Sanders’ supporters, U.S. democracy

Sanders could siphon votes

Re “Sanders’ backers aim for long shot” (Insight, Nov. 3): While one can’t help but admire their continuing commitment to their candidate, it’s hard not to wonder what alternate reality some of the folks who still fantasize about a path to the White House for Bernie Sanders occupy.

Given the extreme polarization in the current political arena, the House of Representatives’ Republican majority and that majority’s apparent depth of antipathy to anything related to the Democratic Party, it seems a fantasy to hope that the majority would choose Sanders over their party’s nominee in the event that no candidate received the minimum 270 Electoral College votes.

Far more likely would be a Sanders write-in campaign siphoning off enough Democratic votes to throw some swing-state races into recount territory, resulting in a situation similar to the 2000 Bush/Gore/Nader debacle. The additional wild card in that scenario is an evenly divided Supreme Court with no seventh tie-breaking vote. It could get ugly.

Bernie’s brigade in fantasy land

Here we go again. Although much credit has been lavished upon Donald Trump for claiming rigged election results, it was Bernie’s Brigade who began this insidious path. Remember after the California primary in June? Sanders didn’t concede, stating that the mail-in ballots would turn the tide. When it became apparent that wasn’t to be, his surrogates began the wail calls of tampering. Now it seems these same folks are forgetting who has the majority in the House of Representatives. They have rationalized a fantasy beyond comprehension. Can anyone truly believe that the Republican-controlled body could ever in any way or fashion bring itself to bring Sanders to the Oval Office?

What women want

Re “What do men want when they bash Clinton?” (Insight, Nov. 3): As a female I feel under attack this election cycle. We have a misogynist running for president supported by white males who’ve never gotten over the fact that a black man was elected to the White House. Donald Trump demeans women with his vile description of us as the sum of our body parts. He and his followers seek to keep us in our place. This also applies to lacks, Hispanics, Muslims, the disabled and any group that can be defined as “other”. Read Shawn Hubler’s insightful article and encourage every woman and man you know to reject the vitriol and cast a vote for a female-empowered future.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Sanders’ supporters, U.S. democracy."