Is Sanders Doing A Lot More to Help Clinton Than He's Letting On?

[Doctor Jack]

I remember watching Sanders' speech the night of the California primary and at first thinking "oh my god, pack it in already!". But after reading a few excerpts, I found there were some clever tidbits and wording that seemed like they were meant as a gentle nod to the dems but to also sooth his most diehard supporters. If you remember, polls 1 month ago showed that over 40% of Sanders supporters said they would never back Clinton. Polls today show that less than 20% are actually still holding out. I am starting to believe that if Sanders had dropped out the night of the California Primary or shortly after, and had instantly endorsed Clinton, a large number of his backers would have become so disillusioned that they likely would have just given up and stayed home in November.

Instead, he seems to be very slowly helping them come to terms with the idea of voting for Clinton, which I strongly believe is what he wants. He may not be a big fan of Clinton but he knows that Trump would be an "extinction level event", as Andrew Sullivan has said. So what has he done? First, right after the California Primary, all attacks on Clinton instantly stopped and he stopped saying he was going to be the nominee but that "the revolution continues". Then a few weeks later, he stated that he knew he wasn't going to be the nominee and a few days after that, he said he would almost certainly vote for Clinton in November. Plus, he has been fighting to influence the democratic platform, so that the positions that his supporters were advocating had a place in the Democratic Party and in Clinton's campaign.

It would seem that Sanders saw the large number of his supporters that were going to go over the cliff if he wasn't the nominee and has helped ease them back. If true, he is a much more honorable and selfless man than I ever gave him credit for.

[George Eliot]

1. Smart, compassionate, honorable - all true. He does the right thing.

He's always said Hillary was his choice over Trump. Should be no surprise. Remember the "damn emails" statement? I never expected less from him. He will and is helping Clinton without sacrificing his principles. Can't people give him credit for that? Isn't that what an honorable politician does? Every politician on the left should be respected. Those of us who are far left will vote democratic and worker harder next time for our progressive - hopefully there will be one.

[Hortensis]

22. I loved the "damned emails statement." :)

It seems very likely that Doctor Jack is right believing that Bernie is engaged in a balancing act of moving his supporters slowly out of battle mode while quietly beginning work on his goal of helping defeat the Republicans and their plutocrat enablers. I've noticed that, while media mostly report his "demands," promised to take it to the convention, etc., when you listen to or read his speeches responsible GE messages are there too.

Btw, although he speaks of defeating "Trump," he's one of the few politicians who speaks of the compelling need to defeat the ultra-wealthy, often speaking of the Kochs by name since those are the ones most know, if they know any. For him, this is not all about keeping a dysfunctional orange clown away from the nuclear codes, and I very much hope he will focus national attention on those people who much prefer to pull their strings from secrecy.

[Doctor Jack]

3. I saw a poll today showing 19% aren't backing Clinton

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=2219367

8% say they are backing Trump, down from 20%. But I believe that the number of "never hillary" Sanders supporters has dropped from about 40% to 19%. That 40% would have included Trump supporters, but also 3rd party candidates, write in for Sanders, and not voting. That is what I was referring to in the original post.

[JSup]

4. I think he's being exactly...

...as cautious as he needs to be. I liken his method to steering a platform full of people that are standing; too fast and he loses a bunch.

[Hiraeth]

5. she has no clue how much she owes this man.

[Amimnoch]

7. I think she knows.

As much of this thread, there is a fair bit of speculation here on my part as well.

When they had that long sit down talk, I believe they worked out the plan for reunification, and are now working out that plan.

[Hiraeth]

15. oh my god YES. She is is my hero.

[geek tragedy]

6. No. nt

[uponit7771]

8. Might, holding some numbers till after the dem convention is good and then the slowly coming to term

... thing is good too

[CrowCityDem]

9. No. He could hardly be doing less.

[William769]

10. No. nt

[sheshe2]

11. No!

[SidDithers]

12. I doubt it...nt

Sid

[libdem4life]

13. Is it just me, or is there an echo in here?

Excellent post. And I will admit I'm one of those they speak of. Every time someone demanded to know who someone was (TrumpTrumpTrumpTrump) going to vote for...of course it was always the same few...it made me sad and angry. It did NOTHING for the Hillary vote.

Bernie has shown class, maturity, leadership and civility.

Yes.

[BlueMTexpat]

14. It must be at least four- or five-dimensional

chess.

[sheshe2]

16. ...

[Land Shark]

17. Sanders would lose delegates if he conceded

Last week I noted that under the ND Democratic convention rules, which I believe are adopted from National sources, at-large delegate chances are lost if the cand date has conceded. Sanders did not concede so he picked up 2 more delegates from North Dakota that were at large delegates. He could not have done so had he conceded after California, but those votes are still relevant to platform issues.

[Orsino]

18. Helped her toward a platform she could be proud to champion. n/t

[MaggieD]

19. Doesn't seem so to me

In fact he seems to be demanding things in a way that makes it appear he thinks he won rather than understanding he lost.

[brooklynite]

20. Answer: NO

Clinton is gaining Sanders voters because she's the sane alternative to Trump in a real-world election. Sanders continual complaints about the Platform aren't pushing any of his hard-core believers her way. Fortunately, she won't need them.

[Chathamization]

21. Indeed. And it's more than just votes - volunteers and fund-raising as well

Sanders managed to motivate a lot of people who aren't regularly involved in the political process, and also unleashed a fundraising powerhouse. Telling these people that everything's over and things are back to politics as normal (the same politics they were disengaged from) is a good way to get them to give up. Instead, Sanders seems to be trying to show them how this is merely part of a longer struggle, and that progress is being made. He's trying to bring his supporters into the Democratic fold, which will end up being better for his supporters, Democrats, the progressive movement in general. His strategy might not appeal to the people who supported Clinton in the primaries, but they're not the target audience.

I have to believe that Clinton and Sanders are more clever than their most zealous supporters (people who seem intent on cutting off their noses to spite their faces).