A person can respect the result of the primaries-as Sanders supporters proved in 2016 when they gave a far lower share of their votes to the Republican candidate than Clinton supporters gave to the Republican candidate in 2008-a figures which proves that Sanders supporters are not exclusively or even primarily to blame for Trump-a person can respect the result of the primaries and still legitimately observe that the arrogant, heavy-handed “Stop Bernie” push the party establishment did after Nevada, a push in which all the other candidates started acting as though Bernie had no right to have ever been the race and started saying the word “socialism” in exactly the same scolding, sanctimonious tone of voice they’d have used to say “child pornography” or “cannibalism”, in which the false accusation that Bernie and his supporters never cared about racism was once again raised-was unacceptable and damaging.

Joe is going to be the nominee, in all liklihood-Bernie won’t be, no matter what. So, given that there’s no reason for you ever again to talk down to or attack Sanders supporters, will you please do the best thing you can do to help get Joe elected and stop the nasty, snobbish dismissiveness already?

To get Sanders supporters to back Joe, the party needs to treat them with respect and as equal partners with every other component of the coalition Biden will need to win. Bring them in, acknowledge the validity of much of what they were fighting for, even if you use different words-Joe is doing that, so you have an obligation to as well.

Part of that welcoming in is an acknowledgment that they have legitimate grievances with how the party treated not only their candidate but their values during the primary, that the party insiders SHOULD have been more decent about it and not gone “scorched-earth” on Bernie in the way they did after Super Tuesday. If they hadn’t gone “scorched-earth”, if they hadn’t treated the word “socialism” as if it were disgusting.

After all, there really isn’t any possible form of progressive politics that doesn’t have some sort of a socialist component, doesn’t have, at least, the idea that being progressive means believing that what “the market” wants isn’t always what has to happen. Insisting that the party have nothing socialist at all about it means insisting that the party have nothing humane or egalitarian or empathetic in its program at all.

And in case you see this as a personal attack, rather than comments simply about the views you express and the way you express them, know that this is what I believe about you:

I’m quite certain you’re better than this in real life.