General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Hey it's green party celebration day! They got their wish [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)The majority of the Democratic primary voters, when it came to the general election, voted for Clinton and would have voted for Bernie. That includes those who voted for Clinton in the primary. So in real life they were grinning as they voted for Clinton but would have been scowling as they voted for Bernie -- big deal. A vote is a vote. My extremely unenthusiastic vote for Clinton in November counted every bit as much as that of someone who thought she was the most qualified candidate ever.
So let's add in a couple of "minor" factors that you don't deem worthy of mention. First, Bernie probably would have done better among people who didn't vote in the Democratic primary, especially in states with closed primaries. (For example, Clinton's long identification with the Democratic Party establishment was a big plus to some people -- note the frequent DU posts denouncing Bernie as an interloper -- but it was a minus to others.) Second, the whole campaign would have been completely different. There would have been no "Lock her up" and no Comey letter (the letter that Clinton loyalists say swung the election). Instead, there would have been ads centering on the word "socialist" ad nauseam.
Those are examples of why the outcome of the hypothetical Sanders versus Trump race cannot be known with any confidence. Hell, even the actual Clinton versus Trump race wasn't known with any confidence as we went into the election, knowing everything that had happened in the campaign. (Unless, of course, it was known by you, but I note that in response to my question you did not post a link confirming your status as infallible seer.)
Memo to jurors: Please note that I did vote for Clinton. I was unenthusiastic about voting for a candidate who disagreed with me on several major issues, but it's not a ToS violation for stevenleser and me to exchange our honest opinions about what happened in 2016.