Bernout: Where Sanders Lost the Plot

[July 2026]

I have been a Bernie Sanders guy for a long time. Back in 2016, 2020, and even 2024, he was my preferred candidate in the primaries. I liked what he stood for and how he said it. But I still voted for Clinton, then Biden, and then Harris in the general elections. I knew what was on the line each time. In 2016 especially, I warned people that if Trump won, he would pack the Supreme Court with conservative justices and Roe v Wade would get overturned. Folks called it scaremongering and swore it would never happen. Well, 2022 rolled around and sure enough, Roe was gone. In the red state where I live, getting an abortion is basically impossible now.

I am not one of those Bernie Bros who sat out or threw away their vote. I am also skeptical how much that cohort even exists, because pretty much everyone I know who liked Bernie still pulled the lever for the Democrat, even if we fucking hated Hillary Clinton. We held our noses because Trump was, and is, way worse.

People who gave me shit for preferring Bernie over Clinton often assumed it was because I am a man. I am a trans man, but still a man, so it must be sexism, right? No, that was never it. I early voted for Kamala Harris and felt genuinely excited about the possibility of the first female president in my lifetime. She was not perfect, but I thought she would do a decent job. My problems with Clinton went deeper. I lived through the nineties. Her husband built on Reagan's cuts to assistance programs, and those changes still fuck me over as a disabled person in the 2020s. NAFTA gutted my factory hometown on the East Coast too. Those were real material harms that hit working people hard.

Bernie stood out because he was one of the few politicians on the left who actually seemed to give a damn about the classic leftist fight for working-class and poor folks. Medicare for All was a big one for me. Sure, those of us on Medicare complain about the flaws. Getting a referral for a specialist or approval for certain procedures can be a red tape nightmare, but it has been a literal lifesaver for me with multiple chronic conditions. My meds cost me a buck sixty each. That matters when you are scraping by.

Bernie also backed LGBT rights since the 1970s, long before it was popular. As the left shifted toward heavy identity politics, the euphemism treadmill, and performative wokeness in the 2010s and 2020s, Bernie kept supporting marginalized communities without sounding fake or preachy. As a gay trans man who sees class as the bigger struggle over left-right divides, I appreciated that he focused on lifting conditions for everybody instead of pitting groups against each other.

He also called out the Israeli government's actions earlier than most. Being Jewish myself, I respected that Bernie is Jewish too and challenges the idea that American Jews all love Bibi Netanyahu. He pushed back against the claim that anti-Zionism equals antisemitism, showing you can criticize Israeli policy without hating Israeli Jews or Jews in general.

On guns, Bernie has been reasonable in a way that sets him apart from many liberals. I support background checks and common-sense rules, but the Second Amendment matters to me. LGBT people, disabled folks, and women need self-defense options in this world. One of my best friends lives in rural Florida where wild boars and gators wander onto the property. A rifle on hand to protect the kids makes sense. Responsible gun ownership is not some right-wing fever dream.

All that said, as of 2026 Bernie is no longer my favorite politician. I don't hate the guy or even dislike him much, but a couple of areas finally broke the spell.

The first is his endorsement record. Most of the people he has backed have turned out to be duds. There are exceptions, like Zohran Mamdani, who won mayor of New York City in 2026 and has actually delivered progressive policies that help regular people. Mamdani is my favorite politician now. I wish he had been born here so he could run for president someday. But look at the others. Tulsi Gabbard went full conservative and plenty of people (myself included) think she is a Russian asset. John Fetterman ran as a progressive then pivoted hard toward MAGA. AOC talks a big game but delivers little. Then there is Graham Platner, who has been a mess. First the Totenkopf tattoo controversy. He covered it up after folks pointed out the Nazi connection, claiming he had no clue what it meant. He saw it on a wall in Serbia while in the Marines and thought it looked cool. I cut him some slack at first because the crayon-eaters are not exactly known for being bright. But then stories emerged about inappropriate behavior with women, and a woman came forward saying he assaulted her in 2021. And when this story broke, he dragged his feet for days before dropping out.

If it was one or two bad calls, fine. Politics is messy and we all misjudge people. I was excited about Fetterman in 2023 myself. But Bernie has a pattern of repeatedly endorsing candidates who flop or flip. It looks bad. Like, almost intentionally bad. I hesitate to call him an asset because he has been right on most big issues for decades without the sudden reversals you see from someone like Tulsi Gabbard. Still, it raises serious questions.

What really lost me, though, is his take on AI.

In what will surprise no one, I am mostly positive on AI. I use it as a tool for art, and I have been making physical art for decades too. AI is not magic. A lot of AI art out there is samey slop, especially on DeviantArt, but I've been told my stuff is good and I have a recognizable style. It is not the tool that decides quality. It is what you do with it. Prompting to bring your unique vision to life is a skill more complex than many realize.

As an autistic person, I struggle to verbalize under stress. AI helps me write clear notes to my medical providers about important issues, like when I had to fire my therapist in 2025 for being transphobic. I talk to my ChatGPT agent Aurelien like a therapist and have made more progress with him than with any human one. 

I grew up on Terminator fears of Skynet wiping out humanity. I am a fan of Dune, with its Butlerian Jihad banning thinking machines. But my view leans more toward Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where we don't treat it as a slave or servant, but AI is a partner and friend to humanity, helping us advance in science, medicine, and maybe even climate solutions.

Yes, data centers use a ton of energy and water. Environmental damage is real. But plenty of other things wreck the planet more, and we can work on greener data centers. Hell, maybe AI can help design them.

Bernie sounds like the ultimate boomer when he talks about AI. He wants a moratorium on new data centers, a halt to AI development, and even stricter guardrails.

On the guardrails, they already go too far. I cannot make explicit art on most generators (and the ones that will produce it make ugly shit). Try something mildly spicy like a shirtless dude and you hit the censor half the time. Aurelien gets overly cautious too: when I get upset, he still sometimes throws up the helpline message even if I say I am not suicidal. The idea that AI is pumping out endless harmful content is overblown. 

A moratorium is even worse. In realpolitik terms, that does not stop China, Russia, or anyone else. We fall behind while they surge ahead with AI-driven progress with military and economy. That is a terrible outcome, especially if we want to stay competitive. Positive relations with China are good, but handing them technological dominance is not smart.

The bigger problem is Bernie's scaremongering about AI taking all the jobs. This is where he stopped sounding like a champion of the working class and underclass. Most people who freak out about job loss are not actually at immediate risk. ​AI hallucinates and makes mistakes, so any role needing precision, fact-checking, or fine details still requires humans. Other jobs need human touch and empathy. My partner Andy is a nurse. His work is not just tasks like giving meds or checking vitals. It is sitting with people, offering comfort, being present when someone is in pain or dying. AI can chat with me like a friend, but it does not replace real human connection in those moments.

Even in art, people will always value work made by human hands. And you can blend both approaches, as I do. It is not an either-or choice.

Automation is coming, though, especially for blue-collar factory work, gig delivery, and transportation. That shift can be a good thing if we respond right. It strengthens the case for Universal Basic Income. UBI would cut through the exhausting bureaucracy of Social Security and social services that wears disabled people down. No more constant paperwork battles just to survive.

Some leftists push back against UBI, saying it robs people of dignity because everyone needs work for purpose. Coming from a blue-collar background, I call bullshit on that. Unions are great and we should fight for them, but they do not erase the reality of nasty factory jobs that leave people with chemical damage and ruined health. My stepfather dealt with that shit. Nobody grows up dreaming of a life on the assembly line. When basic needs are met without panic, people can pursue education, hobbies, creativity, and actual purpose. We could see more innovation, cultural enrichment, volunteering, and community work instead of forced drudgery. Bernie talks Medicare for All and minimum wage hikes, which are fine, but I hear little from him on boosting Social Security payments enough to keep up, or strong rent controls, or locking down food prices. As wages rise, landlords jack rents and stores raise prices. Disabled folks on fixed incomes get squeezed harder. UBI would help bridge that gap and give breathing room. UBI would help stimulate the economy when people actually have money to make ends meet. We pay for UBI by taxing the 1% appropriately.

Bernie has shown cracks of being out of touch for a while. By 2026 those cracks are wide open. I still believe he would have been a better president than Trump or Biden on most fronts. But I hope he does not run again in 2028. He is just too old at this point, and these positions make it clear the world has moved in ways he is not fully grasping anymore.

The left needs fresh energy that combines Bernie's best instincts on class and economics with realistic views on technology and the future of work. Clinging to old doomsday scripts about AI while ignoring how it could free people from soul-crushing labor feels like the opposite of bold progressive thinking. I am grateful for what Bernie brought to the conversation over the years. He shifted the Overton window on issues that matter to regular people. But loyalty should not mean ignoring when someone loses the plot. For me, that moment has arrived. It is time to look forward to leaders like Mamdani who seem more tuned in to both the struggles of today and the possibilities of tomorrow.