The Democratic establishment would rather cede the White House to a Republican than allow Bernie Sanders to become President.
That hypothesis may seem like a far-fetched statement. It's hard to believe, or even conceive that the party would pass up the chance to keep a Democrat in the White House. Why would they even?
Because they'd rather live to fight another day.
If Bernie is able to make good on his promises, to legislate an end to Citizens United and end the stranglehold that big money has on our government, the whole house of cards will come tumbling down. Every congresscritter who has chosen to support policies that favor Wall Street and the Corporatocracy over the needs of constituents will suddenly find themselves on thin ice. The war machine that is responsible for so much graft and pork will see an era where decisions are made on the basis of need - that is, what the military needs, not the needs of the congressmen trying to keep money flowing to their districts. Big Pharma, private prisons, and a law enforcement / court system that thrives on prosecuting small time offenses will be decimated by the legalization of marijuana.
To say that there is a whole lot at stake is an understatement. There would be a systemic upheaval that would rescind power from authority. To many people, four or eight years of Republican control would be preferable to the destruction of the entire system.
The use of Super Delegates to take the nomination away from the winner of primary delegates would be unprecedented, and enormously destructive to the party. Millennials who support Sanders are already jaded and cynical. To see the party blatantly deciding the nomination would alienate them even further, probably to the point of non-participation. In other words, the super delegate route is a surefire recipe for losing the election in November. If this strategy were to be employed, the hypothesis that begins this article would be confirmed, and laid bare. The Democratic party would splinter, and perhaps never recover.
But the same thing could be accomplished with a Bloomberg candidacy. There is no way that Bloomberg, running as an Independent, could win 270 electoral votes. But there's a chance he could take enough electors away from Sanders or the Republican to force the issue to go to the US House of Representatives, as per the 12th Amendment, where they would surely vote for the Republican.
Bloomberg said he would not run if Hillary was the Democratic nominee. Depending on the Republican nominee, he may or may not run if the Democrat is Bernie, but he left the door open. Without coming out and saying it, he has indicated that he will run if the Democrats nominate Bernie. This would have the exact same effect as the super delegates route - it would guarantee the Republican wins. Even someone as odious as Trump. So while Bloomberg may sound critical of Trump, his candidacy would actually enable him.
What will happen if Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic primary? I believe it's almost certain that he will get the party's nomination. But then I predict a strange thing will happen - prominent Democrats will get behind Bloomberg. How far up the ladder it goes will be very telling. Will the DNC support Bernie in November?