Bernie Sanders Is Lagging Behind As Convention Looms, #BernieLostMe Is Born

It’s getting more and more apparent that, barring a miracle, Bernie Sanders simply cannot win the Democratic presidential nomination. The delegate math has become well nigh impossible. As Salon reports, this it terrible news for Bernie Sanders’ die-hard supporters, many of whom feel as though they’ve been cheated and even defrauded by the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton. After a narrow (but crushing) defeat in Kentucky and terrible behavior by Bernie Sanders supporters at the Nevada Democratic Convention, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Sanders’ continued participation in the Democratic Primary isn’t helping him to get any closer to the White House, but rather it’s fracturing the Democratic Party at a time when unity against Donald Trump is paramount.

NEW: Nevada Democratic Party lodges formal complaint against Sanders supporters after contentious state convention. pic.twitter.com/A8280IFIas

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 17, 2016

Incidents at political events that have pitted Democrats against fellow Democrats, and Bernie Sanders is refusing to bow out of a seemingly unwinnable presidential primary. It’s possible that Sanders is even dividing the party enough that a President Trump could emerge from the November general election. As a result, people are turning to social media to call the Vermont Senator out. #BernieLostMe has popped up on Twitter, and the hashtag has inspired the constituency to tell Bernie Sanders just when their support for his campaign had faltered and why.

#BernieLostMe when he ran against the Democratic Party rather than Republicans.

— John Hergt (@natureofthings7) May 18, 2016

#BernieLostMe when he dismissed the black voters supporting Clinton as low information pic.twitter.com/ERn7s1BoyS

— D (@dilemmv) May 18, 2016

As you can see, potential voters have many reasons for turning their backs on Bernie Sanders, and they’re not the only ones. According to People, the Democratic Party itself seems to want Bernie Sanders out of the presidential race, fearing that if he doesn’t drop out soon, he is hurting his own party and helping Donald Trump’s inexplicable White House bid. Dianne Feinstein, the iconic Democratic Senator from California and avowed Clinton supporter, doesn’t seem to think that Bernie has thought about what running a dead-end campaign could do to the party in November.

“I don’t think they think of the downside of this. It’s actually harmful because she can’t make that general election pivot the way she should. Trump has made that pivot.”

New York Democratic Representative Steve Israel added that because a Sanders win has become all but impossible, he needs to turn his attention toward consolidating the Democratic base rather than continuing to divide it.

“I would just hope that he would understand that we need to begin consolidating our vote sooner rather than later. Democrats cannot wait too long.”

Despite the almost-impossibly narrow odds against him, even following his defeat in Kentucky, and in spite of calls from those within the Democratic Party to walk away with dignity and grace, Bernie Sanders remains defiant, reports CNN.

Going into the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, Bernie Sanders would have needed 67 percent of all remaining pledged delegates to overtake Hillary, or in layman’s terms, a series of landslide victories. He didn’t get them in Oregon and Kentucky, and as the delegates still up for grabs get fewer and fewer, Bernie’s chances of winning enough of them to stop Clinton from reaching the 2,383 she needs to secure the nomination outright are fading fast. In fact, following Tuesday’s primaries, Hillary is only 90 delegates away from victory while Bernie Sanders is still 850 delegates short of a primary election win.

Still, Bernie refuses to concede. Rather, the Vermont Senator promised to fight until the Democratic National Convention reports Yahoo News, clinging to the “possibility” (however improbable) of somehow heading Clinton off at the pass that way.

“We have the possibility. It will be a steep climb, I recognize that, but we have the possibility of going to Philadelphia with a majority of the pledged delegates. Some people say that we’ve got a steep hill to climb to do that. And you know what? That is absolutely true. But you know what? Together we have been climbing that steep hill from day one in this campaign.”

#BernieLostMe when I realized he doesn't like to be faced with not-easy questions or concerns – he runs & hides pic.twitter.com/qDPb0m0l8u

— I M true-blue, R U?? (@gullsimpression) May 18, 2016

With the Democratic National Convention just weeks away in Philadelphia and the make-or-break California primary happening on June 7 (the state has 475 delegates up for grabs), it’s impossible to call the Democratic race just yet. While unlikely, Bernie Sanders is holding out for a miracle. So are Bernie Sanders’ supporters, who have responded to the #BernieLostMe trend on Twitter with some satirical tweets of their own. Unfortunately, many of Sanders’ supporters getting in on the fun are doing precisely what the Democratic Party is worried about: directing their anger at Hillary and dividing the party rather than focusing on the TRUE threat to the Democrats, Donald Trump.

#BernieLostMe when he didn't release his transcripts! Wait, that was @HillaryClinton #hillarylostme

— BernieBern08 (@BernieBern08) May 18, 2016

#BernieLostMe when he refused to run a campaign that's funded by corporate criminals. I really want a prez who's grossly indebted 2 Wall St.

— Maia (@Goingtobelka) May 18, 2016

So, what do you think? Does this #BernieLostMe trend portend the end of the Sanders campaign? Is it doing more harm than good for Bernie to stay in the Democratic race? Or, does Bernie Sanders have a legitimate chance at a White House victory in November?

[Image Courtesy Of Mark Makela/Getty Images]