Who Won The Debate? Sanders’ Supporters

Wondering who won the debate? Sanders’ supporters made their presence known during the democratic debate last night, loudly displaying their distaste for Hillary Clinton.

Few things say, “You are not going to get our vote” more firmly than booing during a debate, as the Sanders’ supporters did to Clinton early on during the CNN-hosted showdown.

As if to seal the deal of mutual dislike with Bernie’s believers, Clinton mocked Sanders for not getting to a copy machine soon enough to release his tax returns.

Her copy machine quip came amid her refusal to release transcripts of the secret, high-dollar speeches she gave to wealthy Wall Street organizations such as Goldman Sachs.

Sanders’ supporters cheered on the repeated questions to Clinton about why she will not release those transcripts.

They booed and heckled Clinton when she gave a confusing answer about how she supported the $15 minimum wage that Sanders’ supports, while she also stated that she supports the minimum wage being raised only to $12.

Sanders’ supporters seemed to not only be “feeling the Bern,” but expressing their frustration with Clinton.

In an awkward Clinton dig, when Sanders laughed in disagreement with Clinton, she acted as if he was actually laughing about gun accident victims, (it was clear he was not), by snarling like a stressed-out mom, “It’s not a laughing matter!”

But the distance between Hillary and Sanders’ supporters started forming long before this debate. Clinton has been increasingly losing any hope of having Sanders’ supporters come her way, even if she becomes the nominee.

Six weeks ago, The Washington Times noted, “The Democratic National Committee and Mrs. Clinton will have a hard time attracting many of Mr. Sanders’ voters.”

Oscar-winning actress and business owner Susan Sarandon expressed doubt as to whether she could vote for Clinton if Sanders does not win the nomination, as reported in The Atlantic.

The Washington Times also said that several grassroots groups have taken the “Bernie or Bust” stance – which means several things to different people in the event of a Clinton nomination, such as not voting at all or writing in Bernie Sanders. But it means one thing to all of them – never voting for Clinton.

And generally speaking, CBS recently published polls that Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 55 percent of Americans, which is far worse than Americans’ opinion of Sanders.

“Voters are more likely to have a positive opinion of Clinton’s primary rival, Bernie Sanders, with only 38 percent saying they would definitely not vote for the Vermont senator.”

Social media tells the story more directly, with several people colorfully declaring that they will never vote for Hillary Clinton.

This stance is particularly popular among voters who identify as independent.

I and 50% of the voters which are independent will never vote for Hillary Clinton
Support Bernie Sanders today pic.twitter.com/xHwXoOnLSj

— Chad Smith (@ChadChadsurfing) April 3, 2016

And several people go beyond party affiliation and simply align with Bernie Sanders.

But I am #BernieOrBust and I will NEVER vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton#NeverHillary #DemDebate #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/wplsGjcVh6

— 40 Acres and 40 BTC ?? (@rustyhues) April 15, 2016

In the debate, Clinton certainly did not extend an olive branch to Bernie believers when she made remarks such as, “I happen to support Democrats,” suggesting that Sanders does not.

This growing chasm between Clinton and Sanders on the debate stage is mirrored in the difference between their donation sources and amounts.

The New York Times shows that extremely wealthy billionaires have given millions to Clinton, including Farris Wilks, co-founder of Frac Tech, a hydraulic fracturing and oil-field services company. Wilks and his wife Jo Ann each donated to Hillary, totaling $10.1 million.

Almost none of those kinds of huge donations from extremely wealthy people with corporate interests have been given to Sanders.

Despite his funds coming from everyday Americans who famously give an average of only $27 per donation, Bernie Sanders has broken donation records, according to Time.

While Sanders’ supporters may not be super wealthy, they are super passionate. Individual Sanders’ supporters seemed to scream out words and phrases such as “Yeah!” more than Clinton fans in the debate dubbed the “Brooklyn Brawl” by CNN.

Clinton supporters cheered and clapped loudly as well, for sure, even sometimes booing Sanders. But Bernie’s supporters weren’t just feeling the Bern, they were screaming it.

The pundits will argue over who won the debate, but Sanders’ supporters ended the evening with a swell of love for Bernie – and a final dose of disdain for Clinton – by chanting, “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie…” in filibuster style, delaying Clinton’s closing statement.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]