bernie or biden: now what?
It should be simple:
I supported Warren.
Warren dropped out.
I should ask myself why I supported Warren, then choose a candidate from the remaining nominees who comes closest to scratching my Warren itch.
Most Sanders supporters believe Warren voters should go with the candidate who has picked a peck of progressive policy positions that closely align with Warren’s.
Most Biden supporters believe Warren voters should go with the candidate who has a track record of being able to make ideas actionable and execute policy.
It seems simple, but there is a problem with this “closest to the one I wanted” approach, and the best way I can describe that problem is by telling you about our last move.
A few years ago, we got priced out of our house and had to move.
I started looking in my neighborhood, Green Lake, and quickly realized that I couldn’t afford to live there. So I made another, larger geographic circle around the epicenter of my Green Lake life, and searched in that bigger circle. Anything near Northgate? Nope, still no dice.
So I made another, larger geographic circle, and strayed even further from the epicenter of the life I wanted to keep living. And then I strayed further. And then further. At one point I was looking at townhomes behind I-5 in Lynnwood, and I realized I didn’t want to live in Lynnwood. The only thing Lynnwood had going for it was that it was the closest option to the Green Lake life I was about to vacate, but it was still 10 freaking miles from Green Lake.
When I finally let go of the idea that I could move away but keep the same grocery store, the same coffee stand, the same familiar walk down to the playground, I started asking myself the really important question. Not, “How close can I stay to Green Lake,” but “Since Green Lake is not an option, which of the available options is best for the life I actually want to live?”
That’s how we ended up in the country, surrounded by farms and picking up our mail from the post office, driving past herds of elk on our way to kiddo gymnastics. We are 30 miles from Green Lake. I haven’t been back there in years. It was hard to imagine a life so far from where we used to live. Our lives changed and we had to change with them, but we are very happy.
Now, I already voted for Warren, so I have no skin in the Biden vs. Bernie ultimate smackdown, and I'm thankful I don't, because it’s getting nasty out there. (More on that in an upcoming post.)
Personally, I don’t care for Bernie. While I agree with many of his policy positions, I have deep concerns about the way his candidacy is being weaponized on social media without any clear management by the campaign, and I don’t know about his ability to form coalitions or actualize those positions. I would love nothing more than to be wrong.
I don’t care for Biden either. While I think he’d be an effective traditional politician when it comes to rebuilding our decimated state operations, I think he’s operating at a below-acceptable level in terms of his sophistication on social justice issues and I don’t have a lot of faith in his ability to improve that sophistication. I would love nothing more than to be wrong.
My personal preferences aside, I know that Bernie and Biden would both be better presidents than Trump, no question.
How many increasingly larger circles would I have to draw from the epicenter of my Warren enthusiasm in order to find myself in the neighborhood of Biden or Bernie? If I continued to think about my options in terms of the thing I can no longer have, then I would fail to evaluate either of the candidates on their own merits.
I would invite anyone who hasn’t voted yet to not just ask yourself which candidate comes closest to ticking the boxes of things you loved about Warren, but also to ask yourself this: since Warren is off the table (and this question applies equally to any now-withdrawn candidate you once supported), which of the remaining candidates’ visions and track records is most likely to actualize the life you actually want to live?
Alright, that’s it.
Wash ya hands.
xoxo
If you liked this post, you might also like The Only Thing I’m Going To Say About Vote Blue No Matter Who, and Deal or No Deal: Why White Women Vote For Turds.
If you want to read a postcard from the edge about moving a family of four, you can do that here.
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