On the 12th of July 2016, with 1,187 delegates to his name, Bernie Sanders officially endorsed fellow Democratic candidate declaring that Hillary Clinton “must be our next President,” and that “Secretary Clinton has won the Democratic nomination and I congratulate her for that.”
It was a moment in the Democratic race many thought would have come a lot sooner. It was a moment that many in the Democratic party had been demanding for a long time. It is something which Hillary Clinton has been begging for. However, Bernie took his time throughout the entire campaign. He was never going to give the nomination to Hillary before she had earned it. He was also never going to give it away for free.
Despite many in the party establishment giving him a hard time for not endorsing Hillary sooner and paving her way to the nomination with gold. Despite many of the left-wing of the party, progressives across the country and thousands of his own supporters begging for him not to yield to ‘crooked Hillary’ and the party establishment. Bernie Sanders is the seasoned professional of politics. Bernie knew that the best way to drive the Democratic party forward was to go against the establishment, and to be the voice of thousands of lost Democrats. However, Bernie also knew that the longer he remained in the race and the more support he built up, both in the polls and in the delegate count, the more power he would have.
For example, with the power he has cultivated over the last few months, Bernie has been able to not only heavily influence the Democratic platform for the coming election, but also what is currently going on in Democratic politics. Bernie has managed to get the minimum wage to $15, an education policy which many expect Hillary to pretty much steal, he has even managed to get Hillary to say that we should not cut social security but increase it. Bernie was able to win so many concessions from Hillary and the Democratic party it was definitely worth staying in the race.
However for many Bernie got out too early! Many believe that he should have stayed in all the way. He should have gone to the convention and contested it properly. But Bernie knew that he did not have the pledged delegates, he did not have the super-delegates and the last hope of Hillary being indicted came to nothing in the end.
Bernie also knows what is going on across the aisle. Bernie knows how dangerous Donald Trump is. Not in the way that Trump could win the Presidency, but in the way that he as a person is a danger to the minds and soul of America. Bernie knows that the more votes Trump wins in November the worse it will be for America. Bernie knows that the best thing he can do for the country in this election is stopping someone as unqualified and dangerous as Trump from sitting behind a desk in the Oval Office. The best way for him to do this was by standing behind Hillary. He knows that he stood a very good chance of beating Trump, he also knows Hillary had not been doing as well as himself in the polls against Trump. Most importantly Bernie knows a united Bernie and Hillary Democratic party could mark the greatest success for the Democrats over the Republicans for years past and to come.
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