If you’ve read the autopsies of the Bernie 2020 campaign in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, Buzzfeed, or CNN, you’ve probably read a version of a story that goes something like this: pollster Ben Tulchin, co-chair Nina Turner, and I were fire-breathing monsters aggressively pushing Bernie to “attack” Joe Biden. Bernie refused to do it, and that’s why Bernie lost.

There are some nuggets of truth in here, but there’s also some fiction. So it’s worth separating the facts from the fantasy, in order to understand a huge-but-little-discussed problem plaguing the Democratic Party that I call the “tyranny of decorum.”

I’ve known Bernie Sanders for twenty-one years. He’s been a hero for me. I deeply respect his life’s work, and he remains an inspiration to me — and no amount of post-election gossip, punditry, or backbiting will change that. Working on his campaign was a great honor, and I’ve thanked him and so many others for that experience.