Throughout the election cycle, the Sanders campaign has received an unprecedented amount of attention not only in the news, but across various social media platforms as well. Both sides of the political spectrum attempt to paint Bernie as a radical outsider who couldn’t possibly be beneficial for the well-being of the American people. Regardless of these criticisms, his campaign continues to gather more passionate support than any of the other prospective presidential candidates. With the current democratic delegate count leaning in Hillary Clinton's favor, the conversation regarding Bernie supporters in a possible Trump Vs. Clinton ticket has begun.
The recent “Bernie or Bust” movement has begun within the Sanders campaign in response to numerous polls claiming that anywhere from 25 to 40 percent of Bernie supporters will not vote for Clinton in the presidential election. The rationale behind this possibility of party desertion by Sanders supporters can be easily explained. One side sees slight promise in the Trump campaign while the other purely sees no hope in the Clinton campaign.
The portion of Bernie supporters who may end up supporting Donald Trump may not be simply pledging their vote to the lesser of two evils. The Trump and Sanders campaigns do have a bit in common. Despite being on completely opposite sides of the political spectrum, both candidates have tapped into a growing anti-establishment sentiment within the current U.S. political system. Sanders and Trump supporters have displayed their unhappiness with the “politics as usual” mentality of the leading traditional candidates throughout the campaign season and seek to change the dynamics of our current political system.
In terms of specific policies, both Trump and Sanders pride themselves in reforming campaign finance laws and have relied almost entirely on small donations from millions of different people. When it comes to job creation, both candidates have raised the point of rebuilding our infrastructure. Both candidates also discuss the importance of fair trade policies and maintaining social security for future generations. Although they are far from identical, there are some of Trump’s policy positions that Sanders supporters can happily get behind.
Despite the slight optimism some Bernie supporters see in the Trump campaign, the others merely acknowledge the glaring differences between the Sanders and Clinton Campaigns. Clinton and Sanders may agree on numerous issues on paper, but in reality, there are aspects of the Clinton campaign that Bernie supporters just can’t compromise on.
Both indicate their opinions on Wall Street and big banks proudly but Bernie actually acts on them. Clinton gives speeches to these same groups for large sums of money and refuses to release them. She boasts about her earlier health care reform efforts while complaining about Bernie’s lack of action despite hand-written thank you notes and images of his support for those specific efforts. Her record doesn’t match her current political positions and her biggest campaign contributions are from the same people she claims to oppose. These things seem too big to be overlooked for many voters.
If the 2016 presidential ticket becomes a race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the Sanders supporters will be forced to throw away some of their most important beliefs or give their vote to a third party. Regardless, the outcome of the 2016 election just might end up on the shoulders of the fallen Sanders Campaign.
