The "Vote for Hillary" Plea Every Sanders Supporter Needs to Hear
Bernie Sanders' deputy campaign manager gets real about the election.
Originally published in Glamour | by Rania Batrice
The Washington Post
Maybe it was his killer good looks, or his fancy haircut, or his banging the drum of progress for his entire adult life on every single issue that I happen to hold near and dear. For a number of reasons, I liked Bernie Sanders. I chose Bernie Sanders. And back in August 2015, I joined Team Bernie.
I took a very specific, very part-time gig working with staff in Iowa on special projects and large events. Soon, that part-time gig turned into a full-time gig: The Iowa state director asked me to take over the communications department in Iowa; then the deputy communications director asked me to run the national surrogate department in Vermont; and finally, the campaign manager asked me to serve as deputy campaign manager.
Every time they asked, I said yes. There were many uphill battles, and as many times as I said, “I’m getting too old for campaign life,” I was ALL IN because I believed in the fight we were fighting and the movement we were creating. And it wasn’t just me—millions of people across the country and some of the most amazing campaign staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with all felt it too. Some of those people jumped into a political process they had never been interested in before.
The primary ended, and Bernie lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton. I felt disappointed, as did many of his die-hard supporters across the country. However, I barely had time to mourn our campaign’s loss before a more disturbing reality set in: If we don’t elect Clinton, we are going to have a racist, misogynistic, narcissistic, reality-TV caricature occupying the Oval Office.
I realized that time off for rest and relaxation had to wait: When the Democratic National Committee asked this August if I would be willing to come on as a senior advisor focused on progressive outreach, once again I said yes. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t have reservations. I still had deep resentment over how the DNC—under previous leadership—handled things during the primary. But I put those feelings aside because the future of our country is at stake. Plus, the Democratic Party, my party, isn’t about any one person—it’s about everyone.
It’s the party that welcomed me from a very young age and made me feel like my voice mattered. (I grew up in West Texas as a Palestinian Catholic, a first generation American kid, and there weren’t too many people around me, friends and family included, who appreciated my tree-hugging, immigrant-loving, take-from-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor ways.) And at the convention this summer, my fellow Bernie staffers and supporters and I helped create the most progressive platform in the history of the party. That is who we are—we come together to bring about change.
Yet some Democrats and Independents still can’t get behind Clinton as the nominee. And I’m going to be completely honest, there are issues in which Clinton and I could not be further apart: I don’t like her level of comfort with interventionist, regime-change warfare on the other side of the world; or her history of coziness with Wall Street; or how long it sometimes takes her to evolve when it comes to nuanced topics that require shades of grey thinking.
But she’s also the person who bravely proclaimed, “Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights," during a pretty hostile time and in a very hostile place. Millions of children across the country have access to health care because of her diligence. She fought like hell for universal health care, and while she didn’t succeed, no one can say she didn’t leave it all out on the field.
And consider the alternative. If I were a betting woman, I would bet my very last dollar that a Donald Trump administration would tear our racial divides even further apart and that his hatred and ignorance would pull us backward.
To any disillusioned Bernie supporters out there thinking, “Yeah, I disagree with both of them, that’s why I’m sitting this one out,” or “Yeah, that’s why I’m voting third party!” I say to you, “For the love of everything, please don’t do it!”
Here’s why:
Under the incredible leadership of Donna Brazile, the party has already made some massive changes and will continue to make the primary process fair and transparent. I’m there with these folks every day, fighting this fight and working toward progress. But we need you to be a part of this fight too!
That aforementioned progressive platform? It’s more than just a bunch of words on some pages. It’s a road map for progress, and Bernie’s fingerprints are all over it. Our elected officials—from the State House to the White House—will follow that road map if we demand it.
As Bernie has reminded us, 2016 is not the year for a protest vote. There is far too much at stake! Most of us have heard people in politics make these claims before and have become numb to the notion, but it’s truer than ever before. We. Have. Too. Much. To. Lose. This isn’t like any other year. The future of our country is in the balance.
If you were a Bernie supporter, and you care about climate change, women’s rights, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, economic fairness, racial justice, and the myriad of other progressive issues Bernie championed, please SHOW UP on Tuesday, November 8. Vote for Hillary and Democrats down-ballot. Then fight like hell to make sure every one of them represents you in the way they promised they would.
Rania Batrice is Bernie Sanders’ former deputy campaign manager and the owner and president of Batrice & Associates.