General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Supporting the values of the Sanders movement is not "refighting the primaries". [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)An "elongated" primary run, as if there's some fixed time limit?
I'll offer a hypothesis that can't be tested by polling data but that I believe to be true: The way some Clinton supporters whined about the latter stages of Sanders's campaign did more harm to Clinton in the general than did any action by Sanders. Nobody likes a sore winner, and my guess is that the grousing cost her at least some votes among some progressives who were on the fence. People who might have ultimately joined the "hold your nose and vote for Clinton" bloc were, instead, so alienated that they voted for Stein or wrote in Bernie or stayed home.
We should also take note of how Bernie's campaign differed from the one just about any other politician would have run. You might have a point if Bernie had spent June and July hammering Clinton on her emails and Clinton Foundation fundraising. He didn't.