Bernie unleashed

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After a brutal Democraric Primary, Bernie Sanders finally conceded to Hillary Clinton right before the DNC. But there were still plenty of sore feelings and recriminations. The Bernie faction despised everything Hillary stood for and vowed never to vote for her even after Bernie endorsed her. He finally did unequivocally endorsed her at his speech in the DNC.

But let us suppose he had more nefarious purpose or maybe even had a bout of sanity and realized that Hillary and Trump were peas of the same pod, only one is much worst of the same corrupt lobby that he stood against. Let us suppose that he had given Hillary's team an advance copy of the speech he planned to give.

But instead of giving that speech calling for party unity (which is kind of specious since he is not a Democrat) and endorsing Hillary, he decides that only he could halt the rampant corruption of the political system and the complete Corporate takeover of the democratic system itself. He instead gives a fiery oratory along the lines of a William Jennings Bryan and denounces the malfeasance of both political parties and declares before tens of millions of Americans watching that he plans to run as a third party candidate.

First what would be the reaction of the Hillary team in the moment? Do they cut off his mike? Drag him off the stage kicking and screaming? If they feel that is too much a display and Bernie is able to deliver his speech in full, how successful would his campaign have been given that he had just thumbed his nose at both parties and in a way at the entire political establishment that is so hated by the majority of the American people?

Trump was able to win over huge swaths of white working class voters by denouncing privatization, free trade and economic disparity. The very ideas Bernie had espoused for his entire political life. With a more authentic messenger for the working class, does his candidacy affect Trump or Hillary more? And finally is there any way he wins the election as a third party candidate given the long odds against him?
 
So you're asking "what if Bernie loudly and publicly voiced the anti-Hilary sentiment that a segment of his supporters held". First, to get it out of the way I would say that in reality Sanders' actions were entirely normal for a primary campaign and the post election numbers show that he did not cost Clinton the election.

After that though I think he's done politically. A speech like that would be both impolite, impolitic, and would instantly make enemies of the entire Democratic establishment (and in honestly probably much the the GOP as well since that's not how the game is played). The biggest difference between Sanders and Bryan is that the level of populism in the country today is nowhere near where it was a century ago. He might run as an independent but honestly I don't see any way that Sanders gets elected outside of the Party. At very best he's going to get a one or two electoral votes. This speech turns him into a folk hero but probably cost him his career. And he's definitely going to be labeled a sore loser. A lot of people are going to accuse him of sabotaging Clinton and this time they might be right.

Both Clinton's nomination and the Democratic primaries in the past week have shown that as loud as some Sanders supporters were the majority of Dem voters are fairly comfortable in the Party apparatus and the establishment.

What this might do though is cost Clinton the popular vote. I don't think anybody is going to be switching sides but it might push Dem turnout down a few percentage points, especially in swing states.
 
You don't think he at least matches if not exceeds Perot's performance in 92'? Remember he is running against the most hated presidential candidate in American history and the most detestable sleazeball to ever run for office. It's not exactly a Dream Team he's going up against.
 
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