by William Skink
You can thank James Conner for bringing my attention to these bitter Bernie haters:
Vermont resident Jon Svitavsky announced on July 5 that he is challenging Sen. Bernie Sanders in his upcoming re-election in 2018. In his most recent race for re-election, Sanders won over 71 percent of the vote and the Democratic Party didn’t bother to run a candidate. In the 2016 presidential primaries, Sanders received over 86 percent of the vote in Vermont. Among the small percentage of people who voted for Hillary Clinton in the state was Svitavsky, a homeless shelter director who is beginning to receive support from other disgruntled Clinton supporters across the country.
This is astoundingly self-destructive. The idea that any energy would be put toward defeating Bernie Sanders in 2018 is almost too absurd to believe. Going after the progressive fall-guy you rigged the primary against is beyond bad taste. It’s pathological.
Challenging Bernie in Vermont takes some serious audacity. I wonder who Jon Tester would support in this scenario. Here’s Farmer Jon from just a year ago:
Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate for president, Montana Sen. Jon Tester said Friday, announcing his endorsement of the former secretary of state.
“Hillary is the most qualified person on the ballot to unite our nation at a time when dangerous rhetoric threatens to divide us,” Tester said in a statement. “I look forward to working with her to create jobs, strengthen the middle class, keep our country safe, and invest in education and infrastructure so we can move our nation forward.”
Tester thanked Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders “for running a strong grassroots campaign,” energizing young voters and addressing important issues but added, “Now it’s time for us to come together to win up and down the ballot this November.”
If Hillary devotees feel compelled to punish Bernie for forcing them to corrupt the primary process in order to put him down, maybe Bernie supporters in Montana should see to it that Jon Tester goes back to the farm.