Liz Warrens

The question of whether Bernie Sanders can win the presidency in 2016 is no longer relevant. The more important question is whether he should want to be the Democratic nominee in 2016. With a perfect political storm on the horizon for Democrats and the nation at large, the country appears poised to elect (or come close to electing) Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, or Ted Cruz amidst a conservative revolution born of the GOP's resurgent racist, sexist, and xenophobic foundation.

In this powerful and thought-provoking essay that goes behind the front lines of the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns, readers are taken on a journey to explore a concept that Sanders never discusses publicly but likely considers privately. 2016 may not be Bernie's time. For the good of the nation and for the best chance at engendering the type of broad-scale change that the Vermont Senator is advocating, 2020 may be the year when America's political vision improves enough to elect Sanders.

“Everyone has brought home an unsavory love interest before settling down with a good girl or nice boy,” the author writes. “The 2016 campaign for president is all about electoral flirting with the types of characters we should stay away from. But this is how we handle relationships in America. We always flock to the bad girl or bad boy. And then we get burned and go to who we should have been mature enough to pick all along. This year, the American people want to get burned. And in 2020, they will finally make the right choice and get BERNed.”