Is Bernie Sanders an Unwitting Shill for Donald Trump?

Is Bernie Sanderes an Unwitting Shill for Donald Trump?

In 30 years of civil rights activism, during which time some folks lost their lives and organizations were built on the blood, sweat, pain and tears of thousands, the faded photo of a white guy turns up. His supporters use that one scrap of photo paper "to prove" the man's lifelong commitment to the black struggle. A cantankerous, old anti-Obama black intellectual, a black columnist and fledgling rap singer begin campaigning for this fellow, and newspaper headlines tout this as evidence that Bernie Sanders' is about to snatch the black vote from Hillary Clinton. I wouldn't much care, as the self-described democratic socialist is a likeable enough and well-meaning politician. But who will his supporters blame, when his presidential ambitions crumble under the weight of black voters' stinging rebuke in the upcoming Southern primaries?

And here's where Donald Trump takes a stage bow. A growing number of Bernie Sanders' supporters infer that they would rather help put Trump into the White House, than vote for "that corrupt, sleazeball", Hillary Clinton. Even if they haven't made such a public admission, the passive-aggressive inference they have made, is just as unsettling -- "Bernie's way or the highway". However, in my view, a 74 year old, socialist, atheist is not going to win the presidency. What Bernie's idealistic supporters don't yet get is the fact that the GOP is treating him with kid gloves, in hopes that he will indeed win the Democratic nomination. And then they will shred him into confetti.  A compelling piece came out in a recent addition of the Daily Banter, entitled: Bernie Sanders Isn't Going to be President -- The numbers say so, the history of the American electorate says so, and Nate Silver says so".  It noted:

Bernie would need to win in states where he doesn't stand a chance, like South Carolina and frankly a good portion of the rest of the South. He would need to not only capitalize on his oft-touted hold on the youth vote -- a demographic that quite simply has proven itself to be nowhere near as valuable in terms of mobilizing as older voters, unfortunately -- and his rabid social media following would have to translate into actual numbers. And Facebook and Twitter have a way of making volume (as in sound) be easily confusable with volume (as in size). . . . 

The fact is that in a survey released back in June, a candidate who calls him or herself a socialist would be least appealing to voters, behind even a Muslim, a gay person or an avowed atheist. And again, you're crazy if you think slapping "democratic" in front of the word "socialist" is going to somehow soften the blow with voters. Good or bad, misguided or not, America is a country of capitalists -- and a candidate calling himself a socialist doesn't stand a chance in hell.

  As divisive a candidate as Donald Trump may be for the GOP, there is but one scenario that could ensure him the White House. That would, of course, be Bernie Sanders' Democratic nomination for the presidency.