The Atlantic: "Will Bernie Sanders Voters Support Hillary Clinton?"

[coyote]

Note to Jury: This is a verbatim copy of the title and an excerpt of a source we use all the time at DU. This is not the opinion of the op.

Source: The Atlantic is an American magazine, founded in 1857 as The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts.

Democratic Party power brokers are rallying around Hillary Clinton, calling for unity and a focus on defeating Donald Trump. Are Bernie Sanders supporters willing to do the same?

A Bloomberg article published Wednesday warns that “nearly half of Sanders supporters won’t support Clinton.” It cites a June 14 Bloomberg poll of likely general-election voters, reporting that “barely half of those who favored Sanders—55 percent—plan to vote for Clinton.” The story adds, “22 percent say they’ll vote for Trump, while 18 percent favor Libertarian Gary Johnson.” The report indicates widespread resistance to a Clinton presidency among Sanders supporters, a dynamic that could help the senator as he negotiates the terms of his surrender.

Sanders is technically still in the presidential race. But Clinton has claimed the title of Democratic presumptive nominee, and the senator has acknowledged he doesn’t expect to win. “It doesn’t appear that I’m going to be the nominee,” he said in a C-SPAN interview released on Wednesday. On Thursday evening, Sanders is planning to deliver a speech that will outline his next steps. In recent days, Sanders has turned his attention away from contesting the nomination and toward an effort to shape the Democratic agenda and the future of the party. Whether he can achieve his aims may hinge on how badly Clinton wants to win the support of his voters.

More...

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/bernie-or-bust-clinton/488276/

[jillan]

1. I'm having a hard time understanding how any Bernie supporter could

support Trump who is against everything Bernie stands for. And Johnson wants to end social programs.

[Winston.Smith]

2. I don't think any Bernie supporter would vote for Trump. However a lot of Bernies supporters

are first time voters. They may stay home, not out of spite or anything, just broken. I could not vote in 1968, but a lot of my friends who were 21-25 and RFK, McGovern or McCarthy supporters were so broken down by the event of the convention, that they did not vote. Some I have known all my life never voted after that event. Just totally turned off by the whole system.

Looking back, I think they were happier with the system, most were never judgement. Just took life as it happened.


I am thinking about going that direction also, hence the logon.

[HooptieWagon]

3. I think some weren't so much about platform...

...as they were against the status quo establishment. To them, I guess Trump represents their #2 anti-establishment choice.
I don't think Sanders > Trump votes will grow further, but I think Sanders > Stein will continue to grow a bit more before peaking. And a lot of younger voters will just stay home.

[coyote]

4. +1

[coyote]

5. Here is a comment from Reddit regarding similarities between Bernie and Trump

And why some people may crossover to Trump.


"Donald and Bernie have very similar trade positions and vaguely similar foreign policy stances.
If you voted for Bernie based on social justice or racial politics (not that any of those races voted for him in the primaries) then there's not much crossover between Bernie and Trump. If you voted for fixing our trade deficits, helping American workers, punishing currency manipulators, going after tax-dodging international corporations, and keeping boots off the ground in the middle east, then there's a lot to consider come November"

[demwing]

7. I'm glad to see your post is still here

I hope DUers remain secure enough to allow discussions on the validity of an idea, without presuming that one is promoting that idea.

[Jim Lane]

9. They might be thinking foreign policy

It's not totally irrational to believe that Johnson or even Trump would be less likely to get U.S. troops involved abroad than would Clinton. Similarly, as to the "free trade" agreements that Bernie vigorously attacked, Clinton is arguably more amenable to them than is Trump.

Still, one would expect that totally dissatisfied Sanders supporters would be more likely to support Stein.

[silvershadow]

11. Not all Bernie supporters are Democrats. So, only in that vein would I think a few might

support Trump. I am thinking of a few friends and acquaintances who are "Either Bernie or Trump" folks. Yeah, not too logical, but then neither are they.

[rhett o rick]

6. Both Sanders and Trump supporters are disgusted with the current corrupt establishment.

Many claim they came out for Sanders because they wanted to see the system fixed. Those I spoke to wont switch to Trump but they may not vote. Some say it's ridiculous to participate in a rigged system. I try to encourage them to vote down-ballot but don't get a lot of enthusiasm.

[RobertEarl]

8. Bernie for VP will bring them in

It would show them that HRC heard and agrees with Bernie and wants him on board and working hard to change the country.

[condoleeza]

10. Never gonna happen n/t

[silvershadow]

12. I agree, and despite me thinking it would never happen, I am not so sure now that it won't.

I have a feeling it will be an interesting few days or weeks until the VP is named.