I have always voted for the person I think is the best person to vote for on the ballot that is handed to me. This primary season, for me that is clearly Bernie Sanders, and I will continue to support him all the way to the presidency or until he is no longer in the nomination process. I will always support the kind of systemic change he is working for in our country.

During the November election I will vote for the best person on the ballot even if Bernie Sanders is not the democratic nominee. I say this openly because there are some (about 20% of Sanders supporters) who say they will never vote for Clinton, and I have even heard a few who say they would vote for Trump in a protest vote. I don’t know if those who say this mean it or if it is just a strategy to make Clinton think she has to keep tracking left to have their vote. Either way, it is an absolutely idiotic idea. I say this with wide open eyes about who Clinton is and who funds and manages her campaign and what their expectations are for her potential presidency.

It may seem that not voting for Clinton if she is the nominee would be an expression of loyalty and commitment to a very much needed political revolution. It might even force the party to move in a more progressive direction in the future, but if someone like Trump, Cruz, or Rubio is president, the Supreme Court is lost for a generation. If Trump or Cruz is president, we will have either a Trumpian oligarchic racist islamaphobic fascism or a Cruzian oligarchic theocratic islamaphobic anti-LGBTQ fascism. Rubio would insure that any work on climate change would never happen at a time when nothing happening is not an option, and his militarism is just as extreme as Trump and Cruz. With Trump, our Latino, African American, and Muslim sisters and brothers will live in constant fear and anxiety of the increase in violence against them that we see even now. Trump and Cruz would be a disaster for women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.

In other words 4 to 8 years of any of the republican candidates would be a real (not a virtual) disaster for peace, social justice, economic justice, racial justice, climate change, and ecological sustainability. This will bring tremendous harm to real people all over the world, both now and in the future. Finally, it would go against everything Bernie Sanders is working with us to accomplish for our society and our world. There are important ways to be revolutionary in our country if Sanders does not win, but helping elect Trump who is a truly evil, sexist, racist, and Islamophobic fascist and who is openly supported by the KKK and by persons who would just as soon see the confederate flag fly in Washington DC as the American flag is not revolutionary – it is just dumb and morally irresponsible at a time our country and planet require more from us.

And now, for those of us who are Sanders supporters, we have work to do to make sure Bernie Sanders is the democratic nominee for President of the United States. There are 50 states, DC, and some territories, so let’s stop focusing on what we will do if Sanders does not win and do all we can to make sure he is the one who is the best candidate on the ballot in November.