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Where to, Bernie?

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders was recently booed by House Democrats in the latest sign of his campaign’s impending doom. But Sanders has vowed to go on.

by
Jesse Bernstein
July 07, 2016
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a Capitol Hill news conference regarding genetically engineered food labeling, in Washington, D.C., July 6, 2016. Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a Capitol Hill news conference regarding genetically engineered food labeling, in Washington, D.C., July 6, 2016. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Back in March, Katie Couric interviewed Bernie Sanders and asked him if he would be interested in serving as Hillary Clinton’s vice president. “Would she be interested in being my vice president?” he retorted, in what I’m calling “The Bern Heard ‘Round the World.”

Shortly thereafter, the Brooklyn-born, long-time Senator from Vermont won the Michigan primary and a slew of other states in such a dominating fashion that it seemed as if everyone’s favorite (democratic)(self-proclaimed)(quasi-) socialist might actually have a shot at the Democratic nomination. What followed, however, was a Hillary victory in New York that “almost certainly assure[d]” the end Sanders’s bid for the White House. And he’s been flailing every since.

In Trumpian fashion, Sanders has eschewed all fact and reason, vowing to take this thing all the way to the convention, baby. As Hillary heads into the stretch run of the general election, Sanders has begun to suffer the slings and arrows of Democrats who’ve clearly been holding some stuff back and want Sanders to step down. Check out this snippet below from a Politico report about Sanders’s Wednesday meeting with House Democrats:

But frustration with Sanders was also evident. Rank-and-file House Democrats want the Vermont independent to officially drop out of the race and throw his support behind the presumptive nominee, and they can’t understand why he hasn’t.



“It was frustrating because he’s squandering the movement he built with a self-obsession that was totally on display,” said a senior Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Harsh. And it didn’t get much better from there.

… House Democrats including John Garamendi of California and Joyce Beatty of Ohio asked Sanders for specifics on when he would get behind Clinton—questions that were accompanied by some cheers and clapping from other House Democrats, sources inside the room said.



“When are you going to run as a Democrat? This is the Democratic Caucus,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said to applause.

Bernie insisted to them that his campaign was focused on working to “transform America,” but he added an eyebrow-raising statement: “The goal isn’t to win elections.” (Sanders, at a rally on April 25 in Indiana: “We are in this campaign to win and become the Democratic nominee.”)

Yeesh. Politico also reported that Sanders, in an apparent turn of events, is giving consideration to endorsing Clinton, which the Senator confirmed. While that would finally and truly end Sanders’s zombie campaign (not to mention the end of seeing your friends’ Facebook posts in which they share some very strong opinions on the Trans-Pacific Partnership), we’ll all have Bernie to thank for showing us that a campaign beginning in a Burlington, VT park can end with eye-popping fundraising numbers, a close call, and fun videos with Mark Ruffalo.

It’s time to bow out, Bernie. As Yair Rosenberg put it: “Now it’s time for him to put that sentiment into practice, and place America before any personal ambitions. It would be an admirable end to an admirable campaign.”

Jesse Bernstein is a former Intern at Tablet.