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Letting go

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Bernie Sanders ran a remarkably successful campaign against overwhelming odds, and in doing so pushed Hillary Clinton at least rhetorically to the left on a number of key economic issues. But now . . .

Sanders speech tonight was right in line with his statement out this afternoon. He identified the Democratic party as an essentially corrupt, moribund institution which is now on notice that it must let ‘the people’ in. What about the coalitions Barack Obama built in 2008 and 2012, the biggest and most diverse presidential coalitions ever constructed?

Sanders narrative today has essentially been that he is political legitimacy. The Democratic party needs to realize that. This, as I said earlier, is the problem with lying to your supporters. Sanders is telling his supporters that he can still win, which he can’t. He’s suggesting that the win is being stolen by a corrupt establishment, an impression which will be validated when his phony prediction turns out not to be true. Lying like this sets you up for stuff like happened over the weekend in Nevada.

As Marshall notes, it’s hard to say to what extent Sanders’ increasingly problematic response to the fact that he’s lost is a matter of personal temperament, as opposed to the natural psychological difficulties any candidate who has gotten as far as he has must deal with when coming to terms with the reality of that loss.

It’s reasonable to expect that in three weeks all this will be water under the bridge, and Sanders will make nice with Hillary, DWS, and the rest of the establishment. But that’s not inevitable, and it would be a shame if he threw away much of the good will he’s won over the past year.

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