Everybody says ‘Bernie would have won’ or ‘Bernie wouldn’t have won,’ but I won’t really believe either until I see some polling data.
I think the DNC as a whole is partially to blame. The very fact that there is a superdelegate system, disproportionally and undemocratically favoring the voice of the elite, allowed Hillary to grab the nomination when the more likable Bernie Sanders might have defeated Trump.
While there is no way to prove that he would have won, I feel he easily could have better united the Democrat Party and that his supporters were far more passionate than Clinton’s. Heck, Jeebus here protest voted against Hillary. I doubt there would have been much of that against Bernie, even among Hillary supporters. I’ve no doubt most would have gone ahead and voted for Bernie as their number two pick.
I think the unification problem had more to do with Bernie’s supports (and to some extent Bernie himself) than Clinton herself.
Please explain. Bernie tried to unite his people behind Hillary after he lost. Yes, his people are partly to blame, but that’s the point of politics, isn’t it? Hillary’s supporters were more lukewarm. Bernie’s were more passionate. Many Dems would have gone out to vote for whichever candidate had a (D) by his/her name. Others would consider their vote meaningless and not bother. I believe many Democrats/Hillary supporters stayed home because they either did not like her or did not believe it would have made a difference. On the other hand, I think a greater portion of Bernie’s supporters would have gotten out to vote for him, in addition to those who just vote for the (D) no matter what.
Again, no way to know for sure, but I think if HRC had been a better candidate, she could have captured more passion from her own supporters and redirected the passion of Bernie’s supporters for her. Instead, many of them were deeply offended at gasp the DNC’s shenanigans in securing the nomination for her. To so many, this was unforgivable.
Don’t oversimplify my original statement. Remember, I only said the DNC was part to blame. I think the Comey investigation immediately before Election Day, Hillary’s own campaigning, the Electoral College that I deeply abhor, and numerous other factors also secured her defeat.