Hardly a week goes by without some establishment-defending Democrat blaming Susan Sarandon for everything that goes wrong in America. Much of the hostility toward her stems from the 2016 Democratic primary, when Sarandon, a Bernie Sanders supporter, was sharply critical of Hillary Clinton.

I confess that as a Clinton advocate (and former adviser) at the time, I was pissed off at Sarandon. But as my views evolved, I recognized that it is absurd to pin the success or failure of a presidential election on one citizen, no matter how forcefully they advocate for or against a particular candidate.

Yet, month after month, year after year, Sarandon is assailed as the cause of America’s ills, imbued with unlimited power to shape the course of US history, sway presidential elections, and tilt the balance of the Supreme Court.

BrooklynDad_Defiant! @mmpadellan

As trump prepares to nominate someone to the Supreme Court, to overturn the Roe v Wade ruling and other hard-fought issues, I have one simple question: How's that revolution working out for you, Susan Sarandon? Say hello to Jill Stein on your way to hell. #VotesMatter

June 27th 2018

1,104 Retweets2,960 Likes

The Hoarse Whisperer @TheRealHoarse

Hey, hats off to Susan Sarandon for helping to both get us into Afghanistan and out of Roe v. Wade.

September 1st 2021

1,302 Retweets5,738 Likes

Eric Boehlert @EricBoehlert

the Sarandon Court continues to make waves.

Ali Velshi @AliVelshi

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has blocked the Biden administration's rule requiring businesses with >100 workers to ensure that workers are vaccinated or wear masks and get tested weekly.   However the Court separately upheld a mandate requiring vaccinations for health care workers

January 13th 2022

232 Retweets1,160 Likes

The idea that a private citizen should carry the weight of the duopoly’s failures is outlandish. If anything, it’s the Democratic Party that has enabled the GOP, from granting Trump expanded surveillance powers to perpetuating his abuse of migrants.

I reached out to Sarandon for a response to the endless vitriol directed at her. Here’s what she said:

I think the most disturbing aspect of this phenomenon is that I’m being used to distract from any real discourse about real systemic problems, real corruption, real missed, ignored opportunities to address serious injustice before it’s too late. I’m an easy target to stop people from venting their justifiable anger at those they’ve trusted. Less painful than being disillusioned. But ultimately so dangerous.

Democrats speak incessantly about “saving democracy” from the Republican Party. If they really cared about democracy, they’d encourage a plethora of candidates and parties rather than enforcing a stifling red-blue binary. And they wouldn’t continue harassing a private citizen because she favored a different candidate a half decade ago. That is anti-democratic.

There’s a reason tens of millions of eligible voters choose to sit out America’s presidential elections. And there’s a reason independents outnumber Democrats and Republicans. It’s because people are sick of the lies and spin of the two ruling parties. Perhaps Democrats should think about doing more for the people than shifting blame to one individual. And while they’re at it, how about not defending Trump in court?