Sanders’ supporters seethe in Santa Monica
By Brian Goldsmith
The final Super Tuesday of 2016 — with contests in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and North Dakota — yielded a clear Democratic victor: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As the primary season closes, she has won a majority of states, a majority of the popular vote and a majority of pledged delegates. But in a defiant speech, Clinton’s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, conceded nothing, repeated his vow to fight to the convention and said, “The struggle continues.”
At Sanders’ election night rally in Santa Monica, Calif., his supporters reflected the stubborn sensibility of their candidate. Most refused to acknowledge that Clinton had earned the nomination and instead attributed Sanders’ loss to a rigged system. Given a choice between Clinton and the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, very few entertained supporting Trump. However, several said they might vote for a third-party Green or Libertarian candidate, depending on whether Clinton embraces elements of Sanders’ agenda.
Sanders’ base — as represented in that room — identified opponents in many quarters: “the establishment,” the Democratic National Committee, “ignorant voters” and, perhaps most of all, the mainstream media. When TV screens showed Clinton leading, the crowd shouted, “CNN sucks.” Uniting the Democratic Party may be a greater challenge than Clinton had imagined at the beginning of this long campaign for the White House.
