Bernie Sanders Is Right: Backing Biden Is the Only Option

Apparently, there are people among us who think it’s acceptable to treat the 2024 Presidential Election as if it’s a fun, kicky thought exercise for ideological purity and not a literal fight to keep America a functioning democracy. I’m happy to report that Bernie Sanders is not one of those people. Sanders has come under fire by Cornel West for publicly supporting Joe Biden seeking a second term as President. West is running as a third-party candidate for President (insert eye roll emoji here) and had this to say about Sanders’ endorsement, per Politico:

Some politicians are so fearful of former President Donald Trump retaking the White House that “they don’t really want to tell the full truth,” West said. “[Biden has] created the best economy that we can get. Is this the best that we can get? You don’t tell that lie to the people just for Biden to win,” West said in a clip played on CNN Sunday.

Hey, uh, Mr. West? I don’t particularly care about the economy when a man who has been charged with 91 crimes across multiple jurisdictions is the likely Republican nominee. Also, there’s that pesky little issue of bodily autonomy that the Republicans stripped from me last year that I’d still very much like back as a federal protection, OK?

Sanders, to his credit, isn’t taking the bait. Per the above source:

“Where I disagree with my good friend, Cornel West, is I think in these really very difficult times, where there is a real question whether democracy is going to remain in the United States of America. … I think we’ve got to bring the entire progressive community to defeat Trump or whoever the Republican nominee will be, [and] support Biden,” Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

However, progressives still must “demand that the Democratic Party, not just Biden, have the guts to take on corporate greed and the massive levels of income and wealth inequality that we see today,” Sanders added.

This is the only appropriate response. 19 Republicans have been charged with election interference in Georgia. 19! That is an affront to our democracy, and yet this man is on CNN talking about how everyone needs to remain stuck to their personal ideologies? Ha, how about no? That’s like being on the Titanic and slowly walking from room to room, making sure the faucets are turned off. We’ve got bigger problems going on in the country right now! There are very real threats to the fabric of our democracy, and this man is concerned about the economy and throwing fits over Bernie Sanders endorsing Joe Biden, the one man on the planet who has proven he can beat Donald Trump? Trump! The man who already tried to steal the last election!

Look, we all already saw how sideways things can go when you think you have it in the bag (see: the 2016 election). Sanders is right: we all need to get behind Joe Biden for a second term if we like having elections and not having fascists in control. Whether that’s Trump, or another one of the ghouls running for the Republican nomination, now is not the time to be splitting hairs. We have to rally around the candidate who didn’t try to overthrow the last election, or incite an insurrection. To do anything else right now? Well, it would make me question your motives extensively. Perhaps someone advocating that stance does not have what’s best for the country in mind, and maybe—just maybe—is only thinking about themselves.

(featured image: Win McNamee, Getty Images)