Here’s the thing. Like it or not — and, in the case of both parties, it looks like not — with the help of social media, third party insurgents are attaching themselves to the two main legacy parties.
In the case of Trump, his election campaign, working outside of the Republican Party, will more than likely pack up its tent and go home after the election. Trump is only about Trump, and he is going to leave the Republican Party divided and weaker.
But in the case of Bernie Sanders, win or lose, he’s not just running an election campaign, he’s trying to create a movement, much to the uncomprehending confusion of the Hillary supporters on this site. See nobody at all’s excellent diary on the subject.
This is not just about Bernie becoming president; although, both Bernie and all of us supporters really want too see that happen. Frankly, at this point, we should think of that as our most pressing goal right now when it looks like he’s got a pretty good shot at it. However, it is also about creating a long lasting movement to begin the difficult and monumental task of taking on the establishment and changing the system to work for all of us, not just a few.
Bernie could lose every primary between now and the convention — I’m pretty sure he won’t — but if we keep supporting him with money and volunteering, he can keep his message front and center all the way to the convention floor.
If he loses the nomination, I’m quite sure he will fully support Hillary Clinton. Don’t think of him as a sellout, because at that point, it will be about not having a Trump or a Cruz in the White House. None of us wants to see that.
However, that’s going to mean we have to put the pressure on Hillary to stop talking out of both sides of her mouth and make some real concessions to us. If she looks like she’s hedging or that she’ll ignore us, we need to make sure she knows we will abandon her in droves. Frankly, unchecked, her presidency won’t look much different from a Trump or Cruz presidency. It’ll be slightly less tea-partyish, but that’s about it. We need to make clear we’ll primary her ass in four years if she tries to start more wars or coddle Wall Street.
Right now, unfortunately, we’re stuck with a moribund, sclerotic Democratic Party and a Republican Party that looks like a bunch of rabid wolves attacking each other.