By Bronte Price, PoliticKING
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has been an adamant supporter of Bernie Sanders since the start of his campaign, however he is now encouraging his fellow Sanders supporters to vote for Hillary if she beats Sanders in the primary.
Reich criticized the “revolving door between Washington and Wall Street,” that puts the profits of corporations before the public’s best interests in his book, Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, published last year.
Reich endorsed Sanders’ campaign over Hillary Clinton, in February, calling him “the agent of change this nation so desperately needs.”
As it now appears that Hillary Clinton will win the nomination in July, the economist responded on Facebook to Sanders supporters who are wondering what to do next.
He encouraged them to “continue to work like hell for Bernie, especially given upcoming primaries in California and New Jersey on June 7.” However, he told supporters not to be too attached to Sanders.
.@RBReich urged Sanders fans to work for Hillary if she wins. Here's what happened next: https://t.co/nAR9cJrfuVpic.twitter.com/4BZ99whpjB
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 19, 2016
“2. Don’t demonize or denigrate Hillary Clinton.” He continued, “If she wins the Democratic nomination, I urge you to work like hell for her. She’ll be the only person standing between Donald Trump and the presidency of the United States. Besides, as I’ve said before, she’ll be an excellent president for the system we now have, even though Bernie would be the best president for the system we need.”
Some Sanders supporters on Reich’s Facebook page took offense to his support of Clinton.
“Cmon man?! I love you and all but you are seriously asking me to support the best Republican Standing, HRC?” wrote one Bernie supporter. “I am voting for my values not against Trump.”
Another Sanders supporter wrote, “I think your former boss may have given you the dubious assignment of mollifying the Bernie folk. Not working when you write shit like this. If Hillary wins the nomination, Trump wins the election. Period.”
Some commenters agreed with Reich that a Trump administration would be devastating. However, others made the argument that letting Donald Trump win will either be better than a Hillary presidency or will bring about the Great Progressive Revolution that Sanders backers are hoping for.
“R U aware that she sat on the board for Walmart and gave all of our jobs away to NAFTA? Did you know that the 100000 jobs they created was from outsourcing and temp agancies being formed while they abolished the 100000 jobs that were worth keeping and changed the tax law to benefit outsourcing? She is the devil and I’m afraid Trump sucks less,” one supporter wrote.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
