It’s all over but the shouting. Even Bernie Sanders, who knows more than most folks about shouting, has got to be able to see that. The only question now is when he’ll do the right thing.
On Tuesday afternoon, as voting was well under way in Democratic primaries in six states, Sanders, a socialist senator from Vermont, flew home to Burlington. Too bad he didn’t use his home base to announce the end of his campaign. After all, the guy isn’t even a Democrat. If he sticks around, he’ll be like some B-movie creature that just won’t die, but hangs around interminably, instilling fear in all. As Sanders now has no realistic path to the nomination, it’s time for him to go.
Former Vice President Joe Biden once again cleaned Sanders’ clock on Tuesday, winning big in Michigan and in Mississippi and in Missouri.
Sanders, who has been yelling about revolution seemingly forever now, needs to see, finally, that voters aren’t exactly in a revolutionary mood. What they want, it ought to be clear, is a return to normalcy, an end to the chaos that has marred President Donald Trump’s presidency from Day 1.
Voters in Democratic primaries have been making it plenty clear that they see Biden as the candidate best positioned to put the nation back on a more reasonable path. Sanders can move to aid Biden now, or he can endeavor to continue to stand in the way, helping no one save President Donald Trump by so doing.
What the Democratic Party needs most now is unity going forward. Biden is going to be the nominee. As such, the sooner he can pivot fully to the general election, working to assemble his team, honing his message, choosing a running mate, the better.
Democrats of all stripes have been saying, repeatedly, that defeating Trump in November is their top priority. Bar none. It’s time they start acting like it.
Though Sanders isn’t an actual Democrat, he has, after all, been seeking to become the party’s standard-bearer, and does, in fact, caucus with Democrats in the Senate. He has stood with Democrats on stages in 10 presidential debates, dating back to last summer. It’s time now for Sanders to stand with Biden in an effort to bring the party together to run President Poseur out of town on Nov. 3.
