Will Bernie Sanders Withdraw before the Convention?

[MineralMan]

Who knows? Only Senator Sanders, himself, can make that decision. At some point, if it becomes impossible for him to prevail and become the nominee, he'll probably decide to end his campaign and endorse Clinton. Whether that comes before or after the convention isn't really all that important. There will be time following the convention for Democrats to decide that having a Republican in the White House isn't in the nation's best interests.

As time passes, watch campaign activity on Senator Sanders' part. If it slows from the pace he has maintained so far, that may be a sign that he is scaling back his efforts. Next Tuesday, the 22nd of March, he'll be in a few primaries in western states. The results in those may affect his decision. Arizona has the most delegates, so paying attention there is probably the best bet.

Following the March 15 primaries, some high-ranking members of the Sanders campaign have made some odd statements about things like trying to win over superdelegates and even convincing pledged delegates to switch allegiance. It's very, very unlikely that those suggestions came from Sanders himself, since they're not at all realistic, especially the idea that pledged delegates might change their votes. That's simply not going to happen. If it did, those who abandoned the proportional allocation the Democratic Party uses would likely be de-certified as delegates and replaced by alternates who would follow Party rules.

So, who knows what Bernie will do? Only Bernie knows. Nobody else, and that includes people high in his campaign staff. It will be Bernie's decision. When that decision will come, if it comes, is up to him entirely.

[geek tragedy]

1. he'll endorse Clinton soon after last primary, just like Clinton did in 2008 for Obama nt

[pinebox]

39. It doesn't matter. Many will never support Hillary let alone vote for her

[geek tragedy]

40. there are sore losers in every primary. nt

[pinebox]

56. And there's the difference

You see it as sore losers wherein reality it isn't, it's ideological differences & they are quite big.
Would you vote for a Republican? Nope. It's the same reason why many Bernie supporters will never vote for Hillary.

[Lizzie Poppet]

3. Only if mathematically eliminated.

He's a man of his word.

[merrily]

4. Gosh, I hope not!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1280149458

[Skwmom]

5. The pace will slow b/c the primaries will become spread out.

[Punkingal]

6. No.

[avaistheone1]

7. Bernie has already said he is taking this to the convention.

[MineralMan]

11. Yes, he has. He can say something else at any time.

He's the candidate. It is completely up to him. If he does that, then I have no problem with it. If he doesn't, I won't have any problem with that either. Candidates often make that claim, and then withdraw a week or two later. It's a common thing.

I'm not encouraging him to drop out. I'm simply talking about whose decision it will be. It will be Bernie's decision, and nobody else's.

[KoKo]

18. That is obvious...but, why do you care enough to take time to post about it?

What's it to you?

I'm not encouraging him to drop out. I'm simply talking about whose decision it will be. It will be Bernie's decision, and nobody else's

.

[MineralMan]

19. Are you suggesting that I should not be posting here?

I won't take that suggestion. Sorry. Why am I posting? Because I felt like posting on a forum where I've posted many thousands of times in the past. Because politics is a strong interest of mine. Because we're in the primary season of a very important election.

I will continue to post on DU. I'm sorry that you don't find my posts of interest or worthwhile. However, I don't know you. If I want to express myself about this election or any other political topic, you can count on my posting about it.

That's what DU is for.

Thanks for your interest in my reasons for posting on DU.

[KoKo]

34. Nah...that's not what my post said at all. Please read again the highlighted part.

Which I specifically was questioning the point of this particular post of yours about Bernie and what he will do.

[kstewart33]

25. Koko, your sour grapes are showing.

MM is one of the most thoughtful posters on DU. His comments are right on. It's not rocket science. Politicians say one thing and later do another all the time. Bernie will drop out when he wants to and either way, it's his call.

[Agschmid]

8. No.

[One_Life_To_Give]

9. May depend upon what he is offered?

He may well get pragmatic and look at what he can influence, like party platform, before he steps aside. And depend upon Clinton's ego in how far she is willing to go to get him to step aside earlier than later. IMHO

[Skwmom]

24. I consider platforms meaningless. n /t

[Chan790]

27. Yup, cabinet positions are meaningful...platforms are paper.

If she wants to offer him a position that allows him real power to implement the policies he ran on (She won't. That would mean admitting she was wrong on economic policy and turning her back on her Wall St. friends), I think he might endorse sooner...otherwise, I think he takes this to the convention.

[tularetom]

10. In other (and much much fewer) words, maybe

Seldom has so much verbiage been employed to respond to such a simple question.

[MineralMan]

13. Actually, my post is rather short, given the complexity of

the decision to be made. Many others have written far longer pieces on the subject.

I'm sorry if I used too many words to suit you, though. If you like, I can create another, shorter OP that includes just one word in the body of the post. That word would be "Yes."

[LWolf]

12. No, he won't.

And I'm very thankful for that. My automatic monthly donation will help keep him in the race until I actually get to vote for him, and I'll be phone banking in other states until he gets to mine.

I'll state this as frankly and explicitly as I can: at this point, he is the only reason for me to remain a Democrat.

The email that I got from him yesterday:

When we started our campaign 10 months ago, Kelley, I don't think you could find a single person who would believe you if you said Bernie Sanders would win nine states by this point in the campaign.

Last night we beat all the polls in almost every state. We earned a significant number of delegates, and are on track for the nomination. Here's why:

What you will not hear from the political and media establishment is that, based on the primary and caucus schedule for the rest of the race, this is the high water mark for the Clinton campaign. Starting today, the map now shifts dramatically in our favor.

Arizona, Idaho, and Utah are up next Tuesday. Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington State caucus the Saturday after. Then it's Wisconsin's turn to vote.

That means we have an extremely good chance to win nearly every state that votes in the next month. If we continue to stand together, we’re just getting started for our political revolution:

[NowSam]

35. indeed the only reason

Thank you. I feel the same.

[Impedimentus]

14. Hillary will withdraw if she cares one iota about keeping Trump out of the White House ...

of course she won't. She only cares about herself and about feeding an insatiable lust for power and money.

[MineralMan]

15. Yah, OK, then.

[geek tragedy]

23. cool story bro nt

[kstewart33]

26. About geez, how many millions of voters disagree with you?

Is it three or four or five million? I've lost count. All I know is that it's one or two million more votes than Bernie's total.

[Chan790]

30. For some of us...

winning the White House is of sole importance. Nothing else as far as the Presidential race is concerned. How many vote which way is not important.

I don't care if she gets 10,000,000 more primary voters than Sanders does. If he can win and she cannot then she has an obligation to get out of the way.

The opposite is also true.

[kstewart33]

32. To date, Sanders has shown no ability to win the White House.

Big rally crowds, a lot of press coverage and such, but only the votes matter and Hillary is far ahead on that count.

[lunamagica]

36. about two and a 2.5 million more votes than Sanders

[onehandle]

16. Will he remain a 'Democrat' after he withdraws?

Someone ask him, please.

[MineralMan]

17. I imagine that if he withdraws,

he will remain an independent Senator. He's running as a Democrat for President. There's really no alternative. Either a Democrat or a Republican will be elected, so he's running in the party he has caucused with for a very long time.

He makes no bones about being an independent. That is what he is. There's really no conflict for him to run as a Democrat for President, though. He's shown his alliance with the Democratic Party throughout his long career, while not declaring himself to be a Democrat.

If he doesn't become President, I'm sure he'll continue his career in the Senate as an independent.

[kstewart33]

29. I expect that Bernie will remain a Democrat for a respectable amount of time.

Leaving soon thereafter would make him look like a carpetbagger. Six months to a year maybe?

[mmonk]

20. Revolutions don't withdraw.

[kstewart33]

28. Where is the Revolution?

After Tuesday, please tell me where it is. Seriously, because I don't see it.

[Chan790]

31. It's alive in how far it's forced Hillary to evolve and compromise.

It will remain alive in how far she's forced to move in how she governs to remain viable to be reelected. If she talks like a progressive and presides like the moderate she always was...she'll stand no chance of surviving a primary challenge.

She'll also find herself facing a hostile Congress of her own party as the progressive wing of the party is making progress in growing the party, taking leadership posts at precinct, state & county levels, taking nominations, and potentially taking Congressional seats...and the Clinton wing is not.

If Democrats retake Congress in 2016, 2018 or 2020...it'll be a Congress of Democrats that look more like Sanders than Clinton.

[kstewart33]

45. Some concerns.

Chan, I don't see any empirical evidence that the progressives are making progress at the state and local levels. It would be a good thing if it happened, but no evidence to date.

The Democrats odds' of retaking control of Congress any time soon are slim to none. This is especially the case with the House. The Republicans hold an historic 58 seat majority. There is a consensus among Congressional analysts that it will take a 15 to 25 years for the Dems to have even a chance of regaining the majority. The key reason is gerrymandering. The Repubs control over half of the state legislatures and they have succeeded in creating districts where well over half of the voters are Republican.

Sanders can take full credit for nudging Clinton to the left, and that's a good thing. But keep in mind that liberals comprise about 30% of the Democratic Party. That's not enough to politically defeat Clinton if she moves back to the center, where over 2/3 of the party are more comfortable.

[NurseJackie]

21. He's ambitious and passionate, but he's not dumb. He'll withdraw and endorse Hillary when ...

... even the most optimistic and "perfect-storm" hypothetical scenario (no matter how unrealistic it may be) will fail to secure him enough delegates to win the nomination.

[stone space]

22. I would certainly hope not! I was disapointed to see O'Malley go after the Iowa Caucus. (nt)

[firebrand80]

33. I think these last primaries were his last real shot

It seems like he thought it would be effectively over if he lost Michigan, and he seemed energized by his win there. He decided to make a last stand in OH + IL + MO. Since that failed, I expect that he'll stop attacking Hillary and effectively concede that the primary is over, even if he does decide to stay in to spread his message.

[NCTraveler]

37. I really think I do know MM. He won't. While it is an assumption,.....

I have determined it to be fact in my own mind. lol.

[whatchamacallit]

38. Will Sanders withdraw before the convention?

Who knows... it's up to him... {personal musings}... it's up to him, so who knows...

Dependably banal post-just-to-post post.

[MineralMan]

42. Once again, thank you for visiting the thread

and providing your analysis of my post. I count on that.

[whatchamacallit]

43. I like your funny posts

so does Glenn Greenwald.

[MineralMan]

46. Really? Has he mentioned me recently?

I only remember one time, and that was a long time ago. I never read him, myself.

[whatchamacallit]

47. Not that I know of

He found one of your posts *cough* entertaining *cough* in the day

[MineralMan]

48. No doubt. I'm an entertaining writer.

Everyone knows that.

[whatchamacallit]

49. Just not for the reasons you think

[Land of Enchantment]

41. NO HE WILL NOT!!! He knows that would disenfranchise

all the states that have not hit the DNC calendar and would be the most undemocratic move ever. This is how they planned it over at Debbie's Snake Pit and they are getting exactly what they wanted. So too did the RNC and they appear to be stuck with Trump because it backfired on them Big Time. We are in it for the long run.

[restorefreedom]

44. no. he has said this multiple times

and since we know his is a man of his word, this is exactly what will happen.

i thought you believed in posting facts. this is wild conjecture based on the hopeful opinions of those who are afraid of the contest to come.

its an opinion, piece, fine. but we have no supporting evidence at all that sanders is leaving before the convention, and all the evidence says he is in, like him saying "i am in until the convention."

[surrealAmerican]

50. This.

We know what Sanders will do because he told us what he will do.

[restorefreedom]

52. amazing that some people dont get that. nt

[surrealAmerican]

53. They are not accustomed to honesty ...

... so they do not bother to listen.

[restorefreedom]

54. truly sad. nt

[fredamae]

51. No. n/t

[Gwhittey]

55. Sanders should not drop out

We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. So give him to at least the convention.