On April 8, Bernie Sanders dropped out of the democratic primary, handing the nomination to Joe Biden, or did he? Sanders said he was suspending his campaign but for some reason decided to keep his name on the ballot for all future primaries. One of those primaries was in New York but the state removed Bernie’s name from the ballot. After Bernie’s camp complained, NY cancelled the primary altogether. Now Bernie is calling this an outrage and a threat to democracy. Is it just me or is Bernie still running for president?
The Hill reports:
Lawyers for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign sent a letter to the New York State Board of Elections late Sunday asking that he remain on the Democratic primary ballot on June 23, warning that it would damage party unity if he is removed.
“Senator Sanders wishes to remain on the ballot, and is concerned that his removal from the ballot would undermine efforts to unify the Democratic Party in advance of the general election,” read the letter to the commissioner for the New York State Board of Elections.
And the reason for this letter, that included a petition signed by 60,000 New Yorkers, is because of this:
However, on April 13, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an appropriations bill that included a new provision giving the State Board of Elections discretion to remove a candidate from the ballot if they have suspended their campaign.
But the thing is, Bernie never officially suspended his campaign with the Federal Elections Commission. Plus there’s this:
“His involuntary erasure from the ballot, on grounds of a law that was not in effect when he announced his campaign’s limited suspension, would sow needless strife and distrust, impeding Senator Sanders’ efforts to unify the Democratic Party in advance of November elections,” the letter read.
Limited suspension? What the hell is that? You either quit or you didn’t quit. Obviously Bernie never quit.
In response to Bernie’s silliness the NY did this:
The State Board of Elections scrapped the state’s June 23 Democratic nominating contest, citing the risk of spreading coronavirus, in a move opposed by supporters of Bernie Sanders.
And it even came with a funny quote from NY Election Board co-chairman, Douglas A. Kellner:
“What the Sanders campaign wanted is essentially a beauty contest that, given the situation with the public health emergency, seems to be unnecessary and, indeed, frivolous,” Kellner said.
With that, Bernie’s not-so-suspended campaign went commie apeshit:
“Today’s decision by the State of New York Board of Elections is an outrage, a blow to American democracy, and must be overturned by the D.N.C. Just last week Vice President Biden warned the American people that President Trump could use the current crisis as an excuse to postpone the November election. Well, he now has a precedent thanks to New York state,” said Sanders campaign senior advisor Jeff Weaver.
Clearly Bernie Sanders is still running for president but the question is: why? My guess is that he’s figured out what everybody else has but won’t say out loud: Joe Biden is not a viable nominee. Besides Biden’s backlog of scandals and racism, there’s also the very credible sexual assault allegation against him. Also, don’t forget the insanity. There’s no way in hell the democrats are going to put Biden up against Trump with hopes of actually winning the White House.
Sometime between now and the democratic national convention, Biden will bow out citing some bullshit reason unrelated to his rapey ways and incoherence. Bernie figures if he can keep amassing delegates he’ll get the party nod by default. What Bernie hasn’t considered is that the DNC also doesn’t want a crazy elderly socialist up against Trump and Sanders too will not be the nominee.
