Bernie’s supporters are not attempting to run against Clinton again. They are simply acknowledging her as the face of neoliberalism and third-way politics that she is the latest representative for. To claim that her hold on the DNC no longer exists is a denial of reality and it is a valid complaint for any politician who opposes the ideology, but especially for Bernie as the target of ongoing manipulations that include media pundits and polling functions that fell in line with her campaign in ‘16.
When Bernie’s supporters sued the DNC for those manipulations it didn’t even attempt to deny the obvious but instead claimed the right to use whatever means necessary to secure victory by its choice of candidates. The fact that the court sided with that claim, defining the DNC as a “corporate entity” that isn’t subject to election laws in its primary only heightened the wariness of those supporters for future manipulation, and they weren’t put at ease by any action taken by the party leadership.
Trump is a lousy President, but he was a brilliant campaigner. He used the more than obvious corporate media bias against Bernie to validate his claims of a “corrupt media” that was a centerpoint to his campaign. Not having a record to defend and being a liar by nature, he was able to run to the left of Hillary’s record on every major issue except immigration. This positioning was what caused her defeat in key rust belt states, not an imagined mass move toward racism and national protectionism that his actions in office might suggest.
President Trump will not have the same advantage that candidate Trump had and the populace anger that he channeled is still very much alive and well. He will not be able to position himself similarly against Bernie without declaring to be a self-avowed Marxist. However, defeating him won’t be the cakewalk the DNC imagines, as its corporate-funded third-way favorites will have to avoid most issues that appeal to that populace anger out of deference to their donors.
Bernie can’t point out the continuing efforts of the media and DNC to undermine his campaign, but his supporters can, and should. Hillary is not running, yet, but she is the icon for the ongoing corruption that is becoming a mainstay of Democratic politics, so it is justified that his supporters evoke her image in their complaints. One of the two major parties could be sent into the woods for decades in the upcoming election, but only the DNC has the ability to choose which.
