HRC *Won* This Primary. Bernie Sanders Didn't Lose it

[LaydeeBug]

I think that's why this was a little acrimonious. It's very similar to 2008, when HRC didn't LOSE the Primary, Barack Obama just *won* it. Imagine if millions more democrats voted for you than the other guy, but he was still the winner. Tough pill to swallow.

The same thing applies here. Bernie Sanders did not LOSE this primary. Hillary Clinton just won it.

She didn't cheat. He didn't falter.

And I am hoping we can move forward. Together.

[PoliticAverse]

1. There are no losers, only winners?

[moriah]

2. No, Martin O'Malley came in third, Bernie second.

Jim Webb withdrew first, so if anyone lost, he did.

[RobertEarl]

3. Eh?

The vast majority of DUers' favorite candidate has not yet won the nomination.

If its favorite does not get the nomination the vast majority of DUers will not be happy and will consider that the election was rigged. Get used to it.

[LaydeeBug]

5. No. nt

[TDale313]

4. Yes, she won.

She won having started with huge advantages and a head start. That's not a knock, it's just a simple fact. On paper she was a huge favorite from the start.

I can congratulate her. I can admit she won. I'm not immune to what this moment means. I wonder how she, her supporters, and her surrogates will handle the aftermath. This should never have been close. A good chunk of the party (nearly half) sent a very clear message that they wanted the party to change. This is about more than just Bernie. Most of the Sanders supporters I know in real life? Middle aged life-long Dems who are not ok with the rightward drift of the party (yes, that describes me as well) Particularly on economic and national security issues.

Hillary won. Where does the party go from here? I see two main paths forward:

1) Take the close call to heart. Listen to what those pulling the party back to the left are saying. Not everything we want of course- but acknowledge where they're coming from. Don't belittle or downplay their impact. Do some actual soulsearching as to why many people feel let down by the party.

2) Pretend the candidate with 100% name recognition and the entire Democratic apparatus pulling for her narrowly beating the 74 yr old Democratic Socialist from a tiny state is a massive mandate for the status quo. Keep hippie punching. Pretend this is a fringe group who aren't "real Dems" and plan to make those lefties pay for not knowing their place.

I'd love to see them take the first path. I fear Matt Taibbi is right though when he says in his recent article that Dems will take all the wrong lessons from this (that they can continue to ignore the left with impunity)

[Juicy_Bellows]

9. Excellent post!

I also fear that no lesson will be learned.

[Electric Monk]

6. Yeah, if you ignore DWS's thumb heavily on the scale

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=thumb+scale

(notice the image 4th from the left?)

[LaydeeBug]

7. wow, really? Or the fact that 3 million more people voted for her and she has clear majorities

of pledged and superdelegates and has defeated your guy by any and every metric.

So much for trying to be nice. (This is why we can't have nice things)

[Electric Monk]

8. Thank DWS and friends for helping to make it so. You can't seriously deny that, can you? nt

[LaydeeBug]

10. Yes. I can. Hillary *won*. She didn't *cheat*. She *beat* nt

[geek tragedy]

11. Sour grapes are sour nt

[seabeyond]

12. Clinton had a decisive win. Not so much in 2008, though it was Obama's win.

I am not getting how you see it as the same, Clinton having the popular in '08 and Sanders working on over 4 million less than Clinton.

[LaydeeBug]

13. I understand that Bernie does not have a popular vote victory, as HRC did in '08

but when she recognized the delegate math wasn't in her favor, she bowed out...Bernie thought he could contest, flip supers, etc., but now that his bid is circling the drain, I am sure they are feeling the same way HRC supporters did back then.

edit: typo

[seabeyond]

14. Ah, ok. I gotcha. Nt