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https://twitter.com/willmenaker/status/1224915385193058304 this is indefensible.

in the general, you vote for the enemy you want. that's the whole point.

People in my mentions telling me this is irony - here’s why this matters: 1) true threat or not, this kind of assertion is harmful and it reinforces power dynamics that frankly a lot of people are exhausted by.

2) it’s a strategic failure - Bernie has positive momentum right now, why even jokingly do this on February 5 3) it’s a lazy way of gaining support, and Bernie, while a lot of things, is never lazy. He believes in the hard and revolutionary change. This shit subverts his values.

Ultimately, you don’t build a revolution through the unwilling. So convince people to be all in. Don’t play this stupid game, even if you’re kidding. It engenders so much resentment.

Also, I bet this dude would never go into a room of black voters and say this shit, which is another sign this is all childish bluster for a candidate who is anything but

One thing I really love is the smug reaction to “vote for the enemy you want.” One guy in my mentions is like “OH YEAH THATS WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD IN MIND” Sir, meet the political strategy blacks people have been employing SINCE WE COULD VOTE.

Never once has a black person gone to the ballot box for a presidential nominee and thought “this person will protect every single one of my interests and is an ideal ally”

I’m paraphrasing a very smart friend - democratic socialism requires coalition building, creating community, reframing values, aligning shared interests. Bernie has done a pretty good job of that, i think. But if people vote just bc you threaten them, that’s a cheap victory.

worth saying, though, that while this assertion came from the Bernie or else contingent, I’ve seen WAY more people say they wouldn’t vote for Bernie in the general, and that is equally if not more amoral. If you hate Trump but won’t vote for Bernie, you don’t hate Trump enough.

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