I’m warning you up front:  This is not news.  It’s a biased opinion piece.  The only news is that Bernie Sanders has ended his presidential campaign.

Read anyway.  It’ll be good for you, and you might even learn something.

So.

Bernie Sanders is a hero.  He deserves all the praise we can give him.  Observing as he did The Party’s willingness — eagerness — to throw away lives in order to prevent his attaining high office, he voluntarily ended his campaign.  Please note that the Wisconsin numbers are a week from being in, and he’s done anyway.

There’s a pandemic out there, in case you missed it.  It’s impracticable to go door to door canvassing, and though his fundraising machine is still going strong — and diverting the cash to Coronavirus causes and helping the poor, I’ll just add — and despite the massive swing in public perception in favor of such programs as Medicare For All and Universal Basic Income, Bernie has recognized that his cause is doomed.  The Party has made its decision behind closed doors (as it always does), massive corporate investments have fully funded the Biden camp, and all that’s left is the march to the Convention in Milwaukee.  Had he continued, remember, I’ve confidently predicted riots and blood on the floor; add to this tens of thousands of virus deaths and we can be sure of the motivation behind this move.

Senator Sanders is a hero.  My hat’s off to him.

Having said this, I’ll now observe that there’s a ton of anger from the disenfranchised out there.  Tens of millions of potential voters are now left without a candidate they can support in good conscience.  Biden doesn’t stand for anything Sanders supports; he’s a middle-of-the-road conservative who nevertheless opposes compromise.  He’s pledged to seize guns and support abortion, and he’s done so in no uncertain terms; this makes Republicans recoil in fear and… yes, and loathing.  But for all that, Biden’s view on Medicare For All is that we can’t afford it.

In my considered opinion, the D.N.C. has gone all in on a Trump 2020 campaign.  If honesty were in vogue, “Four More Years” would be their battle cry.

To be fair, Donald Trump is the best thing that’s ever happened to the Democratic Party.  Fundraising is up fivefold over the lackluster 2016 campaign.  Volunteers and donations and voter participation are all at unprecedented heights this time around; people are fired up and enthusiastic.

Just… not so much about Uncle Joe.

Throwing Trump out won’t be enough either.  It’s a popular rallying cry, to be sure, but let’s face it:  Joe Biden represents the exact same demographic that Hillary Clinton lost with back in 2016.  The main difference is that his (and I hate to bring it up) creepy vibe will cost him a lot of women voters who supported Hillary.

Democrats will be tempted to blame Bernie supporters for failing to back The Party’s chosen candidate, but that’s an error.  People don’t exist to support parties; political parties exist to represent the will of the people.  If Biden can’t summon the support he’ll need — and he can’t — then the fault belongs entirely to those who put him in the position he now occupies.  To them, you’re not a person and your opinion doesn’t matter:  You’re a small chunk of political power that for some reason they can’t draw on.  The wrong size of battery, if you will.

One final note:  It’s quite possible that Donald Trump will throw this election.  God knows he’s been working hard to do so since his first day in office, and within a narrow scope he’s highly inventive.  If he does, Biden won’t win; Trump will lose.

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If this little ray of sunshine has cheered you up as much as it has me, why not donate some money?  Unlike cash sent to political parties, it’ll actually buy you something — information, and from someone who believes in you.