Bernie does the right thing

      I know among the few who read this  blog  on a regular basis it is an article of faith that Bernie Sanders candidacy was torpedoed in 2016 by the "democratic establishment" and to most of them will say the same thing happened in 2020.   Sorry folks, but that's not how it was or is.
      First, I want to praise Bernie for pulling the plug on his 2020 campaign.  Regardless of the fact he would have limped into the convention with far fewer delegates than Biden, he could have done the same destructive thing as 2016 and denied the eventual nominee the full throated support necessary to win the presidency in  these partisan times.   Joe Biden is not my first, second or even third choice for president, but it seems he will be the nominee and with the looming specter of Cheetolini, we need to mobilize all the support we can for a Biden candidacy.
     The problem with Sanders' candidacy has always been its lack of broad based support among the democratic party's core constituency, namely black voters and in particular black women voters.  For whatever reason, Bernie was unable to connect with these supporters and instead of redoubling his outreach he relied on a base of college educated and young male working class voters to power his campaign.   With up to 25 candidates competing at one time and at least 5 mainstream candidates fighting for the nomination as Super Tuesday approached, Sanders 30% strategy looked good, even as black voters in South Carolina rallied behind Biden.   When Buttigieg and Klobuchar, neither of whom had any path to the nomination dropped out, the rest of the party united behind Biden and that was the end for Bernie.   No, there was no machinations behind the scenes, although both Pete and Amy are in line for jobs in a Biden administration.  It was politics.
     Now, it is up to Bernie to bring along his supporters to at least hold their noses and vote for Biden.  If progressives want 4 more years of tRump, then by all means, vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson.  If, however, liberals want a chance to influence the next democratic administration, the choice is clear.