanders Surge? – Democracy Now! (February 2, 2016).
The Case Against Hillary – Ryan Cooper (The Week, February 1, 2016).
Sanders Rides High Into New Hampshire with Surge of Voter Support – Nadia Prupis (Common Dreams, February 3, 2016).
Why Bernie Sanders is the Best Candidate in the Running for the White House – Shaun King (Daily News, January 15, 2016).
Bernie Sanders Takes on Wall Street – Clare Foran (The Atlantic, January 6, 2016).
Hillary Clinton Thinks We're Stupid for Wanting Change – Daily Kos (February 2, 20156)
What Endless War? Love the U.S. Empire? Well, Hillary Clinton's Your Choice – Marjorie Cohn (TruthDig, February 1, 2016).
Hillary Clinton Pitched Iraq as "Business Opportunity" for U.S. Corporations – David Sirota and Andrew Perez (International Business Times, September 30, 2015).
Adding Up the Costs of Hillary Clinton's Wars – Conn Hallinan (Foreign Policy in Focus, February 1, 2016).
"Sticker Kid" Reveals Overwhelming Indifference Young Voters Have Toward Clinton – Michael Sainato (Observer, February 3, 2016).
Democratic Socialism Might Be Inevitable in America, Even If Bernie Sanders Loses – Max Ehrenfreund (The Washington Post, February 1, 2016).
Who Are the One Percent? – Suzy Khimm (The Washington Post, October 6, 2011).
Bernie Sanders Says 99 Percent of "New" Income is Going to Top 1 Percent – Katie Sanders (Politifact, April 19, 2015).

UPDATES: Finally, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Had a Real Argument Over How Politics Works – Ezra Klein (Vox, February 5, 2016).
Sanders Argues for "Yes We Can" While Clinton Counters "No We Can't" – Jon Queally (Common Dreams, February 5, 2016).
Hillary, Bernie, and the Progressive Question – Ruth Conniff (The Progressive, February 8, 2016).
The Worm Has Turned: Barring Unforeseeable Events, Bernie Sanders Will Be the Democratic Nominee – Daily Kos (February 7, 2016).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Martin Luther King, Jr. and Democratic Socialism
• Something to Think About – December 14, 2011
• Quote of the Day – August 17, 2011
• A Socialist Response to the Financial Crisis
• Capitalism on Trial