Why I Voted for Bernie Sanders in the WA Primary with Eager Hope

I voted for Bernie Sanders in the Washington 10 March 2020 primary election that is part of the process of choosing the Democratic Party's 2020 candidate for President. All voting in Washington state is by mail. Registered voters each received their ballot in the mail on Friday 21 February. I took a week to ponder my voting decision and to do some research about the candidates to be the Democratic Party candidate for President. 

I was equally impressed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the little I had read about Tulsi Gabbard had also favorably impressed me. All three agree in principle on such major public policy stances as— 

* getting legislation passed to create Medicare for All single-payer publicly funded comprehensive health insurance for every American—similar to what citizens of other countries long have had; 

* devoting as a high priority federal government attention and resources to coping with problems of climate chaos, climate justice, and irresponsible harm to the environment by for-profit corporations; 

* achieving common sense and humane immigration and refugee policy reform through legislation, regulation, and best practices; 

* decreasing the US military budget and misuses of the US military, 

* achieving laws and regulations to end corrupt and abhorrent practices by irresponsible politicians and irresponsible owners and managers of corporations and banks that grievously harm the public good; 

* extending public education beyond high school; 

* banning private prisons; 

* scrapping laws and policies whose actual function has been to disenfranchise and deprive of civic power low-income persons, most particularly those of color; 

* encouraging equality or equity, as appropriately applicable, of women vis-à-vis men; 

* encouraging the development of a more multicultural, equitable, inclusive American society, 

* and so on. 

 Those positions jive with my life-guiding ideals and principles. I have favored them all of my adult life. Warren and Sanders are senators, and Gabbard is a congressperson, so each of the three is highly qualified to be President relative to President Trump. Warren led the way in the creation of a government anti-corruption bureau and then led it. Sanders has had a decades-long political career from city mayor to congressperson to senator, during which he has shown both consistent guidance by admirable principles and skill in compromising to achieve better than before laws and policies. From the little I've read, Gabbard seems to be doing excellent work in Congress. Unlike President Trump, a scoundrel devoid of moral principles and common decency, each of the three seems, for the most part, to be an admirable person. (I am, though, disappointed by Warren's misrepresenting Sander's past position on super delegates.) Gabbard has the advantage of comparative youth, meaning she is statistically less likely while in office to have her energy depleted by health problems and she is more likely to have the stamina for a second term. Electing Warren US President would end the men-only tradition of the US presidency—a welcome advance. 

What tipped my indecision and convinced me to vote for Bernie Sanders was my learning online about how effectively he has won, organized, and mobilized supporters at the community level across the country. These grassroots Sanders for President organizations are in many cases rooted in and allied with existing local progressive community organizations. The Sanders election campaign activists look to be inclusive of all social-economic classes (more so those with low or modest incomes; less so the wealthy), all races, all sexes, and all ethnic cultures. Another factor for me was his vote-getting record in the state primary elections so far, which showed broad and deep support for him among the public—an indication of his electability. 

Another factor I considered was that if enough citizens vote in the Democratic Party state primaries for Sanders, he might win the position of the party's 2020 candidate for President on the first ballot at the Democratic Party Convention, ending the chances of a comparatively reactionary "corporate" Democrat—Biden or Bloomberg—becoming the party's candidate. They oppose, or lack enthusiasm for, policy changes for the better that have been overdue for generations. The best that can be said of them is that reelecting Trump would be far worse for the country and for the world than electing either of them. 

Why choose as the party's candidate someone who's not the worst of the worst when three excellent choices are available, with Sanders the best of the best? 

In 2016, I reluctantly voted for Hillary Clinton, in spite of her very poor record on changing from a dirty energy to a clean energy economy, misuses of the US military, regulating irresponsible corporations and banks, etc., because Trump was a far worse choice.

In 2020, I'd like the Democratic Party's candidate to be a person I'll vote for with enthusiasm. I urge all American citizens: 

* to do all they can (vote, campaign, donate, advocate) to get Bernie Sanders elected US President; 

* to likewise help get an overwhelming majority of progressive candidates elected to both houses of Congress, and 

* to participate actively in local organizations that pressure the government to enact and implement the platform on which Bernie Sanders is seeking election. 

In this context, "progressive" means having admirable morals, having good common sense, and acting responsibly with integrity. It means avoiding extremes and seeking balance between promoting the common good and the public's general welfare and respecting and helping to satisfy the needs and aspirations of individuals. The former is accomplished with democratic socialism—tax-funded public roads, public schools, public lands, public prisons, public armed forces, public emergency response services, public fire fighting services, public utilities, public transportation systems, public health insurance, public welfare programs, etc., and judicious government regulations to curtail harmful irresponsible behaviors and to establish necessary standards. The latter is accomplished by doing the former efficiently and effectively so as not to waste tax dollars and not to over-regulate and by encouraging individual initiative—for instance, with college scholarships, with grants to companies trying new clean energy technologies, and with grants and awards for productive creativity. 

Being a progressive politician or a progressive citizen also includes seeking to advance self and society past outmoded, discredited paradigms, such as white supremacy, male supremacy, and laissez-faire capitalism. 

 If Sanders is elected President, I hope he will ask Warren and Gabbard to be in his administration. For Warren, I think a suitable position would be Attorney General, Secretary of one of the other Cabinet positions, or Vice President. Ditto for Gabbard, except that my top choice of a position for her is Secretary of Defense, given her commitment to "ending the cycle of counterproductive, regime-change wars." If either Warren or Gabbard is elected President, I hope that, respectively, Sanders and Gabbard or Sanders and Warren will get to be in high-level positions in the administration. Each of these scenarios would utilize the abilities of all three to help achieve reforms and would prepare each of the three to be an even more highly qualified candidate for President in a future election. 

 If Sanders continues to get far more votes than either Warren or Gabbard, I think it would be a sensible choice for each of them to drop out of contention before the convention and endorse Sanders. (And the same goes for the flipside.) The current Democratic Party's primary election process is rigged to favor a corporate, establishment, ideologically neoliberal candidate if there is a second vote at the convention. So it makes sense for two of the three progressive candidates, before the convention, to drop out and endorse the front-runner of the three to maximize the odds of that candidate getting a majority of delegates on the first ballot at the convention. Doing otherwise increases the odds of none of the three getting to be President, getting a high-level Executive Branch position, or getting the policies they believe in implemented.

In the coming months, I'm giving the Bernie Sanders for President campaign as much of my funds and time as I can spare. 

Update before posting: Going by Super Tuesday results, it's not looking like Warren, Gabbard, or Bloomberg is still a contender, unless either Biden or Sanders seriously flubs or has a health crisis. It's looking like a Sanders or Biden contest.