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Never Trump? Why Votes For Bernie Sanders Are More Important Than Ever.

By Amanda Gardner
Published on: 20:56 PST, May 4, 2016

Americans who “Feel the Bern” have made no secret of their love for Bernie Sanders, and the same can be said for the Donald Trump supporters who want to “Make America Great Again.” However, for the millions of voters who do not find themselves in awe of any candidate — and who detest Trump — choosing Bernie Sanders is now more important than ever.

With Ted Cruz and John Kasich both out of the Republican race, Trump is the heir apparent to the GOP throne. For non-Trump supporting Americans, the current state of affairs is deeply troubling, and questions about the future of the country abound. Can Trump win? What will happen if Trump wins? How can we stop Trump from winning?

While I cannot hope to answer the first two questions – partly because I’m not psychic and partly because I don’t want to imagine either scenario – I can offer a possible solution to the third question: vote for Bernie Sanders.

At this moment, Hillary Clinton has 1,683 pledged delegates to Bernie Sanders’ 1,362, and 2,383 are needed to secure the Democratic nomination. At this point, one could include the superdelegates in the candidates’ delegate counts, but I refuse. Until all of the country has voted, it is unfair to count the superdelegates for two reasons. First, the inclusion of superdelegate votes gives the misleading appearance of an enormous Clinton lead. Second, the superdelegates should feel obliged to support the popular vote, meaning many will hopefully switch allegiance before or during the convention.

Moving on. In the Democratic race, nine states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories have yet to vote. The remaining primaries and caucuses will award a total of 1,114 delegates. With more than 1,000 pledged delegates remaining, a Bernie Sanders victory should not be discounted — especially if non-Trump supporters unite.

Why is a Bernie Sanders victory so important to the #NeverTrump movement? Two words: Hillary Clinton. When it comes to Hillary Clinton, there is no middle ground — people either love her or hate her. Republicans who do not support Trump are simply not willing to climb onto Clinton’s bandwagon. However, they do not feel such animosity toward Bernie Sanders. Are they suspicious of Bernie’s Nordic-style socialist policies? Sure. However, to them, Bernie Sanders is less of a threat than Clinton.

Republican voters know they can moderate Bernie Sanders’ policies with the help of Congress, while Congress can do nothing to moderate the distrust they have for Clinton. The combination of the ability to moderate Sanders and the lack of trust for Clinton makes Bernie Sanders the much more viable opponent of the two. In fact, a December 2015 poll by Quinnipiac University indicated Bernie Sanders would defeat Trump by a bigger margin than Clinton in a general election.

In order for Bernie Sanders to clinch the Democratic nomination, he needs votes in all the remaining primaries and caucuses, many of which are closed. In most cases, a voter must be registered with the Democratic party in order to cast a vote. Voters in Guam will cast their ballots next on May 7, and they can register with the Democratic party on the day of the primary, so it is not too late for them to get involved.

In the lower 48, the next ballots will be cast in West Virginia on May 10. For West Virginians to cast ballots for Bernie Sanders, they must have registered as Democrats or undeclared by April 19. Voters in other areas can find information for the requirements for the remaining primaries and caucuses on Bernie Sanders’ website or by contacting their local party headquarters.

At this point in the race for the White House, many Americans find themselves once again in a situation where they are not as interested in voting for a candidate as they are in voting against a candidate. While this situation is one of the biggest problems in our political system, we will have a much bigger problem if Trump’s presidential bid is successful. If Trump wins, the United States will, at best, become the laughingstock of the world or, at worst, find itself mired in hatred, suspicion, and conflict, both at home and abroad.

Whether you are “Feeling the Bern” or just feeling lukewarm, if you want to stop Trump, voting for Bernie Sanders looks like your best bet.

[Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Images]

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