Open Letter to the Democratic Party

As a lifelong, loyal, activist Democrat, I am extremely disappointed that my party is willing to put me in the position of possibly having to decide whether I want to vote for Bernie Sanders or, for the first time since being old enough to vote, not voting in the Presidential election. Bernie Sanders has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want to be a Democrat. He has mocked the party, spent months spreading dishonest information about President Obama, convinced his fans that he alone is responsible for everything that Democrats have said and accomplished for decades, demonstrated nothing that would indicate he has the experience, temperament, or diplomacy to be president, and is actually regressive on some points since he can’t grasp the idea of pragmatism.

I resent, terribly, that my party has allowed this man to crash our primary and forced us to endure insults and criticism from his hateful, misinformed supporters, many of whom are not Democrats. They have infiltrated every Democratic group on social media and lecture loyal Democrats about how we are splitting our party by speaking the truth about their candidate, who isn’t a member of our party. It’s insane and they are so uninformed that not only are they ignorant of history and facts, they don’t even understand the purpose of a primary.

To me, it seems reasonable that anyone who wants to run in a Democratic primary should have to have been a registered Democrat for at least a term of the office s/he seeks. Sanders should be no exception. What’s to keep Republicans from jumping into our races next time? And then telling all of us who actually are Democrats and support the Party that we are splitting our party by telling the truth about them? 

I’m sure Republicans in open primary states are going to vote Sanders, because they think they can beat him. By allowing him in our primary, you are enabling him and them to make a joke of the system. 

I spent years criticizing the Republican Party for allowing the people who called themselves tea party to make a joke of and harm (irreparably, I believe) their party. I will not remain silent while  emoprogs, with the help of right-wing trolls, do the same to the Democratic Party. You know how Republicans walked away and said they didn’t leave their party but their party left them? I’m feeling the same way. 

Please, do not put this man on the primary ballot. Should he win, you will have taken away every registered Democrat’s ability to vote for a Democrat in the presidential election.