For the first time in my life, I am learning what it truly means to be a Democrat.
Growing up in the Bush Era and then spending my 20s in the Age of Obama, it all seemed pretty black and white to me, politically speaking.
Bush was the bad one. So were all the Republicans. All they cared about was invading countries and giving tax breaks to millionaires. They loved guns, hated gay people and didn't believe in Climate Change.
The Democrats were the good guys- and I was proud to be one of them. We fought for the middle class, not the super-rich. We believed in science, protecting the environment, providing health care and social security and education to every American. We were anti-War and pro-peace. We were hippies and children of hippies.
Obama was our savior. He was going to fix Bush's mess and bring us back from the abyss. He was going to fundamentally change the country, transforming America into a more open, inclusive, liberal society.
Call it naive, but this was my perspective growing up.
Now that I'm older, I see things differently.
For the first time in my life, I now realize that there are two kinds of Democrats.
One kind is personified by Hillary Clinton. She represents the mainstream, middle of the road Democrat. By and large, the centrist, moderate Democrat is more hawkish on foreign policy, more willing to intervene in places like Iraq, Syria and Libya. They are friendlier to Wall Street and the big banks, often accepting millions from them in the form of paid speeches and campaign contributions. Simply put, they are the status quo. They are the establishment. They are in the business of ensuring that the train keeps moving. No stops. No turns. No changes.
The other kind of Democrat is embodied by Bernie Sanders. He is not a centrist. He is not a moderate. He is a proud progressive, stoic and statuesque in his positions.
He's been preaching the same gospel for nearly 50-years. He does not flip-flop or change his opinion based on poll numbers. He is authentic in a way no other contemporary politician is. He gets his campaign contributions from middle class Americans donating thirty bucks a pop, not million dollar checks from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
Bernie wants to keep us out of costly, never-ending MidEast wars. He wants to expand social security. He wants Single Payer health care for all. He wants to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. He wants free college tuition. And he wants to pay for all of these things by enacting a tax on Wall Street speculation and closing tax loopholes that only benefit the super wealthy. All of these positions are considered "radical" by the media and partisan pundits, but they are wildly popular with the American people.
Our democracy is broken. We face enormous problems that cannot be ignored. Income inequality, the disappearance of the Middle Class, Climate Change, big money in politics, a broken immigration system, a corrupt criminal justice system, crippling student debt, crumbling infrastructure as far as the eye can see.
If we elect another moderate, centrist Democrat, nothing will change. After all, establishment politics got us into this mess in the first place. The game is rigged, and they're the ones that rigged it.
We need to chart a new course. We need to elect a leader in the mold of FDR, someone who welcomes the hatred of Wall Street. Someone who is unwavering in their convictions. Someone who tilts the axis away from the rich and powerful and back to the common man.
I do not hate Hillary. I respect her long record of service to the country. She is by far the most qualified candidate in the field. In all honesty, I would love to cast my ballot for the first female President. If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will absolutely vote for her in the general election.
But until she wins the nomination, I am fighting like hell for Bernie. And as a Liberal Democrat, you should too.
After all, who knows if we'll ever see another political revolution like this again.
