Much as I think Bernie Sanders’ supporters are misguided and naive for backing a man who’s selling an ideology as demonstrably destructive as socialism, I admire and respect their anger and their refusal to capitulate to the Democratic machine. Especially given their hero’s whiplash reversal and whole-cloth abandonment of his message.

In case you missed it, some Sanders supporters staged a noisy walkout and protests at the Democrat National Convention yesterday, righteously angry at the revelations that the Democratic National Committee secretly worked to favor Hillary Clinton. Sanders’ accusations from months earlier proved remarkably correct, and a man of principle would have walked out of the convention center, refused to speak, and refused to endorse the opponent whom he once deemed unqualified. Sanders, who throughout this campaign sold a message of principle (stupendously wrong-headed, but nevertheless), folded like a cheap suit, abandoned principle and betrayed his followers, and endorsed Clinton for the Presidency.

The excuse brigades came out in full force, of course. Some argued that Trump is such an almighty threat to the nation, to Americans, to minorities, to liberalism, to puppy dogs, to soft bunnies and snowflakes that he must be stopped at all costs, even if it means voting for the person against whom Sanders spent a year railing. Some argued that Sanders did indeed do the “principled” thing, because he knew the inevitable and wanted to make sure he could still have a voice. Some argued that Sanders actually achieved victory by dragging Clinton to the left (as if she couldn’t un-drag herself in an eye blink the day after the election). Some, most remarkably, dismissed the DNC shenanigans as irrelevant to the outcome. One commenter wrote:

If the emails had shown that the DNC had actually thrown the primaries for Clinton—that of it weren’t for DNC bias, Sanders would have won—I would care more about their content.

Rationalize much?

That last bit is like dismissing the fact that your favorite team got caught cheating by declaring they would have beaten the other team anyway. It’s a disgusting copout and a demonstration of moral emptiness. It’s also a clear-as-a-bell signal to your team that they can do whatever they want and you’ll still support them.

That “whatever they want” starts with ignoring you. As I noted a couple days ago, if you feel rooked by the machine that cheated your candidate but support that machine anyway, you validate the cheating. You affirm the actions the party apparatchiks who worked dishonesty and in secret. You tell the party that your vote is not worth courting, that the insiders can act contrary to your wishes and desires, that they can lie and cheat and get away with it.

If you expect your party to shift in the direction you’ve been calling for, you’re a fool.

If you rationalize your party’s misdeeds away, you’re a sap.

If you think your party won’t act this way again after succeeding and suffering no repercussions, you’re a sucker.

If you want to fix your party, start by punishing those who think they got away with something. Don’t give your party your vote. Vote for someone else, or withhold it entirely. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are out there, and a vote for either would do more to make your voice heard, even if they lose, than begrudgingly supporting Clinton after standing with Sanders all this time.

• About the Author

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

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