Why Can't Hillary Clinton Lock Up the Nomination?

[Iamaartist]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/482229/


Bernie Sanders may be on the verge of a winning streak. After defeating Hillary Clinton in the Indiana Democratic primary, the Vermont senator notched a win in West Virginia on Tuesday, and appears well-positioned for a victory in the upcoming Oregon primary.

That will allow Sanders to claim momentum. It’s also likely to help the campaign pull in a fresh flood of small-dollar donations from energized supporters. Still, none of that changes the fact that Hillary Clinton has effectively sealed off a pathway to the nomination for Sanders. To get technical, it is no longer mathematically possible for Sanders to win enough pledged delegates in the remaining primary contests to win the nomination.

On top of that, Clinton holds a commanding lead in superdelegates, a pool of influential Democrats made up of elected officials and party leaders. So why hasn’t Clinton managed to dispatch her Democratic rival?

never ending of BS hope not

[Blanks]

1. Bernie has to get 98%...

Of the remaining delegates.

I'd say she's got the nomination locked up.

[Iamaartist]

2. I agree no possible way he can .....no matter what the media says...

And only 23 percent actually believe he will win,

[Surya Gayatri]

3. Where have I met these people before? Let me see...oh, yeah, in GD-P and BSG. LOL!

At the far end of the spectrum, there are the defiant die-hards. These voters willfully reject predictions from the mainstream media and political pundits that Sanders’s path to the nomination is effectively closed off. These are supporters who devote hours to pro-Sanders message boards, and furiously take to Twitter to denounce anyone who portrays the race differently than they do.
...

These voters are armed with statistics to argue that Sanders is well-positioned in the race, but they may be engaged in wishful thinking.
...

For one thing, Sanders has not been subject to the same kinds of negative attacks as Clinton, precisely because he has not been viewed as a frontrunner. If that were to happen, his standing in polls would almost certainly drop. “It’s a phantom advantage,” Putnam said.

[Iamaartist]

6. No question in my mine she will win.....

Hillary Clinton will Lock Up the Nomination no question in my mine.but he is getting on my nerves.she shouldn't have had to go though this .....but she's tough and smart enough to deal with anything that comes her way...we cant wait to vote for her in Nov.....

[yallerdawg]

4. You never know what'll happen!

Where the hell did Barack Obama come from?

Trump???

Bernie. Some states tailor-made to a clever campaign - unrealistic, but clever.

A quarter of a billion dollars clever.

[book_worm]

5. Most recent Oregon poll has HRC leading by double digits

[Iamaartist]

7. Good I hope so his ego got to big.....everytime he wins

[caquillo]

13. Both Kentucky and Oregon are closed primaries...

So I hope that bodes well for Hillary. If anything, I hope it's a virtual tie, so it becomes a wash for Sanders. I would prefer her to win (by double digits, if possible), but I would take the former scenario than have Sanders win by large margins.

[Iamaartist]

8. And her and Bill will be at that Inaugural Ball dancing night away

[comradebillyboy]

9. She refuses to curb stomp him (like I want her to do) because

1. she doesn't need to
2. she doesn't want to alienate his supporters
3. She is trying to save money...which is why Sanders has heavily out spent her

Now Sanders is out of money and it's all over except for the whining.

[Cha]

18. And, the whining continues..

[stopbush]

10. Actually, the primaries are playing out EXACTLY the way Team Clinton imagined they would.

That's why she put so much time and resources into those early primaries with lots of delegates.

The only variable they couldn't account for was how long a loser who is losing BADLY would opt to stay in the race to assuage their ego. Not even the most-ardent Sanders opponent could have imagined they'd be fighting the Black Knight from Monty Python.

[texstad79]

11. Momentum is a sham!

Demographics are destiny. The demographics of NJ and CA portend landslides for HRC.

[BootinUp]

12. She was on fire in NJ today

saw a bit of her rally on MSNBC.

[MSMITH33156]

14. The article is actually pretty good

but the title is a bogus false premise. She can't make Bernie Sanders drop out and he certainly should not drop out unless he wants to.

The Democratic Party system, especially with California going near last, makes it VERY difficult to clinch the nomination mathematically until most or all of the states have voted. It also makes it very difficult to actually change the race. So it lands in this vortex where it's difficult for either candidate to boost their delegate totally significantly, meaning we already know the results aren't going to change, but that the person who won can't put it away mathematically.

Which comes down to Bernie conceding, or not. He chose to go through the last states, which is fine. It's not a reflection on her that he did that. The story is pointless.

On the Republican side, if Texas hadn't voted yet, and Cruz hadn't dropped out, they'd be writing the same story about Trump (who also mathematically hasn't clinched yet. His opponents just quit).

It's a canard and mildly sexist, because I've seen repeatedly the leap from Nomination isn't clinched -> Why can't Hillary close the deal -> Hillary is weak...all of which is nonsense that would not be ascribed to a male candidate who had won by more than double digits nationally. It's really comical.

[skylucy]

15. Love that cartoon!

[Iamaartist]

19. Cartoon fits LOL

[Walk away]

16. The cartoon says it all. He just won't go away!

[Iamaartist]

20. Yep the cartoon says it all ...LOL

[NYC Liberal]

17. I'll say it: misogyny. At least in part.

Hillary, as a woman, has to prove herself doubly to get the same recognition as a man would. That's what is happening here.

If Hillary were a man, I don't think there would be any question. Sanders has no mathematical way to win the nomination. (Yeah, yeah, if he wins 98% or whatever of the remaining delegates...blah, blah, blah...it's not going to happen.)

She should be recognized as the presumptive nominee. But the media still treats Sanders like he's got just as much of a chance as she does. After WV, where he netted a whole 18 delegates, I saw breathless headlines about his "momentum" and "big win". WTF? He's down 3m votes, 300 pledged delegates, even more in total delegates, and has NO WAY TO WIN THE NOMINATION.

[Iamaartist]

21. Thank-you great statement......

[charlyvi]

22. Because Bernie Sanders refuses to admit he is defeated.

In 2008, Hillary stayed in past the California primary; she received more popular votes than Obama during the primary season. She was also closer to Obama in pledged delegates then than Bernie has been to her since Super Tuesday. She was a stronger candidate in 'o8 than Bernie is now by every measure. Yet, I do not recall ANYONE asking why Obama couldn't close the deal. Funny that.