UPDATE: This might not be over just yet. I've received information that Bernie is still instructing his delegates to show up at the convention in Philly, and will ask for a full roll-call vote. At this time, Hillary is less than 400 delegates ahead of Bernie, who has approximately 1900. Neither of them have the magic 2383 needed to secure the nomination and will need to rely on super-delegates to go over the top. Also, Bernie's endorsement might be a technical maneuver, in order to secure a prime speaking slot at the convention per DNC rules. He endorsed Hillary, yes, but he did not expressly concede defeat. So while what I say below still applies, I'd would break out a bag of Orville Redenbacher's and your favorite beverage, and sit back and watch how this transpires. FDR won one of his elections in this manner, so it's not unheard of.
Like many of you, I heard about Bernie Sanders’ inevitable endorsement of Hillary Clinton this morning. Inevitable for two reasons: one, because he has been making noises to this effect over the last several weeks, and two, because let’s face it: the establishment of the Democratic Party (and their owners) were never going to allow Bernie to get anywhere near the White House, despite the double-digit lead he holds over the T-Rump. The Dems and their handmaidens made sure of it with repeated and documented examples of election fraud, a media blackout of Bernie despite holding rallies of tens of thousands of people, a rigged election process in which the super delegates were counted along with the pledged (and added to the overall delegate totals by CNN, MSNBC, et. al), and a debate schedule which intentionally kept much of the country in the dark about just what Bernie and Hillary are all about.
Yes, I feel betrayed, because the donations and online lobbying I did on his behalf seem to be for nothing. This emotion can be multiplied exponentially for those who conducted and participated in phone banks, built and maintained Bernie’s formidable online presence, and other volunteer work. I feel defeated, not so much by HRC herself (as much as I despise her) but by the DNC and the political establishment who made DAMNED sure that THEIR candidate was the Dem standard-bearer, and Bernie’s supporters like myself never had a say in it all along. I feel insulted by a Democratic Party whose leaders (especially the Clintons) actively look down on the voters, and have treated Bernie and his supporters with classic condescension. Finally, there was the evidence that the assumption was made even before the primary season began that Hillary was going to be the nominee. Bernie, in the minds of the DNC, was never even supposed to enter the race - this was expected to be a HRC coronation.
Bernie’s spoken rationale for his endorsement was keeping Donald Trump out of office. Yes, this is a good reason, but there are many other factors at work. For one, take a look at news over the last couple of weeks. Police shootings and the corresponding outrage and protests, and law enforcement’s excessively heavy-handed management of these protests, took center stage. The Democratic Convention in Philadelphia is set for less than two weeks from this writing, and there are tens of thousands of people expected to converge around the fortress passing as the Wells Fargo Center, many of them “Bernie or Busters” who have absolutely no interest in a President Hillary Clinton. With an already angry population and a divisive primary fight, the stage was being set for a potentially explosive situation in Philadelphia. It may get to that point anyway, but with Bernie officially ending his campaign and supporting Hillary, at least he won’t get fingered for the blame for any violence that occurs. Another factor is his awareness of the power of the DNC political establishment. He knew how much they were working against him, and despite his formidable fundraising prowess, he did not have the resources to continue at this time (not to mention, what would have happened if he DID win, and had to contend with the bought-and-paid-for Congress). Then, there are also the relationships in Congress that he has to maintain if he is to remain an effective senator. As I’ve stated in previous posts, his remaining in Congress is based in part on the relationships he built with key Democrats, as he caucuses with them. If he loses or further strains those relationships, then the Democratic Party will likely run a well-funded challenger to him in his home state of Vermont.
What about his promise to take this to the convention? Well, he is going to Philadelphia, just not with the same approach as if he were still in fight mode. If the Republicans picked a more “sensible” candidate than the despot-in-waiting T-Rump, then I could see Bernie engaging in a more fierce battle for the nomination. This would have further exposed the corrupt underpinnings of the Democratic Party, which his campaign already has to a large extent. The election fraud would have been called out with much more gusto, as well (it should have been called out more heartily, anyway). But, there’s the literal and figurative Trump card that must be countered with a winning trick, and the Dem establishment figured that the safe bet was to play dynastic politics. We’ll see if this approach works - at this point, it’s problematic.
A word abut the election fraud evidenced in Arizona, Nevada, California, and other places. Bernie should have realized that if he was going to battle for us, then he needed to put up a much more fierce fight than he did on this issue. Those weren’t merely Bernie Sanders’ votes - those were OUR votes we were entrusting to him. His supporters would not have seen him as a sore loser, but rather than as a candidate trying to win. The MSM, on the other hand, would have played the sore loser card to the hilt - they have too much on the line for Hillary.
I am shifting my allegiance to Jill Stein and the Green Party. The Greens’ platform is in line with much of Bernie’s economic philosophy, and goes further by advocating for a peaceful approach to solving international problems rather than the neocon tendencies displayed by Hillary. Remember, Bernie himself said (to his credit) that he is not a pacifist, during the Q-and-A session after his “Democratic Socialism” speech of several months ago. The Greens, at the juncture, simply represent my values most clearly, and that is how I am going to vote. I will no longer play the one-party-two-brand game that the nation has been suckered into one more time. Trump is evil, yes, but so is Hillary - and the lesser of two evils is still evil.
