Rieder: Time for Bernie fans to embrace Hillary

PHILADELPHIA — It's a clash of the titans: Susan Sarandon vs. Sarah Silverman. An alliterative clash, even.

Both Sarandon and Silverman are very enthusiastic backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders. But their reactions to Sanders' defeat at the hands of Hillary Clinton and what happens next couldn't be more different.

Sarandon has declined to endorse Clinton. And the image of her unhappy face while attending the Democratic National Convention became an Internet meme. "I'm out," the acclaimed actress tweeted Tuesday, linking to a piece from the Chicago Tribune titled, “DNC betrayed Bernie Sanders and the Rest of America.” Responding to Sanders' call for his supporters to vote for Clinton to keep Donald Trump out of the White House, Sarandon tweeted tepidly, "So now it's up to her. Don't blame him if she loses."

That's a sharp contrast to the approach taken by Silverman. Speaking at the convention Monday night, the comedian had this advice for the dejected boo birds in the Sanders camp who were jeering every mention of Clinton's name: “Can I just say, to the Bernie or Bust people: You’re being ridiculous.” While she had felt the Bern, she said, she now had "put some cream on it."

Sarah Silverman calls #BernieorBust ridiculous

The celebrities' diametrically opposite stances vividly reflect the fissure among Sanders supporters, one that has deep ramifications not just for Clinton and the Democratic Party but also for the future of the country.

Clinton is locked in a tight contest with Trump, a divisive figure with no political experience, no coherent political philosophy and a penchant for making vile pronouncements far out of the mainstream of American political life — or which used to be, anyway.

Significant defections from Clinton among the Sanders forces — whether to Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who is actively wooing them;  Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson or none of the above — could put The Donald in the White House.

Is that really what these progressives want?

As Seth Meyers said, "I know you’re ‘Bernie or Bust’ but the results are in, and ‘Bust’ won. We don’t have time for this.”

It's not hard to understand the disappointment of the diehard Sanders fans. For many, this was their first involvement in politics. In a year when the conventional wisdom so often has been wrong, Sanders, who was hardly thought to be a factor at the outset, gave prohibitive favorite Clinton a serious challenge. And Sanders kept their hopes alive with that long goodbye.

At the convention, Sanders has commendably given his all to enlisting his backers into the Clinton cause, emphasizing the need to defeat Trump. But, as my colleague Jill Lawrence suggests in a recent column, by keeping his barely flickering hopes alive long after their expire by date, he may well have made that task quite a bit more difficult.

Sanders waited too long to join real world: Jill Lawrence

It's also easy to see why some in the Sanders camp find it hard to embrace Clinton. The Sanders campaign was all about change. Clinton has been part of the establishment for decades. There's the whole Goldman Sachs thing. Clinton has not really laid out a vision for why she wants to be president, beyond the fact that is her destiny. Of course, in the face of the Sanders challenge, she has adopted some of his progressive ideas.

And the email controversy is a real cause for concern, no matter what the Clinton apologists might say. Using a private server for all of her email while secretary of State shows an appalling lack of judgment. Her shifting explanations reinforce serious doubts about her trustworthiness.

So is Clinton a flawed candidate? Of course. But as Donald Rumsfeld might say, you go to war with the candidate you have, not the candidate you want. Clinton is amply qualified to be president. And her flaws, while not insignificant, pale next to the frightening shortcomings of Donald Trump.

For make no mistake: This election is in no way business as usual. The unsavory gumbo of Trump's exclusionary nativism, his authoritarian tendencies, his utter lack of policy chops, his mercurial temper, his sheer mean-spiritedness, belong nowhere near 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The risk of real damage is severe.

Helping to bring it about would do a serious disservice to what Sanders has accomplished, not to mention the nation.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rem Rieder on Twitter @remrieder