Would Bernie Sanders Run As Third Party Candidate in 2016?

This piece was authored a few weeks ago but not posted until now in order to see if its contents might emerge possible in the 2016 campaign run on the Democratic side. Now that Bernie Sanders has dodged questions about challenging Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Convention voters need to examine this possibility.

So…

Is Bernie Sanders planning to take his ball and run as a third party candidate after cueing up supporters?

During this election season, voters only need to plant half an eye on the current candidates who are hoping to emerge victorious nominees for the November elections to know how crazy things have gotten regarding our politics. Who ever would have guessed that a possibility would exist wherein one or both major parties would be hijacked during the same presidential race. One potential hijacker being Republican candidate Donald Trump and the other Bernie Sanders an Independent running in the Democrat Party as a democratic socialist.

Polar Opposite Candidates

On one hand, an argument can be made that these two candidates vying to overtake the Democrat and Republican parties in some ways are literally about as polar as opposites could get in a race for the oval office. On the other hand, the two contenders also have similarities in a few of their suggested policies, their stamina, and their aggressive stances. These differences and similarities, one could say, in a strange way, has prompted some Republican voters to go for the Democratic Socialist and some Democrat voters to favor the Republican. In addition, Independent voters have also undergone a split as to which candidate to lend their support. But no matter how you slice it each of these candidates has managed to undermine the major parties with significant numbers of followers that includes new voters in extremely high numbers on both sides of the political spectrum.

Trump the Business Man

A well-known fact about Donald Trump is that he has, on numerous occasions, threatened to run as a third-party candidate if he does not get the nomination on the Republican side. The reason for this threat (which is also well known) is that he frequently claims the media and the Republican National Committee (RNC) do not treat him fairly. Trump has no qualms about making his thoughts and feelings of unfair treatment known to voters and to the American public and thus calls out the media and the RNC whenever he feels and or believes it is necessary to do so because, according to him, those entities have mistreated him again. Trump’s complaints places him in a position where, despite criticism from those he is criticizing, voters have an opportunity to know where stands. But what about Bernie? Would he run as a third party candidate as well?

Socialist Sanders

Anyone viewing social media these days have likely seen the phrase “BernieOrBust” on one internet site or another. The so-called “BernieBots” seem to hold said phrase as some sort of Damoclean badge of honor. It appears to mean to many Bernie supporters that should Sanders not gain the Democratic nomination they will either vote for a Republican or not vote at all. The reason for this steadfast attitude apparently stems from a variety of factors that perhaps includes an unwillingness of Sanders to make it clear to his supporters the importance of Democrats keeping the White House no matter which progressive candidate emerges victorious.

Candidate Similarities and Differences

More than likely, even the one-eyed viewers of these races have heard Sanders, or a member of his camp, complain about the election process for reasons similar to those of Trump. For instance, early on in the race, Sanders complained about the Democratic National committee and its lack of scheduled debates. According to Sanders Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DNC Chair) was holding back on debates in a manner that favored Hillary Clinton. He also complained about the times and days on which the few scheduled debates had been planned to occur. Although Trump also had complaints about debates, his complaint was that there were too many of them and they were too long. These differences pose as one demonstration as to how these two hijackers run as polar opposites.

Another Sanders complaint has to do with media coverage. According to him or his campaign surrogates, the media has not given as much attention to his campaign as it allots his opponent. Although there have been some statistics put out on the subject, as a viewer, the author must categorically suggest that quite the opposite is actually true. In the first place, media coverage tends to shine a bright light at positive aspects of the Sanders’ campaign in a manner that boosts his candidacy forward while utilizing most of its time covering Clinton in a negative fashion. Meanwhile, Sanders’ polar, Mr. Trump, employs a different tactic to gain media attention which includes calling them dishonest and spewing controversial rhetoric as he rallies along the campaign trail.

Sanders’ Failure to Support the DNC

Unlike Clinton who has raised millions of dollars for the DNC in order to support down ticket Democrats, Sanders has not contributed any funds to said cause. When asked about this his reply was something to the effect of, “We’ll see.” And yet, Bernie frequently criticizes Hillary for fundraising in a manner that makes it seem that taking money from the wealthy is the only way Hillary earns money and she will become beholden to those persons or entities should she become president. He never mentions the fact that the truth of the matter is that most of Hillary’s fundraising goes to help the DNC and to Democrats running to hold their seats or perhaps to enter office for the first time. She also receives small donations from her supporters.

Bernie’s lack of donations to the DNC, an organization he will need to win the presidency should he pull a rabbit from a hat and emerge the Democratic nominee, remain unchanged as of the date of this posting. This is despite the fact that it is widely known that if Democrats fail to regain seats in the Senate and in the House of Representatives that could allow the party to seize control of at least one of those Houses from the Republican Party progressive plans and progress will likely be jeopardized if a Republican wins the presidency in November. In addition, Sanders has earned millions and millions of dollars during his run thus far. This writer finds it a tough pill to swallow that he refuses to help the DNC but will expect their assistance later on and, in fact, currently complains about their lack of assistance––via debates for example.

All this makes this writer wonder… Is Bernie Sanders, who is not really a Democrat (he is an Independent), planning a run as a third party candidate if failing to gain the Democratic nomination? Does Bernie have any concerns that a split in the Democrat Party, come November, could prove disastrous for Democrats? As it is, Bernie has admitted through his own vocal chords that he ran as a Democrat for media coverage and for money via donations.

At the start of his campaign effort, Bernie said he had never run a negative campaign in his life. Since Bernie has been running, however, he has mouthed a slew of adverse accusations toward Hillary even as he claimed not be doing so. Hillary, herself, said in an early debate that Sanders had been subjecting her to a campaign of subtle smears, which, of course, he denied. As time continues to pass, however, Sanders has proven Hillary’s statement to be true as his rhetoric and negative propaganda toward her has openly revealed his true intentions of dismantling Hillary Clinton’s chances to engage in a run for the White House.

Quick List:

1. Many Sanders supporters do not seem to have an allegiance with the Democratic Party. They do, however, seem to have an interest in free things Bernie offers that Hillary believes Americans should earn. Engaging Sanders supporters online brings one to the conclusion that many of these followers have been misinformed. Sanders has managed to convince his supporters that Hillary is no good as he frequently criticizes her to gain votes for himself.


2. Since Sanders has a good-sized following, many of whom seem to hold dear to the Bernie or bust motto, what will these voters do if Hillary wins the nomination? Will they truly not vote for her. Will Bernie sound like a hypocrite if he tries to convince them to vote for Hillary after brainwashing them that she is this horrible Wall-Street-seeking-monster?


3. In this writer’s mind, unlike his polar opposite, Mr. Trump, who openly threatens to take his ball and run, the only alternative for Sanders is that he may be one of the best poker players in the world who is holding a wildcard he plans to use as a third party candidate despite stating he would not do so near the beginning of his campaign. Again, one must remember, Sanders is NOT a Democrat. He, himself, has admitted that he ran in the Democratic party to obtain votes and money. He constantly belittles the Democrat’s front runner. …AND… Sanders NEVER imagined his candidacy would perform as well as it has done. He said so himself!


4.  Also remember, Sanders has not definitively said when or if he will begin to financially assist the DNC or that he would ever endorse Hillary Clinton's run if she emerges the victorious Democratic nominee. What he has done is made a list of demands, three of which, if Hillary agreed, would force her to flip on some of the policy positions she currently holds. And now, after his failure to provide an answer about challenging Hillary at the convention, one can only deduce that the possibility is on his mind…..

Just saying……..