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‘Bernie Or Bust’: Bernie Sanders’ Supporters Won’t Back Hillary Clinton In Effort To Unite The Democratic Party, Won’t Vote For Donald Trump Either

By Shaunee Flowers
Published on: 06:28 PST, May 26, 2016

“Bernie or Bust” voters have made it clear that they will not support Hillary Clinton even in the event that she receives the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election. Many die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters have also made it clear that they won’t be voting for Donald Trump either. Many voters plan to ignore the two-party politics that has plagued U.S. elections in the past and continue to vote for Bernie Sanders even if he does not receive the Democratic nomination.

The “Bernie or Bust” movement is growing according to The Observer. They claim that many Democratic leaders are underestimating the power and the resolve of Bernie Sanders’ supporters. Despite many calls to unify the Democratic party, those who back Sanders are becoming more and more resistant to the growing pressure to get behind Hillary Clinton. The problem is, many who have chosen to support Bernie Sanders would never vote for Hillary Clinton under any circumstances and fear her winning the presidency just as much, if not more, than if Donald Trump were to win.

Bernie Sanders’ supporters comprise a demographic of Democrat and Independent voters that normally would sway toward the Democratic ticket no matter who was nominated in the general election. This time around, there is such a huge divide because many of the “Bernie or Bust” group feel like their voice is being silenced and Hillary Clinton is being favored as the nominee without the backing of a majority of the people.

The overwhelming number of complaints regarding election fraud and voter suppression certainly doesn’t help the cause of the Democratic party, who continues to ignore the cheating allegations and has yet to investigate any of these claims. As a matter of fact, when tensions came to a head during the Nevada Democratic Convention, Barbara Boxer told Bernie Sanders’ supporters that they had already lost the election when they demanded a recount. Boxer said, “I’m for all of us. Keep on booing and boo yourselves out of this election.”

As delegates demanded a recount and were denied, Boxer blew kisses at the upset crowd and told them that if they are booing her, they are booing Bernie Sanders. It was only after the fact that Barbara Boxer claimed she was in fear for her safety but everything was caught on tape, which has led to heavy criticism of her claims of being afraid.

After the Nevada Democratic Convention, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee demanded that Bernie Sanders apologize for the actions of his supporters despite the fact that she is supposed to remain neutral in the Democratic primary. Now, Wasserman Schultz has found herself in danger of losing her job as the Democrats try to figure out how to reunite the Democratic party. Bernie Sanders showed his dissatisfaction with complaints lodged by the DNC and Wasserman Schultz by endorsing her rival, Tim Canova. Democrats took note when donations came pouring for Canova after the endorsement and his candidacy quickly became a real threat to the current DNC chair’s own seat in Congress.

As the “Bernie or Bust” movement continues to grow, many seem confused about what the group stands for. Those who have pledged their vote continue to refuse to unite behind the Democrats and vote for Hillary Clinton. Despite what many DNC leaders think, that will continue to be the case. However, that does not mean that Bernie Sanders’ supporters plan to jump behind Donald Trump in the general election either. The truth of the matter is, Sanders’ supporters won’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the general election, even if those are the options that our two party system has left the U.S. to choose.

Lately, support for Hillary Clinton has continued to fall due to the FBI probe into her email server scandal. Clinton has lost the trust of many who have switched their support to Sanders after it was proved that she did not tell the truth about her exclusive use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. Despite Clinton’s claims that it had been done before, she is the only Secretary of State in history to have refused an official email and only used her own email server. It was also proved during the investigation that Clinton did not turn over all of the emails on her server even though she claimed that she did.

What the Democrats and the Republicans in power seem to be missing is that Independent voters make up roughly 40 percent of the U.S. voting base and they are fired up to vote for Bernie Sanders. The “Bernie or Bust” movement is proving that there is room for a third party takeover in U.S. politics and it may happen as soon as the 2016 election. The harder Democrats try to unite the party behind Hillary Clinton, the harder Bernie Sanders’ supporters push back and refuse to fall in line. While that may lead to a Donald Trump presidency, this can’t be blamed on a group of people who have made it clear to the DNC and everyone else that they won’t back Clinton. With support for Sanders growing and Clinton’s popularity falling, it would behoove the leaders of the Democratic party to take note and to realize that there will be no party unity for the “Bernie or Bust” movement unless Bernie Sanders is the Democratic Nominee.

Where do you stand on “Bernie or Bust”? Do you think the Democratic party will figure out just how little support there is for Hillary Clinton before it’s too late? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]

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