As the 2016 Democratic Primary season winds down, it's obvious that Bernie Sanders has lost his once rather noble narrative.
His surrogates have been a hot mess - Obama critics such as Cornel West and Cenk Uygur - Naderites such as Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and Michael Moore - and befuddled pundits who have garbled the message such as Nina Turner and Shaun King. There have been several disastrous demonstrations of Bernie-Bro chaos, such as the protest at a Clinton rally in California during which children were screamed and cursed at and signs were destroyed, along with the latest debacle at the Nevada State Democratic Convention which ended in police action.
Bernie doesn't seem concerned with uniting the Democratic Party. Instead he is vowing to plow ahead to California, win by miracle or (more likely) lose to Hillary, then somehow persuade the super delegates to flip to him at the Philadelphia convention this summer (and please send money!). He's just doubling down on his campaign spin, and seems to believe every pipe-dream his followers espouse:
Update: Bernie doubled down on Sunday Talk Shows:
Interview with Jake Tapper 5-22-2016 on CNN
Jake Tapper: Now you were making a point about the superdelegates, but what you left out of that data is that while it’s true – you have roughly 46 percent of the pledged delegates, Secretary Clinton has roughly 54 percent of them. It seems unlikely that you’ll actually achieve the majority of the pledged delegates.
Sanders: I assume that most of the people who come to my rallies can do arithmetic!
The point that I was making is there’s something absurd when I get 46 percent of the delegates that come from real contests — real elections, and 7 percent of the superdelegates. I am the stronger candidate because we appeal to independents, people who are not in love with either the Democratic or the Republican Party,”
From This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Will he be Hillary's running mate? Um...
STEPHANOPOULOS: If you don't, sir, and this is my final question.
Are you hoping to be considered if Secretary Clinton's running mate?
SANDERS: It's a little bit early to talk about that. Right now, our function is to do everything I can, George. And you're going to see me running all over California; we're in New Mexico now. We're going to do everything that we can to get every vote and every delegate that we can and go into that convention with as much momentum as is possible.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Didn't hear a no. Senator, we'll be talking to you soon. Take care.
On Hillary as the "lesser of two evils" compared with Trump:
We need a campaign, an election, coming up which does not have two candidates who are really very, very strongly disliked. I don’t want to see the American people voting for the lesser of two evils. I want the American people to be voting for a vision of economic justice, of social justice, of environmental justice, of racial justice. That is the campaign we are running, and that’s why we are getting the support we are.
A screencap of Bernie's expression as he's talking abt Hillary being the lesser of two evils. Telling body language. pic.twitter.com/8m3OlTIIEp— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) May 21, 2016
From Yahoo News
Sanders insisted there is a “possibility” he could pull ahead of Clinton. He acknowledged this would be improbable and would take multiple major victories among the six states that will vote on June 7. Nevertheless, Sanders vowed to take his “fight” to the party’s nominating convention, which will take place in Philadelphia in late July.
“We have the possibility. It will be a steep climb, I recognize that, but we have the possibility of going to Philadelphia with a majority of the pledged delegates,” Sanders said. “Some people say that we’ve got a steep hill to climb to do that. And you know what? That is absolutely true. But you know what? Together we have been climbing that steep hill from day one in this campaign.”
Yeah, okay - a steep hill to nowhere because Hillary Clinton will win California, and also New Jersey and Washington D.C.
And along comes Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver to refute the Math, which "media narrative" instead of reality:
From NPR Interview
AUDIE CORNISH: But if he has to win 68 percent of all the delegates going forward, in all the races, and he falls short of that — you know, do you have an obligation to be honest about what his path is?
JEFF WEAVER: Well, no, but see, but that’s a media narrative from people who think that politics is just standing at a board, doing mathematics. But it’s much more than that.
And about that Convention:
CORNISH: So for the record, you are planning to contest the convention?
WEAVER: Well, I think what is going to happen is at the end of the District of Columbia, which is the last jurisdiction to vote in this process - and once that happens, if the senator has substantial momentum, if he has substantially closed the gap in terms of pledged delegates, if the public polling continues to show that he's a much stronger candidate, I think there's a strong argument to be made to superdelegates that they should take another look.
I mean, there are hundreds of superdelegates who support Hillary Clinton who announced their endorsement for her before the race even started, before they even knew Bernie Sanders was in the race. So...
CORNISH: Right, that's why I'm asking. So essentially, you're saying, yeah, if all of these things line up the way you're describing, you want - you're saying that your campaign will - you guys will raise your hand and say, yes, we want to contest this. This is not over.
WEAVER: Right, we'll go there. And, you know, superdelegates don't vote until they actually go to the convention. So let's see where the race stands at the end of the voting process. And then let's see what happens when the superdelegates actually vote in Philadelphia.
But slowly some past Bernie supporters are coming to their senses and realizing Bernie's day is done and we should be focused on Trump.
This week the Twitter hashtag #BernieLostMe trended for several days. And while the faithful keep their spirits up by vowing #BernieOrBust, signs are that the "revolution" may be coming apart at the seams.
#BernieLostMe when his supporters threatened to "burn Philly to the ground" if they don't get their way.— Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) May 19, 2016
#BernieLostMe when he's been giving the same speech for 43 yrs & has never offered any solutions for his whining. pic.twitter.com/8cG4qnUZ3H— Terri McGovern (@TnGovern) May 19, 2016
#BernieLostMe with all his Vile Trolls attacking & spewing Conspiracy Theories everytime it doesn't go his way!— WayneEdH (@WayneEdH) May 19, 2016
. pic.twitter.com/vAaH2Zmuj2
#BernieLostMe because he used my party. He's a fraud. pic.twitter.com/Yn9WfS1BsA— Terra Firma (@SDzzz) May 19, 2016
#BernieLostMe when he turned a blind eye as his supporters set up a "hit list" to harass super delegates with threats.— missLtoe (@missLtoe) May 19, 2016
When your whole campaign is about economics but you "can't find" your own tax returns. #BernieLostMe pic.twitter.com/3sx8EyE9hU— The Baxter Bean (@TheBaxterBean) May 19, 2016
#BernieLostMe when I realized his entire platform was a bait&switch hoax to enrage followers & stage an old man's long dreamed coup attempt— McWomanCard (@McSnewsie) May 20, 2016
Democrats be like "We don't know them" #ImWithHer #BernieLostMe #FeelTheBern #FeelTheMath #ShesWithUs #UniteBlue 🇺🇸💙 pic.twitter.com/KslvCle745— Hillary 2016! (@YaasssHillary) May 20, 2016
