It’s true, I’m Bernie or Bust. No I’m not crazy, and yes, I believe a Trump presidency will be catastrophic, but it’s for this reason why I’m only voting for Bernie Sanders. As a 21-year-old, this was the first election where I could vote in the primaries. I remember scrolling through Facebook seeing Hillary’s announcement video and thinking to myself, “Hell yeah, women empowerment!” But honestly I didn’t feel a call to action, like I had to jump on the Hillary train. That feeling didn’t come until I saw an article on Bernie Sanders. One paragraph in, I knew he was my candidate. Every issue he spoke about resonated in my soul. These were the same issues I passionately annoyed my friends about, and now there was a figurehead to my concern and passion for change.
This passion turned into bitter frustration, however, once debates, the media, and voter suppression slyly tilted the scale towards Hillary. I considered myself to be a lifelong Democrat, but this election made me come to the crushing realization that the Democratic party is corrupt.
Time after time Bernie has proven to be a stronger candidate. He crushes Trump in every poll by at least ten points compared to Hillary, who only beats Trump by a mere six points, and sometimes loses to Trump by single digits. Bernie beats Hillary among independents by a margin of 50 percent, and considering independents are 43 percent of America’s voters, that gives Bernie a huge advantage in the general election. Bernie has momentum, drawing crowds of over 28,000 and counting.
Yet he is dismissed, pinned as a “pie in the sky” candidate. But this is when Bernie is talked about at all, considering major news networks only mention Bernie a whopping 2 percent of the time compared to Hillary’s 32 percent.
But it’s not that surprising considering CNN is owned by Time Warner Cable, which just so happens to be one of Hillary’s top donors. It’s not that surprising that Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the DNC, worked as one of Clinton’s campaign co-chairs in her 2008 presidential run. It’s not that surprising that Debbie Wasserman Schultz went on national television and told the world that super delegates “exist to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists.” It’s not that surprising that the Clinton campaign has been accused of multiple instances of voter fraud and suppression. It’s not that surprising that Bernie Sanders is losing.
From the beginning, this election has been about getting Bernie Sanders out of the race, no matter what it takes. It was to be expected, when you’re a threat to the establishment, the establishment will obviously take notice. The problem with this election was that the DNC and the Clinton Campaign got caught. Now they are going to have to live with the consequences which are people, just like me, who have lost their faith in the Democratic party.
Bernie or Bust is not about being a sore loser, it’s about letting our voices be heard. It’s about standing up to corruption. It’s about creating an actual democratic voting system. It’s about taking control of our country and sending a message to the DNC saying, “We are not okay with this.” If we want to defeat Trump, Bernie is our best chance. If we want to restore democracy within America, Bernie is our best chance. If we want to take control of our own country, Bernie is our best chance. I am Bernie or Bust because he is the salvation America needs.
No one knows what is in store for this election, but one thing I do know is that it’s not over. Clinton’s delegate lead is down to a mere 283 ahead of Bernie. With 830 delegates left to go, it is without a doubt that it will be a contested convention in July. There’s a possibility that Bernie can come from West Virginia strong and sweep the remaining states, going into the convention with more delegates, more momentum and more favorability. If that was the case, super delegates could switch their stance, making Sanders the Democratic nominee. I guess we will just have to wait and find out. Until then, we Bernie supporters will keep donating, phone banking and canvassing.
The revolution isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. So Bern on Bernie fans—It’s far from over and I’m sure as hell going to keep fighting.
This piece was written by a Her Campus Story Prompts network contributor. Want to contribute? Sign up here.