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.
