The Bernie Sanders Delusion Strategy

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Delusion is a very serious illness; it makes you see things which are not there; it makes you feel taller, stronger than others; it makes you feel better than others (isn’t that arrogance?); it makes you think you are a magician capable of bending a spoon with your mind; it makes you feel as good as Bruce Lee after your first karate lesson; it can even make you feel invincible when a single punch can knock you out unconscious. So, why does the Bernie’s campaign resort to the delusion strategy to defeat his opponent? Can it work? Will it work?

Bernie is either delusional or is having a break down; whichever it is, he needs help. He or someone in his campaign is convinced there is a path to the nomination. I am all for hope and optimism, neither one of which seems to apply in Bernie’s case. Imagine your favorite sport team is 300 point down and there is just five minutes left of the game; the most any fan could hope for in this scenario is for the losing team to reduce the loss margin. You would agree there is absolutely no strategy a coach could come up with to change the outcome of the game, would you not? I would add that not even a miracle could change it. In the Bernie’s world however, the impossible can happen, and he is just the guy to do it.

Whether you agree with the analogy or not, it resembles very closely the predicament Bernie Sanders’ campaign is in. As I so eloquently expressed in a previous article regarding this situation, “there is absolutely no math currently available to mankind which could make Sanders the nominee.” There is only one feeling which is worse than being a sore loser, it is being delusional. And everything points to the possibility that Bernie could indeed be delusional. I do not mean to sound insulting, – although I suspect I do – Bernie has done a phenomenal job forcing Hillary to address issues she would have probably ignored, offer solutions she would have not considered and open to ideas she would have bypassed.

This is no small feat for a candidate who was initially ignored, widely dismissed. Bernie has done more than just to galvanize a sector of the electorate which has been ignored or taken for granted; he challenged campaign financing; he rejected the status quo but best of all he proved that any candidate who sides with The People can get the financing needed to challenge those who still cozy up with the large pockets’ donors on Wall Street. But the time has come for Bernie to stop leading his supporters to believe there is a possibility he could overtake Hillary; there isn’t. As I stated in the aforementioned article, there is only one possible scenario under which Mr. Sanders could become the nominee by default “… a negative outcome of the impending FBI investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s use of private email server…” but as far as the primaries are concerned, anyone who still believes there is a scenario under which Bernie Sanders could become the nominee should seriously consider checking in with a doctor.

That doesn’t mean it’s over for Senator Sanders; it certainly doesn’t mean it’s over at all. There is a lot to be done from this point forward and Bernie should be the one leading the movement.

I doubt Bernie would want to see Donald Trump occupy the Oval Office simply because he has lost to Hillary. Six months ago, Bernie couldn’t dream having any influence in this election; nine months ago, Bernie vying for the Oval Office was seen as a joke but now he is influential. His name is recognized across the nation, the world even; the Pope took notice. So, Bernie could build the momentum further to help defeat Donald Trump decisively in the general elections in November; he could influence Hillary’s pick for the vice presidency; he could influence policies; he could influence Supreme Court pick. Bernie is no longer the Independent Senator from Vermont; he is now the candidate who challenged Hillary Clinton for the nomination and almost defeated her.
The social issues Senator Sanders talked about on the campaign trails would not disappear when he suspends his campaign or even when the elections are over but the difficulty (for any president) to implement policies which address those issues (and many others) would be more pronounced if both the executive and the legislative branches are not in synch; they are rarely in synch. Both Houses and the President have rarely agreed on anything, something which has caused gridlock in Washington for decades now but mostly pronounced during the Obama administration. So, Sanders’ job doesn’t stop when his campaign ends. If Senator Sanders really cares about those issues he talked so much about on the campaign trails and if he is really serious about changing the status quo in Washington, his job as a change agent begins where his presidential bid ends. Mr. Sanders would need to refocus the energy of his supporters (and his) towards making it possible for Hillary to win the White House in November but most importantly to have allies in the House and the Senate so she can do the job for which she would be elected
For his presidential bid not to have been a stunt, a selfish exercise, Sanders and his supporters should mobilize in each and every state where Senate and House Seats are up for grab in November. Here is the state of affairs in regards to the Senate; there are currently ten (10) Democrat Senators, three (3) of which have already announced their retirement, which will be challenged in November by the Republican Party; there are 24 Republican Senators, two (2) of which announced their retirement, who will be on the ballot in November for re-election. In the House, all 435 Seats are up for grab. In other words, Mr. Sanders can singlehandedly (with the help of his supporters of course) remake both Houses in Washington to attend to The People’s business. Isn’t what he has been fighting for? In fact, it is much more difficult for a president than it is for the Houses to pass legislations and implement policies. Bernie could make use of the REVOLUTION to make a difference in Washington.

Those are only a few ways Mr. Sanders can help reshape the political conversations. He began the journey with no political capital whatsoever on the national stage; during the primaries, Mr. Sanders has amassed more political capital than anyone in the history of presidential bid. Unfortunately however, he is currently spending the capital as fast; if Senator Sanders continues on that path, he would lose all political capital at the end of the primaries. He won’t even have a bargaining chip.

Although I sympathize with Mr. Sanders’ situation, his campaign has confused hope with delusion. As of this writing, a “delusion strategy” crafted by the campaign strategists seems to be the driving force behind Mr. Sanders’ campaign. However you crunch the numbers, no matter which math you use, irrespective which environment you’re in, the prospect for Bernie to become the nominee is far gone. I can say with high degree of certainty that delusion is not a winning strategy. It’s time for the Vermont Senator to fold. It’s time to unite behind the former First Lady. It’s time to work towards preventing Donald Trump from getting anywhere near the Oval Office. The #NEVERTRUMP Republican bandwagons have been emptied along the way and the wagons are now leased to the GOTRUMP team. Senator Sanders should shake up his delusion and direct the REVOLUTION energy towards dismantling the Trump’s wagons. It’s the right thing to do, and coincidentally the best way to cure delusion.

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