Hillary Clinton officially clinches the Democratic nomination and some Bernie Sanders supporters learn how to deal (or not deal).
The day after a candidate clinches the presidential nomination is always the most interesting time for those who follow politics. In most cases, it’s the moment when supporters for their respective candidates stop being nice, and start getting real!
The only history made last night was that a Democrat stole an election. Usually Republicans have to resort to that.
— #BernieorBust (@PoliticalChic20) June 8, 2016
Like REALLY real…
Anyway, here’s what you need to know from last night.
The Glass Ceiling
We get it. There’s a laundry list of reasons why people might be cold on Hillary Clinton being the Democratic nominee. But we should take a moment and just realize how big all of this really is! Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have ever nominated a woman to be president! Fun fact, before Clinton’s nomination, the closest America has ever come to having a “viable” female presidential nominee was in 2012 with Jill Stein representing the Green Party! THE GREEN PARTY!!! And she only got 0.36% of the vote.
Much like Barack Obama’s nomination in 2008, it’s important that we step back and acknowledge what the Democratic Party nominating a woman really means. This really is a big fucking deal! And to think, this was the last white guy that the Democratic Party nominated.
How far we’ve come!
Then Again, Let’s Not Congratulate Ourselves TOO Much Here
While we pat ourselves on the back for a woman nominee I recall interviewing decades ago two women prime ministers, of Israel and India.
— Elizabeth Drew (@ElizabethDrewOH) June 8, 2016
Hillary Clinton Had a REAL Good Night (And Why That Should Scare Donald Trump)
Last night the Hillary Clinton campaign had a string of impressive wins. Specifically there were two that we’d like to point out.
1) Headline will hark on Clinton having a fairly impressive showing in California last night, yet the big story isn’t her winning exactly, but how she won. Clinton’s victory was larger than what most polls had originally predicted! A combination of early voters and a heathy turnout from minority blocks looks to have helped her achieve that. Throughout the most populated parts of the state (like Oakland, Anaheim, and Silicon Valley/San Jose) she consistently had a 10 point advantage over Sanders.
2) Even though New Jersey didn’t have the same cache as California did in its delegate count – New Jersey’s 126 delegates to California’s 475 – it ended up playing a central part in Clinton clinching the Democratic primary Tuesday night. While many pundits have guessed the large margin of victory in New Jersey was due to the Democrats just wanting to see this contest be over, still to win by more than 60% is impressive never the less.
Now if you’re part of the Trump campaign this morning, you should be at least a little concerned. If Clinton can pull this type of performance in November, then there isn’t anything Trump can do to stop that!
The Five Stages of a Bernie Bro’s Greif (Told Through Tweets)
Denial
Bernie was right, Clinton will fall between 155-210 pledged delegates short of avoiding a #contestedconvention. #feelthebern #ThankYouBernie
— Dustin Woodard (@webconnoisseur) June 8, 2016
Anger
Always a pleasure to hear from readers pic.twitter.com/reDWK3pMmO
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 8, 2016
Bargaining
Everyone chill. Breathe in & out. We will get our numbers even if we have to go to court. #BernieSanders #CAPrimary pic.twitter.com/884XZHWlcF
— #BernieOrBust (@GottaBernNow) June 8, 2016
Depression
I don't want to b associated w/ a party that suppresses the votes of anyone.#BernieGoIndependent #NeverHillary https://t.co/9npALJEeav
— Fonda Conley (@fondaconley14) June 8, 2016
Acceptance
The Hillary supporters hijacking the #ThankYouBernie hashtag showing their true colors by acting like such sore winners.
— David Swenton (@DavidSwenton) June 8, 2016
Hey, at least that last one admitted she won the primary, it’s a start.
What Happens to the Revolutionaries After a Revolution Ends?
Yesterday Politico published a pretty damning piece about the last days in the Bernie Sanders campaign. The story shows Sanders thinking he could still get the nomination while his aides know they’ve lost. In many ways, the Politico story paints Sanders in a way that many Democrats fear the most about him; that he hasn’t realized that he’s lost the nomination.
Regardless, we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about Sanders. Eventually he’ll concede.
Also to those claiming he should run as an independent in the general election, we ask you this, what would he gain? Facing both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as an independent candidate in the general election would do nothing. He would have gained zero clout with the Democratic Party to steer specific policies he’s passionate about and would be in the same place he is now after November (spoiler, Sanders isn’t winning the presidency as an independent candidate).
Or in other words:
However there is a larger question at play here; what if Sanders supporters never back Hillary Clinton?
When questions like these come up, it’s always important to remember that failed campaigns are always messy and volatile (just look at the above tweets). Emotions run deep, whereas tempers don’t. For the next few weeks there will be a lot of hurt feelings and some sniping on social media between Clinton and Sanders supporters.
But if history has proved anything, eventually people come around.
After all, there’s a real “the enemy, of my enemy, is my friend” choice that every Sanders supporter will face during the general election. Because they might not love Hillary Clinton or her policies, but would that be enough to risk a Trump presidency?
Our guess, no.
(Photo Credit: Hillary Clinton’s Instagram, Google Images)
