Can Hillary Clinton rely on Bernie Sanders’ supporters?

Many of Bernie Sanders’ supporters are more likely to renounce the US Democratic Party but where they go is unknown, an American political analyst and activist says.

Myles Hoenig told Press TV on Wednesday that there is a “misconception regarding the Democratic primary is that Hilary Clinton has clinched the nomination. She hasn’t.”

“She does not even have the pledged delegates to reach the required number,” added Hoenig, a Green Party candidate for Congress.

The American media reported on Tuesday that the Democratic presidential race has officially come to an end with Hillary Clinton winning the primary contest in Washington, gaining nearly 79 percent of the vote.

Clinton, who already had enough delegates to be her party’s presumptive nominee, won the Tuesday primary in the District of Columbia.

Media colluding with Clinton

“In spite of the Democratic National Committee disavowing superdelegates as being part of the overall number, the news media constantly includes it with the overall count,” Hoenig stated.

“This shows that from the beginning, and even before the race officially began, the media colluded with the Clinton campaign to fix the numbers for the general public’s consumption,” he pointed out.

“Superdelegates may have been promised to her from the beginning, but until they start counting votes at the convention in Philadelphia in July, their numbers are ephemeral,” he noted.

“Other than loyalty, which in itself is a commodity in Washington, these delegates have no legal obligation to the Clinton campaign. If they feel they should switch to Sanders, they can. However, it would have to be any number of near-catastrophic circumstances for this to happen,” the analyst said.

Will Clinton be indicted?

“If Obama were to allow his Justice Department to indict her on issues of racketeering regarding the Clinton Foundation or criminality emanating from her email server, the delegates would likely drop her very quickly.  She would be ‘radioactive,’” Hoenig said.  

“What we can surmise is that Obama will not indict her. The attorney general has very close ties to the Clinton family and Foundation, and Obama has just endorsed her, knowing that she is under criminal investigation,” he said.

“He’s interested in his own legacy and knowingly endorsing a candidate he knows will be indicted would be foolhardy. Therefore it’s logical to assume that in spite of the FBI investigation and her obvious lies to the public on all the issues under investigation, she will get a pass from this administration and would likely be pardoned by Obama if she were to lose to Trump in November,” he pointed out.

Sanders in a no-win situation

“What will Sanders do in the meantime? The elections have concluded and, like Clinton, he came up short. He has met with both Clinton and Obama to map out the future plans for his campaign,” Hoenig said.

“Sanders is in a no-win situation. If he were to endorse Clinton, who represents nearly everything he’s been fighting, he would lose all credibility with many of his supporters. He can claim common ground on issues of minimum wage and college tuition assistance, but the likelihood that Clinton would follow through on any promise is quite dubious,” he added.

“She has switched her positions on nearly all issues during the campaign. If nominated, she would most likely revert to her old political stances which have been pro-Wall Street, pro-war, anti-environmental and anti-worker,” he observed.

“If Sanders were not to endorse, or show little enthusiasm for her campaign, he would suffer next year in Congress. The DNC would likely strip him of his chairmanship of his committee and likely run a Wall Streeter against him in his next Senatorial Primary, if he were to continue serving,” he said.

Will Sanders supporters go to Green Party?

“One thing seems clear is that it is improbable that he would endorse the Green Party or form a new one. His supporters are more likely to jump ship from the Democratic Party but where they go is unknown. As many are likely to join with the Greens, many are just as likely to sit out the election, being completely demoralized from the process,” Hoenig said.

“Trump isn’t necessarily the beneficiary. With his own problems running his own campaign, that party leaders are distancing themselves from him, and the rise of the Libertarian Party as an alternative to the Republicans, Trump could just as easily lose to Clinton as Clinton could lose to Trump,” he stated.

“If anyone wanted excitement, confusion, and upheaval in a presidential election, now is the time,” he concluded.  

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