(Reposted from Daily Kos at the request of Cassidorius)

I’ve been stuck in hotel rooms all week and spent too much of it reading Kos. And I’m tired of it. At this point, I’m surprised that there are any undecided people left on the left, but they are still out there, so I’m going to write up a brief summary of why I prefer Bernie and then try to move on.

Hillary’s Negatives

First of all, Hilary is not Satan. If you think that, get over it. I find her disappointing, frustrating and occasionally inspiring, but if you think she is evil, you really need to get out more. Travel somewhere that is really screwed up. I went to Turkey in 2012 and I’m glad I did because that place is not somewhere I want to go to any more.

Not being evil does not mean that I agree with her — on many things. Here are the negatives that really get under my skin:

• She’s a hawk. I was a Conscientious Objector back in the 1980s. I’ve mellowed a bit since, but the way she goes on about being a “strong Commander in Chief” creeps me out.
• She takes too long to get the right answer. Winston Churchill famously snarked that “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.” I don’t know about Americans in general, but from observing her over the last 25 years, I think it fits. (It also means that she is a better choice than anyone in the GOP because she will actually get there at some point.)
• It’s the money. The problem with the Clinton money swamp is not that anyone is buying votes — it’s more that you tend to absorb the world view of the people you hang out with. This has been documented for Senate donors, but it’s kind of subtle and tends to get lost in the heated rhetoric around here. It may not be evil to take money the way she does, but it is very unwise.

So I will vote for her in the fall, but I would prefer not to.

Bernie’s Positives

Just like Clinton is not Satan, Bernie is no saint. He is as human as you and I and there are a few things he has done that I would have wanted different. But it is hard to live 70+ years without having the occasional regret and the list seems surprisingly short for the time span involved. Here’s what I like:

• He thinks like me. Maybe because I grew up in New York and New England, but the way he sees problems matches how I see them. His analyses seem pretty deep to me, but until recently he has not been connecting the dots on the stump. This never bothered me (I had already connected them) but I can see how others might have missed it.
• He has good instincts. Most of the issues I care about are things he has been on the right side of as long as I have been alive. It’s good when people can change, but better if they don’t have to.
• He only listens to constituents. I’ve lost track of the number of times in the past year when he has been able to hold a rally while Clinton is off hosting private fundraisers. This is arguably a political style, but it is the one I prefer.

As for electability, fear of the Orange One and so on, these are unrealistic. Both candidates do well in head-to-head match-ups, and I expect both will generate excitement. The election is our to lose, but I am very comfortable voting for the Bern. And so should you if you lean that way.

What Next?

Now that the Washington caucus is over, I’m starting to pivot to I-732. This is a revenue neutral carbon tax that will be on the November ballot. They need cash, canvassers and messaging, so please help them out if you can. You can find out all the gory details at the web site, but briefly what it does is:

• Adds an inflation-indexed tax of $25 a ton on CO2 emissions;
• Drops our highly regressive sales tax by 1%;
• Drops some of the Business and Occupation excise tax on carbon-intensive manufacturing (so local businesses are not disadvantaged);
• Fully funds the Earned Income Tax Credit for the state (this was approved but never funded).

Is it perfect? No. Is it enough to solve the problem? No. But it is a step in the right direction, it can happen in the next year and for those of you who follow the excellent climate diaries of Meteor Blades, we no longer have time for perfect.

OK, have at it. Just don’t try to talk me over (I’ve heard it all before) and don’t speak the Small Handed One’s name (make up your own deeply insulting and idiosyncratic name to frustrate Google!)