Bitter Betty

We’re gonna fool around and blow a golden opportunity handed by us by the Republicans. They have managed to allow Donald Trump yes Donald Trump to become the front runner in the Republican primary and we need to take full advantage of their blunder. Unfortunately there are those who would let this chance pass us by. I’m talking about all you Bernie Sanders supporters who say you won’t vote if Hillary is the democratic nominee and not Bernie. Look everyone has the right to be stupid irresponsible idealistic? Ok so that I don’t intentionally insult anyone, we’ll go with idealistic. So everyone has a right to be idealistic and committed to a cause but that doesn’t mean you get to be a spoiled 6 year-old brat and decide to not play when you don’t get your way. Even if your candidate of choice doesn’t make it to the finals you still have a responsibility to stop the other side in their contentious strategies of voter suppression and their xenophobic misogynist policies…and let’s not forget the old reliable gerrymandering which a Republican majority allows. A non-vote aids in their goal to push back all the advancements made by the Obama administration for women, minorities and the LGBT community.

 This election cycle has given us two great Democratic candidates amidst the crazies of the Republican pool. To be honest the ideals of Hillary and Bernie are not that far distanced so if Bernie doesn’t get the nomination and you don’t vote you’re essentially saying you don’t care about any of the things for which he advocates. Of course there are reasons to dislike both candidates. But everything I hear about Hillary is rooted in fake scandals and fabricated or exaggerated stories which usually have origins rooted in the Republican opposition. Hillary isn't evil, she's progressive and pragmatic and Bernie is a liberal socialist. Certainly not worlds apart. It's really a shame that all these Bernie supporters have bought into the total smear campaign the GOP has been running against Hillary for years now.

This no Hillary vote seems to be embedded in the minds of Gen X and Millennial voters who are avid Bernie supporters and apparently under the impression that they are the first anti-establishment generation. Look it’s great that you’re excited and committed enough to say Bernie or die but it’s just not practical and to be honest its political extortion. What does not voting ever accomplish? If Hillary wins the nomination and doesn't win the presidency because you didn’t think your vote would matter, then you obviously don't mind if Trump or Cruz appoints another Scalia clone that we’ll be forced to live with for 40 years. You also don't mind if they then replace Ginsberg and Stevens with Scalia clones as well. This is simply not the time for apathy, especially among young African-American voters who have no privilege to fall back on…you will be affected. Unlike nut ball privileged one-percenters like actress Susan Sarandon who suggest a non-Hillary protest vote, you will not be insulated from the craziness of a Trump or Cruz presidency…and I’m sure they’ll thank you for your support.

To be clear if Democrats had gotten up off their asses to vote in the 2014 midterms the senate would not have been tipped and we would be celebrating the presidential appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice. Instead we are left to suffer the reign of Super Turtle, Mitch McConnell. This is the man who was famously among those Republicans who on the night President Obama won his first term vowed to make him a one term failed president. So it’s no surprise he leads the obstructionist movement which consistently votes no to anything Obama.

Here’s the thing as I said before, the Democrats have two great candidates. It's stupid to think otherwise and everyone who says they're voting for Bernie should vote for whoever's on the Democratic ticket come November. If you don’t care about systemic racism or police and justice reform, if you’re willing to let the poor, women, minority voters, the LGBT community, immigrants, and children all suffer because Bernie isn't the nominee it’s an indication of outright selfishness. I’m not a Bernie supporter but if it turns out he’s the nominee, I will definitely vote for him as both he and Hillary are the true antithesis of any Republican opponent…period. You gotta have respect for history folks, people died to give your dumb ass the vote, so use it.