With the Iowa Cacus taking place tonight, the 2024 election has more or less begun, and the stakes couldn't be higher. My message to both President Biden and to those uncertain about supporting him again:

For Biden, I fear a repeat of the mistakes the 2016 Hillary campaign made in ignoring lingering resentment and dissatisfaction, a disconnect with core groups on the mistaken assumption that they would not defect and would show up. Granted, the Biden campaign does seem to be making an effort to make inroads with the groups it needs to win the support of, but it'll take more than a few speeches and surrogates like Obama and Clayburn to convince people. It's not merely enough to say democracy is at stake (which it is), the campaign must highlight what it will do to protect democracy and how it will combat those who wish to weaken or destroy it. Also, assuming the Gaza war doesn't fade away by October, a public break with Israel is vital. It's not worth aliennating Muslim and Arab Americans by continuing to support an administration that has shown no regard for the lives of the innocent, and has publicly stated its intent to take over Gaza and rule it by force.

And for Liberals, I get that we're all pretty disappointed in Biden right now. We didn't want him in 2020 and we wish more than anything he'd step aside because he's so gaffe prone and shows his age. I get that we're fed up with his lack of effort to push for more aggressive policies on matters like climate change, abortion, gun control, and income inequality. And I get that we're mad about his apparent inability to break with Israel and support efforts to hold them accountable for their actions in Gaza. But we know from experience what the alternative is. Trump is all but certain to be the GOP's nominee even if he's convicted in any of his criminal cases. Trump has already literally stated his intention to be a dictator, to instill loyalists who will do whatever he wants, and we know the GOP will let him do it, no one left in the party is willing to stop him. As bad as things are now, they can and most certainly will get worse if Trump wins. Think about what progress we've made, however small it may be. Is it worth throwing it all away just because we wish someone else was running against Trump right now? Keep in mind, I'm saying this as a support of Sanders in 2016 and 2020, and someone from Michigan, a swing state where Trump faced a challenge to disqualify him from the ballot. We all saw what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. We know how close we came to seeing our democracy destroyed. Do we really want to risk it all again just to express our dissatisfaction with the Democratic party?

I hate making the argument that's been made so many times before when nothing seems to change. But this time, we truly are choosing between the lesser of two evils: The imperfections of our democracy, or the end of our democracy forever. Do we really believe we can stand up to Trump and Trumpism without democracy when we have an entire political party willing to help Trump do it so that they can finally achieve everything they want? Isn't it better to have a system that will certainly outlast Biden, and one that we can slowly but surely shape if we continue to show up and vote accordingly?