Sanders supporters are visibly upset about the situation and have amassed at a number of fronts to deal with it. They have filed complaints with the New York Attorney General. They have file a lawsuit claiming widespread voter suppression on election day. They are filing provisional ballots in the hopes that they will soon be counted.
Some Clinton supporters have added insult to injury by mocking Sanders supporters. USUncut has covered the story in some depth and have provided some examples of this behavior, which is probably the tip of the iceberg. The examples they use show that some Clinton supporters have framed the complaints of Sanders supporters in the following ways:
- "You haven't voted for years and suddenly, you're interested in voting for Sanders?"
- "Your claims are nothing but a conspiracy theory. There is no conspiracy, so deal with it."
- "You're an independent voter and wanted to vote for Sanders, so you registered as Democrat. Welcome to the party. We've been waiting for you."
As noted by USUncut, the troubles at the New York polls result from arcane rules for voter registration that also have put New York at the bottom of the nation for voter turnout. Clinton supporters should take note: the rules that make it easier for Clinton to win will also make it easier for Republicans to win.
Hundreds of thousands of voters have been purged from the voter rolls in New York, with 126,000 removed from the borough of Brooklyn alone. All of the people who were purged will have to register again if they want to vote. What are the odds they will show up in November for Hilary Clinton? I'd say that they're rather low at this point. That could help the Republican candidate come November.
So let's take a review of recent history. A few weeks ago, CNN reported the following campaign strategy regarding Sanders:
"Disqualify him, defeat him, and unify the party later."
With behavior like the examples above, uniting the party will be a cinch, won't it? You may be able to unite the party, but those independent voters who joined the party to vote for Sanders? How do you think they feel? The following meme might be an indicator:
Clinton supporters may mock Sanders supporters now, but the independent voters who came to the party to vote for Bernie Sanders will not stand for it. They make up 43% of the voters nationwide, they don't poll well with Clinton and she knows it.
If you want the Sanders supporters to show up in November and vote Democrat up and down the ballot, you might want to nominate Sanders at the Democratic Convention in July. That's probably your best shot at preventing a Republican White House.
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