Time for Bernie to do what’s right for America
The headlines Wednesday were blunt and scathing. In The New York Times: “Biden Gets Out the Broom.”
New York Magazine: “Why Is Bernie Sanders Still Running for President?”
New York Post: “Biden Just Made Bernie Nothing More Than a TwoTime Loser.”
And after the third Super Tuesday trouncing by Joe Biden, in which this time he handily won Florida, Illinois and Arizona, Democrats also were sounding the alarm to pull the plug on Bernie Sanders’ life-support campaign.
“I think the conversation is going to quickly turn to how and when does Bernie Sanders unite the Democratic Party,” former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC.
Celebrity Twitter, too, seems ready to call it: “With all due respect @Bernie Sanders,” tweeted tennis legend Martina Navratilova, “what are you waiting for???”
With Sanders more than 300 delegates short of Biden, the writing on the wall is clear, and has been for some time. And yet, there were reports on Tuesday that Sanders would not be quitting after these primaries, and some of his top staffers are not ready to let it go.
”I want the senator to stay in,” said national co-chair Nina Turner on Monday, adding that the campaign was “the culmination of this man’s life’s work.”
But against the backdrop of a worldwide pandemic, in which going out to vote actually means risking one’s own life, the Sanders campaign’s vainglorious and obstinate exercise in futility is more than merely foolish. It’s downright galling and bad for the country.
On the practical level, both candidates are struggling in a time of social distancing to physically campaign — rallies are canceled, makeshift digital events are suffering technical difficulties, voters are preoccupied with, you know, how to survive coronavirus. But even before COVID-19 crippled the country with fear, Sanders was underperforming in counties and states that he won in 2016. Fewer Americans are feeling the Bern, and that math isn’t changing as the electoral map gets even harder for Sanders.
Sanders’ race is also hurting the Democratic Party. While he says he’s attempting to nudge Biden to the far left so that his voters can feel they have permission to vote for him, Sanders’ supporters have been attacking the Democratic frontrunner and certain nominee in ways that could seriously injure him with the general electorate, going after Biden’s mental health and his capacity to do the job of president.
But even if these weren’t compelling enough reasons to get out of a race that he cannot win, Sanders needs to consider the arresting and disorienting new conditions in which America is living.
Confronting weeks, maybe months of social isolation, fears of coronavirus testing shortages, hospital overcrowding, lost jobs, a stalled economy, travel bans, school closures — in other words, a total disruption of American life — voters deserve some clarity and simplification in a time of anxiety and chaos. They also deserve some unity.
With Sanders still mounting a useless challenge against Biden, it keeps voters confused, the party divided and the primary unresolved. Talk of a brokered or contested convention — which, let’s face it, may end up taking place virtually or not at all — is supremely unhelpful at a time when Democrats could otherwise be preparing for a general election against Donald Trump, whose performance during the biggest health crisis of our lifetimes has been disastrous.
If Democrats want to beat Trump in November, their best chance is to give Democratic voters a nominee, a candidate they can unite behind and contrast to Trump. Biden has put in the work and performed better than any expected, winning all kinds of voters all over the country. He has, in short, made the case.
At a time of tremendous upheaval and uncertainty, Sanders can give voters some relief. He can do that by dropping out now, endorsing Joe Biden, bringing his voters over to the nominee and uniting his party.
This campaign may have been, as Nina Turner says, “the culmination of this man’s life’s work,” but this election isn’t just about one man. It’s time for this election to be bigger — it’s time for Sanders to do what’s right for America, and not just himself.
AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC, IN WHICH GOING OUT TO VOTE ACTUALLY MEANS RISKING ONE’S OWN LIFE, THE SANDERS CAMPAIGN’S VAINGLORIOUS AND OBSTINATE EXERCISE IN FUTILITY IS MORE THAN MERELY FOOLISH. IT’S DOWNRIGHT GALLING AND BAD FOR THE COUNTRY.
In recent days, I’ve been doing a lot of walking. I know that this may soon come to a halt if the efforts to combat coronavirus in the United States lead to a mandatory quarantine, keeping me at home, away from everyone else.
For now, though, I’m dealing with mild cabin fever by walking as I did the other day, to drop off our taxes at our accountant and to pick up a copy of the bestseller “The Family Upstairs” by Lisa Jewell from our neighborhood branch library for my wife.
Each American is going to have to come up with strategies for coping with this new normal that already is keeping us away from restaurants, theaters, schools, even churches. For you, it might be bingeing some hit series, or knitting, or strolling hither and yon on the internet, or lifting weights in the basement, or finally reading Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.”
For me, it’s been walking. I feel the need for the exercise because I’ve sworn off basketball for the duration of this outbreak — talk about being up close and personal! My two book clubs have also dropped in-person meetings. The guys in those clubs and on the basketball court are generally as old as 70-year-old me or even older, so it’s a kindness to each other to stay away and not risk infecting each other.
I’ve also sworn off public transportation, especially the CTA elevated system, and walking is a good way to get from here to there — as long as “there” isn’t too far.
Walking has always been fun for me because I live in Edgewater, an ever-interesting Chicago North Side community near Lake Michigan. As a nerd about all things Chicago — I’ve been writing about urban affairs in Chicago for nearly half a century — I find each streetscape invitingly engaging, ranging from pastel-painted, gingerbreadlike homes to massive U-shaped yellowbrick apartment buildings, from the rare vacant lot, alitter with paper and plastic water bottles, to the blocks that have one red-brick school after another after another.
One odd thing about walking now: When I see someone walking near me, I wonder whether he or she is a carrier of the virus.
That’s a terrible thing to think, but I imagine the other person has the same thought about me. This suspicion of each other, while understandable and even necessary, is something to be aware of and not take too far.
Most of the people I saw the other day, I didn’t know. But, as I passed Hayt Elementary School, Eduardo, a neighbor on our block, was coming out. He was going one way and I was going the other. But we shouted hello to each other. I suspect we would have bumped elbows if we’d crossed paths.
As I walked, I wondered about the delivery guys I saw while I was out. And the people working inside McDonald’s dealing with the drive-up customers. And the librarians. And all the people who aren’t able to self-quarantine. I hoped that they will be able to keep themselves safe and healthy.
I also thought about whom I need to call, just to stay in touch. At this moment, we may not be able to visit each other in person, but we can still break through the loneliness of all this home time by reaching out through the phone or email or texting or whatever.
That’s what happens when I walk. My mind wanders. And in between thinking about the people who are still having to interact with others and about the list of people I should keep in contact with, I began thinking of writing an essay. I even came up with an opening line:
“In recent days, I’ve been doing a lot of walking.”
WHEN I SEE SOMEONE WALKING NEAR ME, I WONDER WHETHER HE OR SHE IS A CARRIER OF THE VIRUS. THAT’S A TERRIBLE THING TO THINK, BUT I IMAGINE THE OTHER PERSON HAS THE SAME THOUGHT ABOUT ME.