Bernie? Sanders Ain’t No Ted But Was It Enough?

Did Bernie Win Over The “Bernie Bros” To Hillary?

It was a bitter battle.

Bernie Sanders fought to the bitter end but at the end, he gave his support, although his body language suggested it was reluctant, to Hillary Clinton. That was a few weeks ago and with the Democratic party flocking to the City of Brotherly Love—things got even more dicey between the two former opponents.

Email leaks, scandals and everything in between and all eyes turned to Sanders, because there was now proof—thanks to Debbie Wasserman Shultz—that the system was indeed trying to fend off Bernie and his “Bernie Bros” from making any serious bid at the Democratic nomination.

Instead of pulling a “Ted Cruz,” it’s okay to use that as a verb now, Sanders fell in line and attempted to heal the fractured party and present the message of unity—instead of “not Hillary” it should be “never Trump.”

“Any objective observer will conclude that — based on her ideas and her leadership — Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders said in his speech.

But Sanders, ever the person to speak his mind, did address some of the issues which cropped up in the last few days. Through some veiled comments, he expressed his disappointment but still the message was clear—support Clinton and Trump is the real opponent.

“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process,” Sanders said. “I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am.”

While this is a start, Sanders and the Democratic Party will have a lot to do to mend the breach as nearly 43 percent of those who showed up in the polls voted for the Vermont Senator. the Clinton campaign along with Sanders will not only be campaigning against Donald Trump but healing a breach that widened considerably with the DNC’s emails being exposed.

But this breach has already started to heal a little bit as Sanders has come out and said the two campaigns have come to an agreement on how best to broach some of the issues they had.

“It is no secret that Hillary Clinton and I disagree on a number of issues. That is what this campaign has been about. That is what democracy is about,” Sanders said.“So I’m happy to tell you that at the Democratic Platform Committee there was a significant coming together between the two campaigns and we produced by far the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.”

Sanders then went on to discuss the real opponent Donald Trump. As expected, he took some shots at the Republican nominee. Whether it was saying that Trump doesn’t believe in science, or how the justices he will nominate will keep the controversial Citizens United ruling in play. Citizens United vs. FEC saw a 5-4 ruling which led that freedom of speech prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. Which has led to many people such as the Koch brothers, whom Sanders named in his speech, funneling large sums of money into political campaigns to affect the outcome.

“Hillary Clinton will nominate justices to the Supreme Court who are prepared to overturn Citizens United. And end the movement toward oligarchy that we are seeing in this country,” he said. “Her Supreme Court appointments will also defend a woman’s right to choose, workers’ rights, the rights of the LGBT community, the needs of minorities and immigrants and the government’s ability to protect our environment.”

While Sanders gave a good speech highlighting the platform’s policies and supporting Clinton, one wonders if it will be enough. The good news is that Sanders is fully on board and is going to do his best to get it there.

“Our job now is to see that strong Democratic platform implemented by a Democratic-controlled Senate by a Democratic House and a Hillary Clinton presidency,” Sanders said. “And I am going to do all that I can to make that happen.”