Bernie Voters Know Trump May Actually Do More To Put Progressives In Power Than Clinton Could

Hear me out. It’s not as crazy as it seems.

History has shown that progress is never a clean, unbroken line. It’s filled with detours, roadblocks, and broken bridges that require tenacity and creativity. This election is one of those broken, flaming bridges that opponents of Hillary Clinton broke and Donald Trump set on fire. So now, America has to figure out a way, yet again, to make progress despite this challenge. It’s been a battle between the haves and the have-nots, of liberal elites against defiant conservatives. Of wizened Bernie supporters against the arrogant Clinton machine.

Lord, this is like CIA-level snooping by @HillaryClinton campaign on @BernieSanders delegates https://t.co/Lc7ACcyASN

— Jordan (@JordanChariton) November 14, 2016

Despite the challenges ahead of us, Americans are known for their tenacity, their “never give up” attitude.

Are you mad? Are you fired up? Are you prepared to fight alongside your fellow progressives to keep this country from becoming an ultra-right-wing stronghold? If you answered “yes,” then you’re one of the things that makes America great. You’re a fighter. You are one of the people who Bernie said could transform our country.

Trump is already energizing the progressive base, and that’s something Bernie, not Clinton, could do.

When Donald Trump soared to a surprise victory last Tuesday after a contentious election cycle, it left many of my fellow progressives catatonic with fear. Liberals and Clintonites everywhere floundered, and my Facebook feed was filled with people wondering how they can keep Trump out of the White House. Clinton was a favorite of the pollsters, while progressives like filmmaker Michael Moore warned that Trump would win.

We’re supposed to be on a clean path to progress, to better healthcare access, to clean energy, to a more inclusive society. Right?

Sort of.

But like I said, progress doesn’t happen overnight, and it certainly doesn’t come without a fight. So think about this, my fellow progressives: Donald Trump could be the beginning of the end of the conservative grip on our country. Consider this the last burst of energy a dying person has before they finally succumb to the inevitable. While the Democratic Party is in a shambles of epic proportions, the Republican Party’s fortune is not much better.

Both parties must evolve on issues or die a well-deserved death, and it seems as though the Democrats are fighting it while the GOP doesn’t realize their party is sick. Right now, Bernie Sanders pulls more weight on the left than any other member of Congress, and Democrats must listen to him.

In large numbers, progressives saw Clinton as the bigger evil in this election. A Forbes op-ed discusses why many Bernie supporters stayed home: It was a change year, and Clinton was old party establishment. Others progressives voted for third parties or Donald Trump out of spite after the DNC betrayed Bernie. We felt deceived and angry after the primaries, during which the DNC played favorites and worked against Bernie to favor Clinton even when polls back in May showed Bernie beating Donald Trump by wide margins. We were also angry that the media had focused so much attention on Trump’s antics than they did on the more serious candidates who wanted to focus on real issues.

Sorry, Mr. Trump. The future of the planet is more important than the short-term profits of the oil, coal and gas industries. pic.twitter.com/l9yi8VOOVo

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 14, 2016

Trump is already softening his tone against Clinton and her emails, a move I suspected he would make all along. After all, the Trumps and Clintons have been friends for decades, and Bill is said to have given Donald Trump a call in May of 2015, shortly before he jumped into the presidential race. I predict that Trump will mute the Clinton email scandal once he’s in office.

For now, Donald Trump is being forced to retain some of his more unpalatable extreme right-wing stances in order to keep up the appearance of being a hard-line Republican. This is evidenced in his appointment of Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, the Breitbart columnist whose columns regularly bash women, members of the LGBTQ community, and Muslims, to name a few. Gizmodo has a convenient list of Bannon’s more offensive headlines. It will be a matter of time to see if he’s serious about these conservative policies.

Republicans, obviously, are happy with the three-pronged win because they knew they’d probably lose to Bernie. They’ve got the House, the Senate, and now the presidency. They believe they’ve got a lock on Donald Trump’s extremist policies and their actions will reflect that. They’ll expect him to govern on the right, while Bernie Sanders and his army of progressives try to pull him back toward the center.

But like I said, progress doesn’t move in a straight, unbroken line. It’s a constant battle, one that Bernie has fought valiantly since the 1960s. Progressives angry about Bernie’s loss have been preparing for a showdown against the GOP, a showdown that Clinton supporters have just now realized is going to happen.

We cannot ignore the fact that mid-term elections are just two years away. More young people will come of age, and as the Atlantic says, they tend to be more progressive than their older counterparts. In fact, they tended to favor Bernie over Clinton, as evidenced by a Castro Valley High School poll. The trick is getting them to the polls. Having a president and Congress that goes against everything they believe in could energize them tremendously. If Donald Trump continues with his socially and economically unacceptable policies, it could pave the way for more progressives to emerge and become national leaders in the fight against right-wing policies.

I have no idea what’s going on in Donald Trump’s head right now, but judging by the awkward handshake he and President Obama had, he’s probably wondering what he just got himself into. But if progressives hope to take over the House or the Senate in 2018 or 2020, they must mobilize the get-out-the-vote efforts, outline strategies, and reject the Democratic Party’s deeply-entrenched establishment path. If that means rejecting the Democrats in favor of third parties, so be it. Ultimately, Donald Trump could be the kick in the pants progressives need to finally do something to make our country more reflective of its people.

[Featured Image by David Goldman/AP Images]