1/Just had someone tell me that almost all of his friends were thinking the same thing, and wouldn't bother to go out and vote for anyone but Bernie...and just wondering why people would think like that... 
2/One obvious interpretation is that it's a bluff, to intimidate liberals into voting for Bernie to prevent defections.
Maybe for a few thoughtful, calculating leader types, this is true, but this level of calculation is probably rare.
Maybe for a few thoughtful, calculating leader types, this is true, but this level of calculation is probably rare.
3/A second possibility is that it's not really serious, just a passionate, in-the-moment expression of emotion. Maybe they'd almost all grudgingly go pull the lever for Biden or Buttigieg. In fact, most Bernie supporters did vote for Hillary in 2016.
4/A third possibility is that the people who say this just fundamentally don't feel very threatened by the idea of 4 more years of Trump.
5/Maybe Trump was really scary for the average fired-up passionate Bernie supporter in 2016, but after 4 years he's been normalized in the minds of many of those folks and is no longer so scary. Maybe all those "THIS ISN'T NORMAL" tweets were in vain.
6/Besides the obvious factors of white/male/cis/citizen privilege etc., add in the strong economy. Maybe a lot of college-educated folks just aren't feeling THAT afraid of four more years, despite the long-term chronic problems of student debt and the shitty medical system.
7/This is not to say "stuff isn't that bad". The poor are getting crushed just as much as usual, people didn't get back their wealth after the housing debacle, health care sucks, college is still way too expensive, etc. etc. Those are very real things!!
8/But maybe after 4 years where the average white/male/cis/etc. college-educated professional/managerial-class American saw his income and career situation improve, Trump just isn't that scary anymore. So why not demand big dreams, utopian revolutionary change?
9/Ultimately I doubt there will be that many true "Bernie or bust" voters. Most would pull the lever for Buttigieg or whoever. But for those few who wouldn't, maybe "Bernie or bust" is a soft way of acquiescing to 4 more years of...this.
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