Advice for Divided Democrats

By Robert B. Reich, Tribune Content Agency on Jun 5, 2016

Some of you say that refusing to fight for, or even vote for, Clinton will show the Democratic political establishment why it must change its ways.

But the "Democratic political establishment" is nothing but a bunch of people, many of them big donors and fundraisers occupying comfortable and privileged positions, who won't even be aware that you've decided to sit it out -- unless Clinton loses to Donald Trump.

Which brings me to those of you who say there's no real difference between Clinton and Donald Trump.

That's just plain wrong. Trump has revealed himself to be a narcissistic, xenophobic hatemonger who, if elected, would legitimize bigotry, appoint Supreme Court justices with terrible values, and have direct access to the button that could set off a nuclear war.

Clinton may not possess Sanders' indignation about the rigging of our economy and democracy, or be willing to go as far in remedying it, but she's shown herself to be a capable and responsible leader.

Some of you agree a Trump presidency would be a disaster but claim it would galvanize a forceful progressive movement in response.

That's unlikely. Rarely if ever in history has a sharp swing to the right moved the political pendulum further back in the opposite direction. Instead, it tends to move the center rightward, as did Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Besides, Trump could do huge and unalterable damage to America and the world in the meantime.

Finally, some of you say even if Clinton is better than Trump, you're tired of choosing the "lesser of two evils," and you're going to vote your conscience by either writing Sanders' name in, or voting for the Green Party candidate, or not voting at all.

I can't criticize anyone for voting their conscience, of course. But your conscience should know that a decision not to vote for Clinton, should she become the Democratic nominee, is a de facto decision to help Trump.

Both of my morsels of advice may be hard to swallow. Many Clinton supporters don't want Sanders to keep campaigning, and many Sanders supporters don't want to root for Clinton if she gets the nomination.

But swallow it you must -- not just for the good of the Democratic Party, but for the good of the nation.

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(Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. His new book, "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few," is now in bookstores. His film "Inequality for All" is now available on iTunes and Amazon streaming.)