From the highest sections of the Wells Fargo Center at the Democratic National Convention this week, the vocal supporters of Bernie Sanders have come to protest. The first signs of dissent were made apparent on day when, when an intimate crowd of Sanders delegates booed Bernie upon his mentioning of the Clinton/Kaine ticket, a salient message that they did not come to Philadelphia to coalesce
As a voter I never had a particular fondness for Bernie Sanders, but as a college student it was hard to avoid those who did. From the channels of social media to the public forum of political science courses, I became attuned to the messaging of the Sanders campaign and the core values of their political revolution. While Sanders as a candidate may not have resonated with me, the passion which he conveyed was inspiring; friends of mine who were never even registered to vote were now concerned about the delegate process, which they had only learned about a few weeks earlier.
We should all recognize the amazing feat that Bernie Sanders accomplished this election cycle. His supporter's penchant for progressive ideals is truly admirable, and the success of such a platform is unprecedented at the national level. As a testament to the power of their movement, Hillary Clinton is continually forced to move to the left in her stances as opposed to the general trend of candidates moving towards the center once they receive the nomination.
Yet with the recognition that Bernie Sanders accomplished these great heights comes the acknowledgement that he lost. By every metric- popular vote, pledged delegates, and unpledged delegates- Bernie Sanders fell short of earning the democratic nomination.
While Sanders lost his bid for the presidency, his quest for a political revolution lives on with a Clinton presidency. As an active senator from Vermont, Sanders has the capability to introduce legislation on the floor of congress. When considering his most popular propositions, that formed the base of his campaign platform, a majority if not the entirety of them were legislative proposals. All he needs to incite the change he spoke so passionately about is a democrat in the White House.
We have already seen the Clinton campaign and the Sanders team come together to form a compromise on education reform. This was one of the most significant moments of the presidential election, because it demonstrated how a Clinton administration would look. Together the two produced a policy platform that looked almost identical to that which Sanders ran on during his campaign. Their initiative for tuition free college for those who cannot afford it is proof that these two candidates are willing to work together and find common ground.
To those who consider themselves "Bernie or Bust", before you write in Bernie Sanders on your ballot, re-register to the Green Party, or simply stay home on election day in protest, think about the values that you have spent the past year fighting to instill in this country, and ask yourself who matches them more closely: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? You are not just voting for the executive who sits in the oval office, you are voting for the executive that is going to work with our congressmen and women and produce legislation that impacts this country significantly. On Election Day, make that vote count.