I’ve been a HUGE fan of Senator Elizabeth Warren, ever since 2016.

I liked her more than Hillary, if I’m being honest. But Senator Warren wasn’t running in 2016, and the choice was between Hillary and Bernie. Along with 65 million other Americans, I chose Hillary.

Alas, thanks to the archaic Electoral College, she did not have enough Electoral votes to win, despite having trounced the Tangerine Toddler in the popular vote from the General Election. Many political prognosticators have opined that several factors contributed to her loss: not having campaigned in crucial battleground states; she was too damaged with too much baggage; but her EMAILS; and the splintered votes amongst 3rd party candidates like Jill Stein cost her dearly in states where the margins in victory were razor thin.

But another theory posited by some analysts say that her former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, was not vociferous enough in his support of Clinton’s campaign, and his hesitance to back her much earlier than he did fractured the party beyond repair, with a sizable number of his supporters opting either to vote for trump, vote for Stein, or not to vote at all.

Now, in 2020, many in the Democratic Party fear a repeat of that scenario as former VP Joe Biden has assumed a commanding lead in votes, but his lone remaining opponent (Senator Sanders) has refused to suspend his campaign, despite having an increasingly narrow path to victory.

I remained a loyal supporter of Senator Warren until the very last days of her campaign, and when she dropped out, I was very disappointed as I believed (and STILL believe) that she was the BEST candidate for President of the United States. And then I switched my support to Joe Biden.

WHY do I support Joe Biden?

Because I believe he can win. I believe Joe Biden can take trump to the woodshed and not just beat him, but beat him SO badly that the humiliation from the defeat will send trump into a complete nervous breakdown, and he might need medication. Or MORE medication, because I’m not sure he isn’t already on some medication.

I also believe Joe is a decent guy who will NOT scare voters who are somehow still on the fence about whether or not to reelect 4 more years of unhinged insanity and lawlessness. Not scaring voters is kind of a big deal right now, apparently. We’ve already had 3.5 years of scary. Most of the folks I speak to want good, old-fashioned, boring, normal right now. They want to be able to turn on the TV to something OTHER than political TV news, and focus on regular stuff again. They want to wake up in the morning without checking their phones to see if the President has declared war, or is doing something idiotic again.

Most importantly, folks want a candidate who THEY believe most of the people THEY know will vote for. With Joe Biden, and his string of impressive victories in early March, that question seems to have been answered decisively.  Or has it? Senator Sanders is still in the race, and has shown no signs of conceding, much to the chagrin of a sizable portion of the Democratic Party. And while many of his policy positions are actually in line with what a majority of Democratic voters want – Healthcare, dealing with the climate crisis, addressing income inequality – he makes just enough Independents and DEMs closer to the middle NERVOUS.

Medicare for All is a heavy lift. President Obama had to use every ounce of political capital to get the Affordable Care Act passed, and that he was able to achieve such a herculean task was nothing short of miraculous. Joe Biden wants to tweak and improve the existing system. Getting Medicare for All passed, meanwhile, would make the Obamacare deal look like a walk in the park by comparison. His supporters argue that Biden is representative more of the status quo, when what America needs is an actual Revolution. That MAY be true at some point, but not right now.

Personally, I’m exhausted.

I feel like fighting Orange Twitler for the past 1,172 days has already been a war in itself. I need a break. America needs a break. We really just want boring normal again, not the agitated, screaming-in-faces, daily fight that Bernie Sanders’ platform possibly proposes. And you know what else? I’m kinda tired of being lectured about how much of a “centrist shill” and “fake progressive” I am, really. Until you’ve walked in MY shoes, kid, you don’t get to judge my 52-year-old soul and my choices. Bernie’s supporters will bristle that I haven’t heaped effusive praise on him, and that I have dared to call them toxic and abrasive.

So why hasn’t he dropped out? Differing opinions abound: folks in the Biden camp believe Sanders’ pursuit is narcissistic, and he is determined to stay in at all costs, even if it means fracturing the party even further than it already is. But folks in the Sanders camp believe that he still has a chance to win, and that the voices and votes of the remaining primary states should be heard, and counted.

The reality is this:

With this pause in primary voting, Joe has lost some Joe-mentum. Not all of it, but just enough to make ME a little nervous. What if enough people stay home, or elect NOT to vote for him in the upcoming primaries? What if Bernie does the improbable and secures enough votes to somehow close the gap and force a contested convention? What if he actually GETS the nomination?

If he does…I WILL VOTE FOR HIM.

I don’t like him. I don’t care for many of his aggressive, toxic supporters who scream profanities at me online and call me everything but a child of God. And I definitely am not interested in having to “go to war” for another 4 years of political turmoil.

But what is our alternative? 4 more LONG years of trump.

And what will THAT look like?

Let’s see: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who just turned 87, has been on the Supreme Court for a very long time. She’s battled cancer 4 times and lived to talk about it. What are the odds she’ll make it through another 4 years under trump? I don’t know, but I sure would LOVE to let her retire under a Democratic President who will ensure that her replacement doesn’t shift the SCOTUS balance from 5-4 Conservative to 6-3 Conservative. And what if someone ELSE retires?

The Supreme Court could easily become a 7-2 Conservative court, and that’s all folks: say goodbye to Roe v Wade, forget about overturning Citizens United, forget about a Green New Deal, forget about the environment. Forget about ALL of it. Another 4 years under trump will change the landscape of America so fundamentally it will be unrecognizable, and certainly NOT “Great Again.”

So yeah, if the choice were between trump and a piece of burnt toast, I’d get a butter knife, scrape off the burnt, apply butter liberally, and I would vote Burnt Toast.

If the choice were between a rusty, old garbage can filled with rotted meat and vomit? I’d buy some nose plugs and some industrial strength disinfectant, and vote Rusty Old Garbage Can.

But the choice(s) are far, FAR better than that. The choices are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders: two men who, while not perfect, not without their faults, have a TON more in common with my view of how America should be governed than the unfit, unhinged buffoon who currently occupies that office. I wholeheartedly believe, with every fiber of my being, that EITHER of these men would be a 1,000,000 percent improvement over trump, and I will dedicate all of my time, energy, and enthusiasm to help get EITHER of them elected, no matter what.

I still believe Warren is the best candidate of all of them. But now, between the 2 remaining candidates, I prefer Joe Biden.

BUUUUUT, I will vote for Sanders if I have to, because we MUST win at all costs to save America.