I was not one of the people complaining that Hillary stayed in the 2008 campaign until the bitter end and calling for her to drop out before the primaries were over.

Part of me admired the form follows content aspect of claiming to be “fighting for you” and proving it by actually fighting tooth and nail with every tactic available as long as there was any chance left, no matter how small. No retreat baby no surrender.

But even after it seemed likely that she had no mathematical chance at the nomination, I understood completely why she wanted to stay in until all of the primaries were over.

The Hillary 2008 campaign wanted to honor the incredible emotional investment of her followers in the later states who had been waiting all their lives to vote for a woman on a presidential primary ballot.

Leaving sheroes like Shirley Chisholm aside for a moment, it was a thrilling first-time once in a lifetime experience for a lot of her supporters to walk into that voting booth and pull the lever or fill in the bubble next to a woman’s name.

If HRC had dropped out early, she would have deprived them of that thrill.

And so even after the nomination was all but lost, she stayed in the race, so that women and feminist men in South Dakota could experience the political joy of voting for, and having a female candidate win, the primary in their state.

And people in those later states continued to give her money right up through June hoping that would help her stay in so that they could have that experience.

So I ask HRC supporters today, if you are open minded, if you have any ability to see things from another person’s perspective, to consider the following.

There are people who have been waiting their whole lives to feel as excited about a candidate as they feel about Bernie Sanders. Not all his supporters are 18 and voting in their first election. Some of them are die hard old school lefties with grey hair and first-hand memories of sit-ins and flower power.

They never dreamed in a million years that someone proudly wearing the Democratic socialist label would ever even think of running for president, much less that he would actually win some primaries, be taken seriously on the national stage, and throw a wrench in the works of the most powerful political machine in the Democratic Party (maybe even the country since the Bush machine seems to have fallen apart). You can search here at DK and see multiple comments along the lines of “if Bernie Sanders ever ran I would do anything for his campaign”.

They want him to stay in the race until their primary so they can have a first-time once in a lifetime experience of voting for a candidate who they identify with in this very personal “he speaks for me/he is me” kind of way.

It does not mean they worship him, or think he is perfect. But it does mean that he is iconic to a certain group of people in the same way that HRC is iconic for people and Obama is iconic for people and the first “anything” would be iconic for the people who are also in that group. They just want their chance to vote for him, a chance for him to win their late caucus or primary, even if it does not change the outcome for Philly.

It is not rare to care this much about a candidate. Many of you felt this way about Hillary in 2008 and/or feel that way about her today. It is not an feeling that can be swayed by “what about this contrary position” or “look at this superior executive experience” or “consider this poor judgment call” arguments.

If you could understand that, then you might soften the “just give it up and move on already”, “do you know what an idiot you are for still giving him money” and “bwa ha ha look at those fools continuing to be excited about someone who is losing” comments that rain down so derisively from the HRC camp every single day.

I don’t know if this diary is productive. I don’t know if this diary is going to get me a time out or a banning.

But I do know this diary is true.

I was taught at a young age that the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is one of the defining contrasts between liberals and conservatives. Although I was a strong Obama supporter from even before he declared his candidacy, I also understood the profound longing for the first woman president (a desire I myself share, believe it or not) and how it was deeply deeply personal for a lot of folks, especially those old enough to remember back to when such a thing was impossible and laughable.

My state has already voted. Bernie lost here. But the excitement about getting the chance to vote for him is something I would never take away from my brothers and sisters whose states have not yet voted, especially in the states that Bernie might win. So I am still advocating for him and still sending him money and still trying to persuade people to vote for him. Deride my emotion, call me illogical, I don’t care. In the years to come I know for a fact I will be proud of having done this.

So this is a plea for civility from someone whose ability to stay civil has been sorely tested recently. I am being as gentle about this as I can.

Some folks will never have another chance to vote for a candidate they connect to and identify with as much as they connect to and identify with Bernie.

Just let us have this moment. Please.