Look, I am not a fan of Senator Sanders and I do think he should concede sooner rather than later. I’m really not interested in debating the pros and cons of that; as far as I’m concerned the presidential primary is over and we can all move on.
But THE WORST argument for Sanders conceding is that he is endangering public health. It’s not even an argument- it’s a fallacious attack that undermines some of the most important elections that still have to take place.
We all felt a huge sense of victory when Dan Lipinski was defeated in his primary, didn’t we? That happened because there were other elections besides the presidential primary on the ballot. Had Sanders conceded on March 4th, that election STILL would have had to take place.
In my own state, we only cast a vote for the presidential primary on the 10th (some localities had other issues on the ballot). In May, we have to go to the polls again to vote for the candidate to take on Jim Risch, and every other office down ballot from there.
Even the earliest states have yet to weigh in on down ballot races. These elections simply haven’t happened yet. That’s right- Iowa and New Hampshire still have upcoming elections, and they’re important.
IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ELECTIONS, YOU NEED TO LOOK CLOSER TO HOME.
You should all be doing this, anyway, because the presidency is such a small part of the electoral politics that impact your life. But the bottom line is that your governor is responsible for how elections are handled. Put pressure on them to come up with a mitigation plan- they need one regardless of what Senator Sanders does.
So make any argument, pro or con, on whether Sanders should concede or not. I think opinions are baked in on that and won’t change. But for the love of Dog, if you’re making the argument that his staying in is threatening public health you’re just telling me that you don’t care about all the other elections that matter just as much.
They’re in our districts, the people running are our neighbors, they live in our states, they will make a huge difference in your life.
And your governor needs to hear from you that you expect a safe election. Screaming at Sanders doesn’t accomplish anything- he does not control state elections and state elections will continue even if he’s abducted by aliens and takes up residence on Mars tomorrow.
Thank you for letting me rant, and please invest in your local races today.