Thread by @franklinleonard

Here we go. RIP my mentions, but read the entire thread before you bother responding, for everyone's benefit:

Bernie should endorse Elizabeth Warren as President, and Warren should immediately commit to Sanders as her Vice President.

Here’s the logic:

By accepting the Vice Presidency and anointing Warren as President despite his current lead in the polls, Bernie would instantly become one of world history’s greatest leaders (and greatest male feminist) without sacrificing any aspect of his policy agenda.

Politically, this ticket - further complemented by Bernie’s sincere enthusiasm for it - would win the current primary in a walk.

It would heal the fissure currently rending the progressive wing of the party and in all likelihood draw the party dramatically leftward as well.

This ticket seems particularly promising in the general, and it has some second and third order consequences for Democrats and women voters that would exist far beyond 2020, further making progressive policy advances likely for decades.

As Vice President, Bernie would be able to do almost everything he would as President, but instead of spending his time on the day-to-day realities of being the country’s chief executive (which I don’t think anyone would argue are his true greatest strengths)…

he’d be able to focus on the ceremonial aspects of the executive role, essentially changing the country's culture and narrative as he has so successfully done over the last few decades (and which I think we can all agree are his true greatest strengths.)

Also, Senate tie-break.

More notably, if Warren ever deviated from his policy aspirations, he all know he’d be free (and wouldn’t hesitate) to criticize her publicly, and what better place to whip from than inside the tent, as the Veep to the person you personally installed in the only job above you?

As for Warren as President, the historical significance speaks for itself, but when it comes to the job, even her greatest critics acknowledge that her intellect and organizational capability are extraordinary.

We all know she’d be good at the day to day job.

But what’s most exciting to me about the notion of her as Chief Executive is that she has shown, recently and repeatedly, an uncommon approach to leadership when it comes to criticism, especially when it comes from inside the tent (as it would from Bernie if he had critiques.)

In short, make Warren the administrator and Bernie the soul. Make Warren the first woman President, and Bernie the man who made it possible. Make them the progressive tag team that history needs right now, and put them in the roles that take advantage of their greatest strengths.

And beat Donald Trump to smithereens and implement a progressive agenda at a time when we need it most.

But yeah, it requires frankly heroic self-sacrifice from Bernie Sanders, especially in light of the current polls, but the extraordinary upside is absolute certainty of a singular place in world history without sacrificing one iota of his policy agenda.

But yeah, RIP my mentions.

Shoutout to everyone who disagreed but engaged in the debate around the thought experiment anyway, especially @andraydomise and @ByYourLogic