Why Sanders Should Now Join Hands With Hillary

Hillary Clinton crushed Bernie Sanders in the latest round of primaries, not only in their home state of New York, but also in the key eastern states of Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Sanders was only able to clinch the state of Rhode Island on Super Tuesday, but Clinton’s win in New York last week ended the Vermont Senator’s impressive winning streak since March, during which he claimed seven states in a row in pitched primary battles. New York voted for its Senator, like it did in 2008 against Barack Obama, and Clinton now maintains a lead of 800 delegates over Sanders, with the Democratic Party convention around the corner in July.

Even though Sanders has vowed to fight for the Democratic nomination “till the last vote is cast”, Clinton has more or less secured the Democratic nomination. She has emerged not only as the Democrats’ clear favourite to face off against the Republicans, but even as the people’s choice.

With Trump poised to win the Republican nomination, sweeping the last six primaries, the conundrum before the Democrats now is whether they should prepare a united front ahead of the Presidential election in November, or let the bitter battle for nomination continue.

The odds are stacked against Sanders, even as he continues to push his popular pitch for ‘political revolution’. On paper, Sanders is the perfect Democrat poster boy, championing the party’s decades-long liberal politics – not tied by the strings of lobby groups and corporate interests.

Clinton may not have a stellar record as a Democrat leader, with her flip-flops on the Iraq war, same sex rights and a subdued campaign pitch on strengthening the welfare state, but she has proven herself to be a political heavyweight. She has leveraged her public image and clout over Democrat voters effectively, nurtured over a long career during which she has been First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State. Clinton’s primary wins and delegate count show that she is a lightning rod for the eclectic Democrat voter base, and has emerged as the party’s best candidate to retain control of the White House.

There’s no doubt that Sanders continues to hold sway over a major section of Democrat voters. However, with Trump poised to win the Republican nomination, it may be pragmatic for Sanders to step back from a divisive campaign, and cut the media jibes and attack ads in the run-up to the July convention.

Considering the tally of delegates, Sanders must realise that he has more to offer the Democratic Party and its social justice agenda by backing Hillary Clinton’s nomination for the Presidential ticket. By supporting Clinton, Sanders will in no way be waving the white flag, given that he has had a major influence on the overall Democrat campaign.

Sanders has stressed the need to tackle income inequality and highlighted plans for immigration, banking and education reform, thereby stirring Democrat voters across the United States. The campaign established him as a strong contender for the nomination, and even pushed Hillary Clinton to realign her narrative to reap the popularity of his social justice message. Even though he is miles behind in the race, Sanders has acted as a bridge between the Clinton campaign and Democrat voters, calibrating the party’s message to match the sentiments of voters and underline issues at the heart of its support base.

Sanders should now consider serving the Democratic Party as Clinton’s Vice Presidential candidate. This campaign has so far shown Sanders to be a force of truth and reason for Clinton, keeping her true to the Democratic Party’s ideals. He should move to formalise that arrangement and end the friction between the two campaigns, to deter voter fatigue and division in the Democrat ranks.

The results of the primaries have clearly established that it is time for the Democrats to unite before the people of the United States, and become a more powerful ideological counter to the Trump-led Republicans for what is set to be a no-holds-barred Presidential race.