The latest excitement in the primary contest between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is the question of which one Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will endorse for president. Let me present an alternative: she should endorse both of them. That is, she should say clearly: I want a true progressive for President. We really haven’t had one since FDR, and 75 years is far too long to wait. So I want Bernie, and I want Liz. If I could have both of them, so much the better.
And here’s what Bernie and Liz should do: they should endorse one another. Or, in other words, they should say, if I can’t be nominated, I want her (or him). In fact, if AOC were old enough to qualify, I’d want her!
To pile on a few more endorsements, I’d like to see Tulsi endorsing Bernie and Liz, and I’d like to see them returning the favor.
With Centerist Democrats suggesting that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would be a “dream ticket,”progressives have to begin thinking outside the box. If the Democratic Convention goes past the first round, then under the “new rules” superdelegates will get to vote, and they will almost certainly go for the “dream ticket.” So the only hope for progressives is to band together on the first round and get one of them nominated.
I don’t think this would be that difficult. Progressives should meet after all the primaries are over and hold a straw poll of all their delegates. The one who gets the greatest number should win the endorsement of all of the progressive delegates. Hopefully, progressives as a group will have enough to give one of them the nomination.
If Liz, Bernie, AOC, and Tulsi can fashion a progressive band for the Convention, hopefully this will draw on other possible progressives, like Julian Castro or Andrew Yang. For those in the progressive wing who doubt that Liz is really progressive, please start looking at the progressive legislation that she has proposed. Example: she “came out for a national right to repair in March 2019” in favor of farmers, two months before Bernie did. She has proposed a host of good legislation in the past few months. While I personally would prefer Bernie Sanders, I’d like Liz as President rather than Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.
I’ve said it before, so I’ll say it again: band together, progressives, so you can win. So your ideas can become law and move our country forward, away from the brink to which Trump has brought us.
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