The Primary Season is coming to a close, and as the remaining delegates are assigned over the next 2 months the national conversation has switched from "when will Hillary win the Democratic nomination?" to "can Bernie catch Hillary and win the Democratic nomination?"
As a Sanders supporter myself, it is a good sign that people in the mainstream news are talking about him, because they usually don't talk about Sanders at all: in fact, they would rather air an empty podium where Donald Trump might speak, than air a Bernie Sanders victory speech (this specific instance was the evening of March 1, Super Tuesday; when Sanders was in Colorado speaking to a crowded stadium of supporters and CNN had a live feed, at the bottom right of the screen, of a podium where Donald Trump was going to speak in about an hour).
However, Hillary Clinton's campaign's attacks on Sanders have gotten more and more ludicrous by the day. From crying sexist at his interruption of her at the Democratic Debate in Flint, Michigan, to telling him to "tone down" and "change his tone" in recent months, it seems to me that the Clinton campaign is reaching to find criticisms of Sanders and will take anything they can get, all in order to change the conversation away from Sanders' legitimate critiques of Secretary Clinton.
Let's face it, the nuances of Hillary Clinton's tax and policy program is not a selling headline, but one of the most liberal Senators in the US being called sexist gets people attention and makes sure that Bernie Sanders has to defend himself all along the campaign trail, instead of staying on his message.
As I said earlier I am a Bernie Sanders supporter, and when I talk to people and they say they support Clinton I have to ask them why, because I am genuinely curious and invite that kind of political discussion. The problem is, the main criticism I hear of Bernie Sanders from Clinton supporters and Clinton campaign officials is that he is now running a negative campaign when he said he wouldn't do that when he announced his candidacy; essentially, he broke his promise.
After looking at his speeches, debates, and interviews in recent months, it is clear that all Sanders has done is highlight Secretary Clinton's questionable record: she voted for the bankruptcy bill and trade deals (possibly because of large campaign donations from Wall Street lobbyists and investors to her Senate campaign), she is not against fracking, she hasn't lead the charge in many progressive fields, like LGBT rights (until 2013 when she publicly endorsed the movement), her experience in foreign policy caused her to vote for the war in the middle east, and her use of racially charged words (Super predators) around her endorsement of the Crime Bill in the 90's are all questionable if not reprehensible marks on her record. If Secretary Clinton thinks these criticisms of Sanders are unfair, then I would hate to see what she will think of the actual sexism and hate speech from the likes of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz if she runs against them in the general election.
Those criticisms aside, Hillary Clinton also isn't a good general election candidate. According to polling, she is within the margin of error (3 points) or losing to both Ted Cruz and John Kasich (Kasich beats her by an average of 7.8 points), to be fair, she does beat Trump by an average of 9.3 points. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, beats Trump, Cruz, and Kasich by 15.2, 11.2, and 4 points, respectively. This polling shows that she doesn't win independents and she won't sway Republicans (who have hated her since the 90's, whether justly or unjustly).
There are other problems too: she could get indicted over her email scandal, and she doesn't have an inspiring, policy-based message. Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama (who won against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primary of 2008) both have messages that are more liberal than hers and inspire people, specifically young voters (18-24-year-olds). Hillary Clinton runs on a campaign of empty speech like "breaking down barriers" and incremental or minimal change; which means that if you like how things are now, then it could get a little bit better. That is not a platform that is inspiring; especially for the younger generation who feels like there is corruption in government and injustices to be fought.
With all that said, I do recognize that there are legitimate criticisms for Bernie Sanders as a president as well. His plans will meet significant obstruction in a Republican-controlled Congress, but Clinton's plans - as conservative as they are, comparatively - would be met with just as much obstruction, and he isn't as strong on gun control measures or experienced in foreign policy decisions as Clinton claims to be. But those criticisms, for me, are far outweighed by the best-case scenario of a Bernie Sanders presidency; whereas the negatives far outweigh the best-case scenario of a Clinton presidency.
The Clinton .v. Sanders race is far from over, with 1,470 pledged delegates still remaining it would be more than possible for California to decide this race, with its massive 475 delegates to give, on June 7th. Sander's gap is 275 delegates and he has to win the next primaries by an average of 18 points in each remaining state. So to the Sanders campaign, don't change your tone, you're gaining ground on Secretary Clinton and you could walk out of this race as the underdog who shocked the world and you can go into the general election with the power of the youth vote and high voter turnout on your side. And to the Clinton campaign, you don't deserve my vote, you have to earn it; convince the people that you are a candidate who will lead the charge for issues that they care about and directly address the legitimate criticisms that you face and don't cry sexism whenever any attack is placed against you. That will inspire the youth to come out and vote for you, and you can go into the general election with a strong, committed base behind you.
