Here’s the thing for me: If we want to be a national party again, guys like Mello will be how we get there. Part of having a big tent is you have to let people in that don’t fit a certain mold. We can’t beat the GOP by becoming them, no matter how much that may appeal to some.

All that said, Bernie Sanders has no place being the arbiter of anything in the party. The man is the worst sort of hypocrite and his tendency to support people who otherwise would draw his suppoters ire convinces me that he’s selling his endorsements. It may not be for money, it may be for influence or power, but the man is getting something in return for supporting men like Mello.