When was the last time you saw Sanders on the news or mentioned? For me, it has been about five days, and I watch the news. I have to watch CNN at work. I work at a hotel, and in the lobby we’re only allowed to leave the TV on CNN so we don’t accidentally offend anyone with a terrible sitcom or an R-rated movie. After a few hours I can only take so much and switch it to Sportscenter when my boss leaves for the day. In that crucial window of news being filtered in for on average three hours a day for the past five days, I have not seen Sanders, not once. I’m sure they mentioned his name, but only briefly and when my head turned they were talking about something else.
His campaign is still very much alive, but much like the senior citizen he is, we ignore him like a forgotten member of the family. After Clinton cinched the nomination with a victory in California, news outlets had their cameras primed and focused on what they thought was going to be his concession speech and when they realized it wasn’t, they cut out halfway through.
My biggest fear concerning the election, besides Trump getting elected, is Bernie Sanders indirectly putting Trump into the White House.
Bernie is holding out on suspending his campaign because he is bargaining with Hillary to make her platform as progressive as possible on issues such as healthcare, campaign finance, higher education and minimum wage. My fear is that Hillary gives in to making these changes, which I actually agree with, yet if she swings too far to the left we will lose the chance to grab the moderate republicans that are not enthusiastic or even supporting Trump. The moderates and undecided people will determine the outcome of this election. If Hillary goes left, Trump will cater to their wants and needs because as a businessman that’s what he’ll do. Then, dare I say, if Trump wins by the slimmest of margins, we'll have Sanders to blame and thus the evolution of the most liked candidate into the most blamed will come to fruition.
Hillary doesn’t need to change her platform or even listen to Sanders since she won the necessary delegates. So why is she even listening to Sanders? It’s because she knows his support on the campaign trail will not only be a boost in the polls, but a morale boost as well. It will make the party look unified and thus stronger because of it.
The longer Sanders holds out, the more broken our party seems. He has said he wants to take his campaign to the convention. A contested convention, the better the chance Trump has. While I would classify Trump making it to the White House as a miracle, I wouldn’t count it out either since so many people hate Hillary.
As much as Bernie’s campaign has become a thorn in the fate of the Democratic party, I understand his predicament. He’s 74 years old with his first real taste of fame and power. This is his last chance to make a change in the world and he’s not going to waste it. Honestly, I feel pity for him, because I do like him and appreciate what he stands for, but the time has come for Bernie Sanders to bow out before the curtain does it for him.
