Here is the rhetoric: Bernie Sanders has beat the odds by doing exceptionally well in this primary contest by beating Hillary Clinton's expectations of clinching up this nomination early. He is winning big. He has the momentum. Who will be the nominee?
Here is the truth: Bernie Sanders, as expected, is winning a handful of open primaries and open caucuses, for Independents and Republicans are crossing over and casting their votes for Sanders. Hillary Clinton has won every closed primary where only Democrats can vote in the primary.
That's right... Democrats want Hillary. "What do you mean they want Hillary? I thought Bernie was winning state after state... states that Hillary was expected to win?" If this thought crossed your mind, you would be correct, but what is an important factor to take into consideration is that Hillary Clinton has won with Democrats in every single state except for Vermont and New Hampshire (which are both open primaries and Sanders turf).
According to CNN, Hillary has won with Democrats in every single state where there has been exit polling and not only that, but she has won every single contest that is a closed primary. Now, some might believe that a closed primary is undemocratic but, not me. I firmly believe that a closed primary is the most democratic way. In my opinion, allowing registered Independents and registered Republicans to cross over into the Democratic contest and allowing them to chose the Democratic party nominee is flat-out wrong. Sure, in a general election a registered voter should be able to vote for whoever they want, but the point of a primary is for the party and the registered voters that belong to that party to pick their nominee.
For one, I personally believe that Senator Sanders does not deserve to be running as a Democrat, for he has never been one before, he disagrees with and disowns fellow Democrats constantly, and he does not help down-ballot Democrats whatsoever... but that is a different article for another time. Second, as a registered Democrat, this was my first election I was able to vote in. I could not have been more excited! The majority of young people who are new voters and are supporting Senator Sanders have complained of voter fraud and voter suppression in state after state that is a closed primary, but here is the issue...if you are a new voter and you are that excited to participate in your state's primary, learn your state's registration laws!!! Back in the summer of 2015, I quickly looked up my state's registration laws, I drove myself to my county election commission office, and I registered. Now, my state held an open primary contest (which Hillary won, by the way), but I took measures into my own hands and followed protocol to insure that I was eligible to vote in my state's contest. If you live in a state that held a closed primary and you were not able to vote in the Democratic contest because you were not registered as a Democrat, than this is a personal problem, it is not an undemocratic problem. You had months, some even years, just as I had to learn the state's laws and register properly.
I must reinforce, however, that Hillary Clinton has won Democrats in every single contest that has been closed and opened except for Vermont and New Hampshire. When the media talks of the Senator's wins, they tend to leave this important fact out... true Democrats, like myself, we love Hillary and we, as registered Democrats, want her as our party's nominee. Many in the media bring up the fact that over 40 percent of the voters in West Virginia that voted for Sanders, said they will vote for Trump in the general. If you fully believe that these are true Sanders supporters, then you might need a reality check, because the fact of the matter is that Trump voters crossed over in West Virginia's open primary and they did not vote for Sanders, they voted against Hillary. Republicans and I suspect many Independents voted for Sanders this past week as a vote against Hillary because once again, Hillary won with Democrats in West Virginia based on the voting information according to CNN. Democrats are voting for Hillary and Democrats are with her.
