Paying The Price So Bernie Plays Nice

With Hillary Clinton basically guaranteed to win the Democratic nomination for president at this point, the DNC is now shifting to dealing with Bernie Sanders in the approaching convention endgame in Philly, now just two months out.

Allies of both Clinton and Sanders have urged Democratic leaders to meet some of Sanders’s more mundane demands for greater inclusion at the Philadelphia convention. Their decision to do so is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But growing mistrust between Sanders supporters and party leaders have threatened to undermine that effort.

Even with the committee assignments, Sanders plans an aggressive effort to extract platform concessions on key policies that could prompt divisive battles at a moment when front-runner Hillary Clinton will be trying to unify the party. Among other issues, he plans to push for a $15 national minimum wage and argue that the party needs a more balanced position regarding Israel and Palestinians, according to a Sanders campaign aide who requested anonymity to speak candidly. 

Much like their view that the economy has been “rigged” to benefit the wealthy more than the middle and working classes, Sanders supporters have become increasingly convinced that national Democrats have stacked the political deck with rules that have made it difficult for Sanders to win enough delegates to threaten Clinton’s nomination. 

Party leaders, meanwhile, have grown more frustrated with Sanders, who they say has unfairly fueled that perception.

“I don’t think they’ve handled it very well and I think they’ve lost the moral high ground on this,” said Ken Martin, chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer Labor Party. “It’s very clear now that the longer they stay in this race the more damage they’re doing.”

Neither side is happy, and I understand that Sanders was in it to win it.  But he's not going to win it, so he needs to pack it in,  The notion that 95% of Clinton's superdelegates are going to go to the Sanders camp at this point is insanity, and anyone who believes otherwise is delusional.

So yes, the story now becomes what Bernie's price will be to endorse Hillary, tie up the loose ends, and go forward to crush Trump.  That has been the known outcome since Super Tuesday back in March, and the rest has been posturing.

Time to face reality,