With the [presumably] delicate psyches of Bernie’s youngest supporters in mind, I thought I’d share my reflections on the significance of yesterday’s primary results.

Having been a Bernie Sanders enthusiast since day one, the day he announced his candidacy, I have long been aware of the great challenges that his campaign was taking on.

I’m quite sure that Bernie didn’t entertain any hopes at that time that were any different from mine.  We both obviously hoped that he would be able to bring some national attention to the very precious issues that he emphasizes every day in his stump speeches.  

But not knowing how much MSM coverage he would get, nor how much money he’d be able to raise, expectations that he might actually be able to win the nomination were not very high.

But then an amazing thing happened.  Because his ideas began to catch on with young, internet-savvy enthusiasts, he started to see a groundswell of support, and the money that would be needed to reform the Democratic Party was starting to show up.  

Bernie could see that his message was resonating with many who were not under the influence of the insider network of Dem Party relationships.

His hopes and my hopes and the hopes of his enthusiastic supporters began to grow as things seemed to be falling into place.  There were impressive strengths that could be used in theory [assuming a fair number of breaks] to pull off the biggest achievement of them all: winning Bernie the nomination of the Dem Party.

.

Today, it must be admitted that such a possibility seems decidedly less likely.

The big Michigan win, while it did enable Bernie to greatly reduce the polling gap he faced a mere week ago, did not generate enough momentum for his campaign to overcome the efforts that were made to stop him.

That’s a problem.

It’s a problem, but it is not sufficient reason to abandon Bernie’s truly noble campaign to enlighten the public re: the issues, and to show the Dem Party establishment what large numbers of people---whom they claim to represent---are willing to do to achieve some Economic Justice for Average Americans.

Beginning today, I fully expect that many of Hillary’s ardent supporters will try to convince us that our chances of seeing Bernie win the nomination are so minimal, we really ought to just abandon all efforts to keep this man on the campaign trail.

And you know what?  If that goal---winning the nomination---was the only goal that mattered to us, then perhaps their advice would be on point.

But the truth is that Bernie Sanders supporters have always been motivated by a primary goal whose supreme importance far exceeds the significance of any particular means-to-an-end we might choose to pursue (like the nomination of the Dem Party).

You see, we can still WIN, even if Bernie ends up losing the Dem Party nomination.

.

There are two hypothetical “Bernie Loses” scenarios we need to consider:

In the first scenario, Bernie’s followers feel so dispirited from yesterday’s losses, they simply give up on his campaign, stop sending him money, and go home and cry and gnash their teeth at the bastards who cheated them out of a future to believe in.

In the second scenario, Bernie loses the nomination to Hillary Clinton, but only loses it by a fairly narrow margin.  What if, for example, he were to lose the first round of delegate voting at the Convention by a margin of say 48%-52%?  What kind of statement would that make to the Party Establishment?

Knowing that roughly half of the Democratic Party is leaning on them with serious intent would seriously scare the shit out of them, and that would provide me with so much satisfaction.  What an  auspicious start for our noble revolution!

No more condescension.  And copious amounts of ass-kissing.  If you want satisfaction from this first crusade for Bernie’s revolution, even if it fails to take the big prize in the first year of its existence, this is the way to do it.  Make it so close that they are filled with anxiety about us.

What sort of pressure do you think a close contest would ultimately put on them to try to convince us to support their favorite candidate?  Bernie Sanders and his supporters would be the focus of attention, and in a position to spread our message a little bit further.

Just watching them scramble to try to win us over would be well worth the effort.

.

First Place is always a desirable goal, but considering where we started from, a very strong second place finish would be a major, major victory for us and for our movement. 

Our basic educational goal will not suddenly become a futile waste of time if it turns out that our first attempt to breach the walls of the citadel comes up a bit short.  We’re learning a lot about the details of the challenge and we will be making adjustments.

How might we best achieve our goal of educating those who have been blinded to the truth?  I think the answer is quite clear: continue to give Bernie Sanders a stage from which he can speak truth to power.  

It might even get easier for us since, once Clinton’s people feel confident of victory, they will feel increasingly pressured by logic to try to make peace with us.  Not pissing us off would be a good way to start.

Bernie Sanders may not be the entire movement, but he has been the most articulate voice for economic justice we’ve seen in several generations.  He is the most precious force for good that many of us old-timers have ever seen.

The longer he is out there competing for the Democratic nomination, the longer we will hear him speaking up for us, speaking the truth in a world full of lies, and continually expanding our numbers and our influence on the political map.

So now, we’ve been saying all along that Bernie’s best states are ahead of him.  How about we just go ahead and show them how right we were?

My cash contributions will continue.  Today, it’s another $50.00 to the Bernie Sanders Campaign.