Bernie is not responsible for Hillary's loss in 2016! Roughly 12% of Bernie primary voters either didn't vote in the general or voted third party. But 88% DID vote for her, and that's a hell of a lot bigger percentage than the percentage of Hillary voters who came out for Obama in 2008! What's more, Bernie campaigned -- HARD -- for Hillary in the general election! And that 12% who refused to vote for her were never going to vote for her in any case.
The fact of the matter is that the Democratic Party insisted on going with a party favorite over a candidate who could have drawn more independent and unaffiliated voters, among whom Hillary had historically high disapproval numbers. Now, that disapproval may not have been entirely fair, but independent/unaffiliated voters are critically important for any Democrat in order to win elections nationally.
Look, Hillary made a lot of unforced errors in that campaign. In a year when populist sentiments were running high, while Trump was barnstorming the country with one huge rally after another, Hillary chose to remain aloof, confining herself mostly to small gatherings of wealthy donors -- which didn't exactly dispel the suspicions of those who thought she was too close to Wall Street.
She could have insulated herself from the damage from the Podesta email dump, too, if she had released her Wall Street bank speeches during the primary, when Bernie challenged her to do so. But she opted to stonewall, leaving her wide open to the Wikileaks dump late in the campaign.
And of course, there was Comey's bit.
All of this is to say that it is past time to put this zombie lie about Bernie causing her to lose in 2016 to rest. It's not only patently untrue, it is also needlessly alienating and divisive at a time when that is the last thing this party needs!
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