It hurt to watch Bernie Sanders announce that he was suspending his presidential campaign. The Left is no stranger to defeats, but this one has a particular sting to it because our expectations were raised so high.

After Bernie swept Nevada, it felt like we were on the verge of winning. To our collective amazement, a democratic socialist was the frontrunner. And yet within little over a month, our hopes were crushed by the combined weight of a hastily united Democratic establishment, a corporate media shamelessly doing that establishment’s bidding, and a Democratic primary majority that (at least among older voters) ultimately remained unconvinced that Bernie was our best bet to defeat Donald Trump.

This morning’s announcement was difficult to stomach because so many people invested so much of their time, money, and aspirations into this fight. Millions made these sacrifices because they understood what was at stake.