The “Bernie or Bust” supporters’ movement might well be the reason that Hillary Clinton does not make it to the Oval Office.
An overwhelming number of Bernie Sanders’ supporters have pledged their allegiance to the “Bernie or Bust” movement, meaning that they wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election even in the situation of the Vermont senator not winning the Democratic nomination.
But, with Clinton the likelier candidate to win the nomination, many of her supporters expect members of the “Bernie or Bust” movement to finally come around to voting for her, mostly as a recourse to avoiding the Republican nominee Donald Trump becoming the next president of the United States.
However, as the name of the movement signifies, “Bernie or Bust” voters appear in no mood to sway, and would reportedly rather not vote at all than vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election.
This particular attitude of Sanders’ supporters was exemplified brilliantly in a recent CNN show, where a pundit invited a “Bernie or Bust” voter, YahNe Ndgo, in what seemed like almost an attempt to convince her to sway her vote.
She was pitted against a Democratic strategist and Hillary Clinton supporter, Emily Tisch Sussman, who, throughout the conversation, attempted to convince YahNe to vote for Clinton.
Although the condescending tone of the conversation seemed to suggest that both Emily and the CNN pundit were very confident about their stated positions, it is the rebuttal provided by YahNe which really captures the imagination.
The “Bernie or Bust” supporter slays each argument with facts, and by the end of the discussion, as the The Humanist Report rightly put, it is Yahne who owns both the CNN pundit and Emily.
The video begins with YahNe being asked to justify her position as a “Bernie or Bust” supporter, to which she responds by saying that many of Bernie Sanders’ supporters place no faith or trust in Hillary Clinton, and as a result would not vote for her if she wins the Democratic nomination.
In what is clearly a condescending approach, the CNN pundit then asks the Clinton supporter to shed some light on the reasons that YahNe should change her vote. Emily, who is probably even more smug than the pundit herself, goes on to talk about how all of Bernie Sanders’ issues have already been part of Hillary Clinton’s platform for ages, including affordable college, healthcare and money in politics.
Even more condescendingly, Emily then suggests that the reason that the Vermont senator has appealed to voters is because of his simplistic approach to America’s problems, a thought which is further emphasized by the CNN pundit when she asks YahNe if “any of what Emily said made sense” to her.
But, the “Bernie or Bust” supporter continues to hold her fort, going on to dismantle each argument with facts. She cites examples of times when Hillary Clinton lied to voters, including in 2008 when running against the then senator Barack Obama, Clinton said that she would lobby to oppose the Columbia Free Trade Agreement. But, in fact, as her emails later showed, Clinton had always been a supporter of the deal.
Later, when Emily attempts to paint Hillary Clinton’s history as a politician in glowing terms, adding that she has always fought “for those who don’t have a voice,” the “Bernie or Bust” supporter says it is that very history that makes Sanders’ supporters certain that Clinton is not someone who can be trusted. A range of bad decisions in Haiti, Honduras, Iraq and Libya are some of the examples cited by YahNe during the discussion, concluding that she would rather vote for a candidate who has foresight than for a candidate who refuses to learn even from her mistakes.
What Yahne says during the discussion typifies the mood prevailing among the “Bernie or Bust” supporters, and while Hillary Clinton might want Bernie Sanders’ supporters to switch to her side in the name of Democratic Party’s ideals, it seems increasingly unlikely that these voters are going to vote for her in the general election even if she manages to clinch the nomination.
And that could be the overarching reason for Clinton’s fall this election season. Do you agree?
[Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images]