Some Democratic Party members are beginning to ask if it’s finally time for Bernie Sanders to drop out. For reasons explained below, it may be a better question to ask if it’s finally time for Hillary Clinton to drop out.
As the First Lady for eight years, and later as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has had decades of experience and time to develop a national network of supporters. She has the full backing of the Democratic party. She has the financial backing of wealthy supporters and corporations who have funded her over the years. She has global name recognition. Among those providing her with money are: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chat & Co, Morgan Stanley, Time Warner, Harvard University, and Lehman Brothers. (source) Given this context, Hillary Clinton should be unstoppable and without any substantive opposition.
Her opponent, Bernie Sanders, is one of the most conciliatory politicians in recent history. He’s pledged not to run a negative campaign against her. On top of this, Hillary has been given hundreds of super delegates to tilt the scales of ‘democracy’ in her favor This allows the media to report that she has a strong lead — making the charts and graphs look more impressive than the actual votes on the ground.
So, it’s troubling that she is having a difficult time winning in a closed (Democrats only) primary election against a little known socialist senator from Vermont who has an average campaign donation of $27 and a very small national support base to build from.
Hillary Losing Despite Epic Advantages
Despite all the advantages listed above, when given a choice, in some states, as many as 80% of Democrats who voted in the primary election, voted for Bernie Sanders instead of Hillary. That’s 80% of active Democrats who don’t want Hillary. At least that’s the outcome in Alaska. The outcomes in other states aren’t much better:
- In Colorado 59% of Democrats voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary election. (source)
- Hawaii, 69%.
- Idaho, 78%.
- Kansas, 68%.
- Maine, 64%.
- Minnesota 62%.
- Nebraska, 57%.
- New Hampshire, 60%.
- Oklahoma, 52%.
- Utah, 79%.
- Vermont, 86%.
- Washington, 73%.
In other states like Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, Hillary and Bernie are almost tied with variances of about 1%. This is a serious problem, especially when we consider that Bernie Sanders isn’t really a Democrat, or at least not until recently. It’s worth noting that both the Democratic and Republican parties came up short this election cycle, and ended up not having any strong candidates. The front runners (Sanders and Trump) are not long-time party members. Trump hasn’t had a chance to really start campaigning yet, but already a dozen or more Republican candidates have been defeated simply by Trump opening his mouth and offending people when cameras were nearby.
Hillary Refuses to Debate Sanders
Recently, Hillary Clinton refused to debate Sanders because she doesn’t like the ‘tone’ of his campaigning. She feels he’s being too hard on her, so she’s not going to participate. Will this be her strategy when facing the Republican nominee?
Democrats Shutting Down Sanders Campaign
A recent article in Politico, quoting numerous Democratic party leaders, shares the sentiments of some in the Democratic establishment right now. The article proclaims: “the time has come… for Sanders to start winding things down.” (source)
Given Hillary’s inability to win a decisive victory against someone who should not pose a challenge, the real question we need to be asking is whether or not it’s time for Hillary to start winding things down.
She’s losing by significant margins in numerous states without any of the Republican opposition or negative campaigning that’s sure to come if she’s selected as the Democratic Party choice for President. Bernie Sanders seems to be a better choice for the Democratic party and its members. Most poles show that he’s more likely to win in a general election against any of the Republican front runners.
The Young Turks Respond
In the video below, The Young Turks respond to the Democratic establishment’s call for Bernie to begin shutting down his campaign.