Senator Bernie Sanders has been a contentious figure in this presidential election. While he has always pushed for progressive social and economic policies, from his time as mayor of Burlington Vermont to his time in the Senate to the campaign trail, many Democrats did not take kindly to this relatively unknown legislator causing a ruckus and challenging party unity. Sanders' followers steadfastly supported him throughout the process--some, like the "Bernie Bros", in excess. However, he has become a bit of a contentious figure among his own supporters after his loss in the California primary back in June. While Sanders did not immediately endorse Secretary Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of that primary, he asserted that his primary goal would be to prevent Donald Trump from gaining the presidency.
Sanders' rhetoric revolved around addressing socioeconomic inequalities and dismantling systems that led to their creation and perpetuation. He did particularly well with Millennials because he directly addressed issues that plague that specific age group--crippling student debt and deeply limited economic mobility. Too often, Millennials are criticized for not following in the economic patterns of previous generations: they are not home-buyers, they do not purchase cars, they have even been criticized for reducing the total number of breakfast cereal sales in the U.S. Sanders, however, was one of the first high-profile candidates to speak directly to the issues that many young people face, and to validate and acknowledge their concerns. It should be noted, however, that Sanders' voters were not solely Millennials: he also appealed to white, working class individuals and a multitude of wealthy, high-profile celebrities.
Many of his most extreme supporters feel as though by choosing to endorse Clinton, Sanders is contradicting much of his own platform, which was the foundation of his political appeal. Clinton is viewed as deceptive, sneaky, neoconservative, warhawkish, and all around dangerous by her most steadfast critics. She has been criticized for pandering to large banks and corporations, for her history of working for Walmart and for her comments criminalizing black men in the 1990s; Clinton is not the progressive champion supporter Bernie supporters believe they are looking for. By backing her, Bernie's most extreme supporters believe he is throwing away everything that they as a collective have been working towards. The email scandal involving the DNC only solidified for his supporters what Sanders had been saying all along: that the system was rigged to keep outsiders from gaining too much power.
The truth of the situation, however, is that Sanders' and Clinton's respective platforms are much more similar than many Bernie or Bust supporters seem to understand. While there are areas in Clinton's record that can, and should, be criticized, she has adopted much more progressive views on a multitude of issues, many of which were adopted from Sanders' own platform. Clinton has been the target of a thirty-year smear campaign led by conservative factions, leading to the circulation of rumors and lies about her that are far from true. While the DNC emails do prove that prominent individuals from within the party did not care for Sanders, there is no evidence in the slightest to support that they, in any way, sabotaged Sanders' campaign.
It must be said that Sanders was never running to win, but to push for a more progressive platform on the side of the Democrats. By backing Clinton, Sanders is acknowledging that she is the candidate who will actually work towards the progressive change he and his supporters want; he has repeatedly denounced Trump and called for his supporters to vote for Clinton because it is the pathway he sees towards a more equitable future. He is not a "sell out", he is pragmatic and knows how the game works. To fault him for not running as a third party candidate or throwing his support behind Trump is foolish; Bernie or Bust supporters must accept that the political climate they inhabit cannot be easily changed, and it is best to have someone who will grow, learn, and support progressive ideology in power than someone whose attitudes and ideas are both impractical and wholly unconstitutional.
