Of course, there will always be candidates that are better than others. In 2016, I supported Bernie Sanders in the primary and hated the way the D.N.C. blew him off as viable candidate even though he was able to consistently draw more people to his rallies than any other candidate. Go figure.
In 2016, I ultimately voted for Jill Stein because I couldn't in good conscience vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump [see It's Neither A Spoiler Nor A Protest Vote! by Rev. J.T. Smith for full account of exactly why] as she was the best available candidate.
Once again, Bernie is running for President, and he is once again my choice for President. My reasoning is thus: Bernie Sanders has been leading the fight since well before the 2016 elections, including steadfastly and consistently fighting for We The People and against the corruption and warmongering so prevalent in government. And he's also the first to propose Medicare For All, which eliminates all deductibles and co-pays with the exception of elective non- medically procedures. No one is perfect, but he's the best choice of candidate.
Voting for a person strictly because of their gender or sexuality is a mistake. Yes, it is long past time for a woman or a member of the LGBT+ community to become president, there is no question of that; but as with any position of authority, it needs to be the right person, regardless of gender or sexuality, to be voted into power.
While I find it commendable that Pete Buttigieg is open about his sexual orientation while running for President, I cannot vote for him simply because he's a corporate Democrat. And corporate Democrats, which are nearly as bad as the Republicans currently in power are among the last things Americans need voted into office.
I cannot vote for Amy Klobuchar for simple reason she's effectively Hillary Clinton lite. Still a corporate Democrat, even if not quite as deep into the pockets of Wall Street.
Tom Steyer, like Mike Bloomberg, is yet another billionaire running for President, and America definitely never needs another billionaire as president. And like Steyer and Bloomberg, Joe Biden is yet another corporate Democrat.
To make it worse, Biden and Bloomberg are also notorious bigots. And while Tulsi Gabbard seems to barely register in the polls compared to the others who're still running, I do like that she's Hindu and running against the endless wars, but she also has a history of bigotry and troubling past actions in terms of her foreign policy positions solidly working against her.
The only major issue I have with Warren is her relative inexperience compared to Sanders.
Frankly, my current dream ticket is Sanders/Warren with Sanders as president for eight years followed by Warren for the following eight years. Though I would accept Warren as President with Sanders as VP for the same eight years followed by Sanders as President for eight years.
Ultimately, I am still not a liberal Democrat, I'm a progressive independent; and if a superior third-party contender runs for President, then I'll vote for them. At present, that doesn't seem likely regardless of the party.
- Rev. J.T. Smith
