The Flawed Nominating Process; Giving Sanders a Break

I think we should all consider how terribly difficult this process actually is and has been for both Bernie Sanders and all of his most passionate and ardent supporters. It is absolutely true that the nomination process is deeply flawed, complex, and with too many layers between voters and the end results. This has made it easy for the loudest voices, especially on social media, to further disenfranchise voters who have participated in this year's primaries and caucuses.

In 2008, it was even more so, with Michigan's voters being completely disenfranchised from the nominating process as well as Florida's delegates being stripped prior to the convention. All of this created further distrust, animosity, and division within the Democratic Party and with all those who participated. Of course, not much changed since 2008, so, once again, we're left with the losing candidate and his supporters making claims, some of them true, to support other claims that are not.

I remember back in 2008 fighting for every vote in Indiana for Hillary, her winning most of the late contests, her actually being much closer in pledged delegates and the popular vote than Bernie Sanders is today, and it being incredibly difficult for myself and many others to transition from supporting her campaign for the nomination and getting behind the eventual nominee, Barack Obama.

Of course, I didn't behave as many of Sanders supporters have this election cycle, and Hillary didn't go out there purporting a narrative about her pathways to the nomination that mislead her supporters. She simply didn't win those contests by wide enough margins to close the pledged delegate gap. That isn't to say that there weren't many loud Hillary supporters in 2008 that voiced that they would never vote for Barack Obama. Most of us ended up supporting candidate Barack Obama. The evidence of that was in how Obama was the first Democratic candidate to win Indiana since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

+Amazing World

That being said, I will continue to post what I feel are relevant, reasoned, fact-based, and above all substantive analysis and opinions regarding the Sanders campaign as long as he and those most avid supporters continue to attack the nominee of the Democratic Party in what I feel are disingenuous, false, and highly misleading ways.

I also remember how deeply troubled I was back in 2004 after the general election loss of John Kerry to the incumbent President George W Bush. I thought our country nor the world could survive another four years of his presidency. I was as wrong then as the most vicious Clinton critics within Sanders supporters are today.

I came to see President Bush as a human being, albeit deeply flawed, deserving of compassion, patience, but absolutely needing of both understanding and support. That does not mean he didn't deserve criticism. The people that take on these roles and responsibilities do so to strive and make a positive difference for us all, no matter how much we may disagree with them. No matter how much they may fail at leaving a positive mark on our country or on the world. We often don't know until decades later what the real results are.

+Amazing World

We do all have choices. Sometimes, those choices aren't the ones we want to have, but within a democracy we are rarely given perfect choices because no one is perfect.

When we tear each other down without consideration for our common humanity and common struggles, we do ourselves and the country an enormous disservice. We could all do better with our discourse. We could all do better within our own communities.

That's what I strive to do in both words and deeds.

We do need to reform the process for nominating candidates for President within both major parties. That doesn't mean that Hillary Clinton hasn't won the nomination to become the Democratic candidate for President, and by millions more votes and hundreds of pledged delegates.

We can all choose what we support moving forward. Of course, that's your choice. Staying engaged, staying involved, and holding whomever is elected accountable . . . that's a far more important choice.