Can the primaries be over already? I am so sick of Bernie Sanders’ supporters

One of the most interesting things about Bernie Sanders’ and Donald Trump’s supporters is how similar they are. Not ideologically – in terms of their beliefs, they are on absolute opposite sides of the spectrum. Also, I would much rather have Bernie Sanders in the White House than Donald Trump (although my first preference, and the most likely candidate, is Hillary Clinton).

The reason I say that Bernie and Trump fans are alike is because their candidates came to power much in the same way. They have fans that are angry and tired of “The Establishment,” an indefinable, murky monolith that serves as a useful foil for both Trump’s and Sanders’ platforms. These fans want—nay, demand—a revolution in November. The candidates’ supporter demographics are also strikingly similar. A large part of Trump’s and Bernie’s voter base is white men, although Bernie’s skews younger. Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders when it comes to black voters, women, and older people. This is not to say that there aren’t exceptions, this is simply the overarching demographic trend propelling each candidate.

Bernie Sanders’ supporters are dogged, determined, and, most of all, they are full of outrage. They believe the economic and political systems—particularly the wealthy “1 percent” and free trade proponents—have hurt them, and they take it personally when people don’t love their candidate as much as they do. Bernie supporters view Hillary as corrupt, a “shill,” and see her supporters as deluded acolytes in favor of an oligarchy that suppresses dissenters.

Do I have that about right? Am I missing anything?

Bernie Sanders’ fans plug fake Clinton scandals (“Clintonspiracies”) more than right wingers do – Rush Limbaugh included. Fox News should cut them a paycheck. If the fact that their talking points are handed to them by Republicans and conservatives bothers them, Bernie fans don’t show it. They truly believe the FBI is a heartbeat away from arresting Hillary, and they also think that she is attempting to suppress their votes by tampering with machines and registration.

There is no evidence to support the idea that Hillary Clinton is behind the recent voting problems in New York, but this lack of proof doesn’t matter. Hillary Clinton is the scapegoat for frustrations that young, far-left armchair revolutionaries are experiencing. She has become, to Bernie Sanders’ supporters, the ultimate boogeyman. She’s easy to blame for any issue they have, and they often vent their frustration—loudly—at anyone who dares to contradict their false accusations.

The accusation most commonly leveled against Clinton is that she is a “secret Republican.” But if that’s the case, then Bernie is one too, because according to vote trackers, the two of them voted the same way 93 percent of the time they were in the Senate together. They differed most on foreign policy, but on domestic issues, they sided with one another.

Another major accusation is that closed primaries themselves are corrupt, and that this Electoral College corruption is why Hillary Clinton is winning (I wish we could ban the word “corrupt” from the Feel the Bern vocabulary for just one day of peace).

Closed primaries are not “corrupt.” Closed primaries only allow members registered to a party to vote for their party’s candidate, and, if you want to vote Democrat or Republican but are not registered as either, you have to change your party affiliation. This is as simple as knowing the rules ahead of time and following them accordingly, but the idea of personal accountability in learning the American election system has apparently not occurred to Bernie’s most fervent supporters. To them, their failure to learn, accept, and follow this centuries-old, Constitutionally-codified electoral procedure is not their fault. On the contrary, it is the fault of “The Establishment” for instituting pesky rules that dared inconvenience them on their way to foment a half-baked revolution.

In reality, these rules don’t favor elites, they favor organization. Primaries are an orderly way to funnel millions of voters in and out of the polls in a span of one day. Is the system perfect? Absolutely not. But is there a better option that can be implemented without ripping apart the fabric of our democracy and causing hundreds of runoff elections every four years? I haven’t thought of one.

This is not to say that voter suppression and injustices do not occur—they absolutely happen, as do unethical political practices. I am not at all claiming that there isn’t corruption in the DNC, because I am sure there is. There are DNC officials that I dislike, regardless of their support for my preferred candidate. For example, I am no Debbie Wasserman-Schultz fan, and if I had it my way, she would be fired for incompetence and general buffoonery.

But what I don’t agree with are young voters, new to the political system, who blame everyone else for their inability to learn the rules of the game and abide by them.

Were they this opposed to the Electoral College in 2012 when President Barack Obama won? Or in 2008? Or is this a just problem now because their guy is losing?

One of the most common reasons Bernie Sanders’ hardcore fans give for why Hillary is defeating their candidate at the polls is because “The Elite” want her to win. That is absolute nonsense. According to Politico, Hillary Clinton has 3,167,708 more popular votes than Bernie Sanders does. This means that over three million more people, not donors, not bribed “shills” or corrupt elites, are voting for Hillary. We want Hillary Clinton. We don’t want Bernie. This isn’t a conspiracy. Take off the tinfoil hat. People selecting a different candidate than Bernie does not mean that they are being paid off. I most certainly am not being bribed. If there is some massive check from the Clinton Foundation awaiting me for my Hillary support, I have yet to see it.

I’m voting for Hillary because I find her foreign policy experience valuable. Also, she’s stronger on gun control (an issue that is very personal for me), and I also think her Wall Street regulations—particularly her plans to tackle shadow-banking—will be more effective in preventing another ’08/’09 financial collapse. In addition, I do not want my taxes to be increased as much as they would be under Bernie Sanders’ plans. Shockingly, I have a problem with paying more of my hard-earned money for a plan that I’m dubious will work.

Admiring foreign policy experience and balking at a $15.3 trillion tax revenue are not irrational reasons for supporting Hillary Clinton. This isn’t corruption. This is a personal preference. I believe Hillary will do a better job than Bernie, and I also think that the relationships she built with other countries’ leaders during her time as Secretary of State are going to be beneficial.

Is choosing a candidate that you believe is more qualified—a former lawyer, First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State—“corrupt?” Don’t be absurd.

Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate, and there are things she has done and said that I have not been comfortable with. But expecting a political candidate not to flip-flop her position or accept money for speeches is ludicrous. If that is your benchmark—never changing your mind, never going with public opinion, never accepting speaking fees—then no public official, no matter how much good they do, will ever qualify. There are certainly a few attacks against Hillary Clinton that have some merit, but do I think the FBI is going to kick down her door and drag her away in cuffs? No. Do I think she should be arrested for treason because of the attack in Benghazi? No. Do I think she and Bill murdered James McDougal and Vince Foster? No. The punishments people want levied against Hillary Clinton for her mistakes are far greater than any that are called for when it comes to the errors of Republican candidates or even Bernie Sanders himself.

Currently, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by 327 delegates and 481 super-delegates. The difference between super-delegates and delegates is that super-delegates are not committed to a specific candidate until the Democratic National Convention, which will take place in Philadelphia in July. Delegates, by contrast, are bound to the candidate they vote for when they cast their vote during the primary. (While Google is free and there is really no need for me to explain this, articles that I have previously written have received comments from hurt Bernie fans complaining that I made it sound too much like Hillary was winning, even though she is). It doesn’t look good for Bernie, and unless a miracle happens, he will not be the Democratic nominee.

The intensity and fervor of Bernie Sanders’ fans and their gullibility when it comes to their candidate’s ridiculously ambitious tax proposals (all of which are based on the Scandinavian-inspired theory that increased tax revenue will actually fund free, no-strings-attached healthcare and college) play out on social media, where any attempt to be pro-Clinton gets you a troll-storm straight from the pits of Tartarus. There have been several articles detailing harassment at the hands of overzealous “Feel the Bern” tweeters. If you would like to read some, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Once you get through those, click here, here, or here.

I cheerfully predict that the reactions to this article are going to be predominantly negative, as Pitt is a liberal campus that loves Bernie a lot. Why it is that Bernie Sanders’ supporters have chosen to make Hillary Clinton and the DNC their arch nemeses when Ted Cruz, a dangerous ideologue and possible Zodiac Killer, and Donald Trump, an unstable megalomaniac, are on the loose is beyond me. A Trump presidency would be a disaster, yet the #BernieOrBust movement (which has been rejected by Sanders himself), sees it only as a catalyst for a governmental overthrow.

An overthrow, of course, that they won’t actually take part in—they’ll just tweet about it.

The primaries will be over soon enough, and frankly, I can’t wait. Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. She will likely go on to battle the Great Pumpkin Donald Trump, who she will defeat handily, no thanks to Bernie Sanders’ supporters, who have done his campaign no favors.