Goodbye, Bernie. Thanks for fighting for us. You tried. We weren't ready for you, I guess.

I highly resent Bernie Sanders dropping out and I highly resent everyone who pressured him into such an action.



I know that I might get a backlash for what I’m about to write, and I’m going to try not to sound too bitter, but I also really don’t care at this point. This needs to be said...and maybe should’ve been said a while ago.



I have been a staunch supporter of this site for many years...maybe not so much as an author, but as a petition-signer, avid reader and commenter, and a sometimes donor. I was originally drawn to this site because many of the articles and news seemed to be fair but with a left-wing bent that aligned with my own views. And I truly did enjoy this site...it was usually the main way I received most of my news since I had long ago stopped watching mainstream news.



However, I was extremely saddened and disappointed when I noticed that this site and many of its authors began vilifying and belittling Bernie Sanders and his supporters for the 2016 presidential election. Now it’s one thing to write articles supporting one candidate over the other, but it’s quite another write articles belittling and vilifying the other candidate of the same party.



I had hoped that with the 2020 presidential campaign that this site had learned its lesson but apparently not. Bernie Sanders was again belittled and snubbed by a site that should’ve had his back or at least that should’ve treated him no differently than any other Democratic candidate. Did “Democratic Unity” apply to all the other candidates except him?! And now not only did I see articles insulting and snubbing him, but I was even receiving unwanted email notifications from the Daily Kos creator, Markos Moulitsas about how Bernie had no chance, how delusional he was and how he should just drop out now, etc.



This angered me because I felt as though these people were trying to rob me of my voice and were unfairly singling out Bernie Sanders. It was highly unfair and undemocratic for smaller, less diverse, more rural states like Iowa and South Carolina to vote early and have their pick from the full Democratic roster of candidates, but then state with more urban, more diverse and larger populations like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey (my state which usually has a late primary in JUNE but has now postponed it even later to JULY!) will not even have an option to vote for!



Bernie Sanders was a great candidate and he would’ve made a great president. He might’ve been of an older generation but then so is the party’s front-runner, Joe Biden. And so is the usual favorite on this site, Elizabeth Warren. And while he was the only one brave enough to admit to being a “democratic socialist,” many other candidates were happy enough to adopt his more progressive policies when it suited them like Medicare-For-All while shying away from the socialist stigma. He was also one of the first to advocate for a $15 an hour living wage and to have his campaign be run nearly entirely on grass-roots donations rather than corporate money.



I have nothing against Joe Biden…but we’ve had his kind before. Sure, he’s a much better option than Trump but when are we actually going to fight for the change and improvements we’ve been asking for? By the time most states implement slow changes like $15 living wage, it’ll be too late and due to inflation and other factors, $20 or more will be the new living wage. We can’t keep waiting for change. We can’t keep hoping that big corporations, shareholders and the politicians they bought will suddenly do the right thing out of the goodness of their hearts.



If Bernie taught us anything, it’s that we must fight for the changes we want to see. And we fight by donating to our causes, by voting in local and state elections (not just in national ones), by informing ourselves and each other of the various resources at our disposal. We can’t continue to go with the status quo but then complain when nothing changes.



Bernie Sanders was a great candidate and would’ve made a great president and I’m disappointed I won’t even be able to vote for him this time around. My vote was taken from me and I blame this site and the mainstream media for continuously pressuring him to drop out despite the fact that so many state haven’t even had primaries yet. I’m angered that only a small portion of the country had multiple options (some even having their pick from the full roster of Democratic candidates) but meanwhile my state of NJ, one of the most diverse and populous, won’t even have a choice! So much for democracy…



So I hope you all are happy that you got what you wanted now that the only other Democratic candidate dropped out. I hope you realize you are helping this country become less democratic by doing such things. Did Bernie Sanders have enough delegates to win? Maybe not. But how could we ever be sure if not all the states even voted yet?



I’m very disappointed in a site that I once loved but that should’ve had Bernie’s back..or at least should not have treated him differently than any other Democratic candidate. Had it been Elizabeth Warren as the hold-out against Joe Biden, I’m sure almost no one from this site would’ve encouraged her to drop out before every state had a chance to vote. So why did everyone suddenly turn their backs on Bernie Sanders...again?! Did “Democratic Unity” apply to every other Democratic candidate but him?!



Everyone who encouraged him to drop out should be ashamed of themselves. And I myself am starting to doubt whether or not I want to still be part of this site. The only candidate with actual policy changes that would’ve benefitted the working class has dropped out, and many other diverse and urban states like New York and New Jersey (and many others) will not even have a choice in their Democratic primaries. This was a big blow to democracy.



I resent you all for robbing me of my choice and my vote. I don’t know if I even want to be part of this community anymore.



Goodbye, Daily Kos. Possibly forever.

