"Thots & Thoughts" is a column in which musings on dating, sex, race, religion, and politics all come together—from a bird's-eye view.
Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz have as a much of a shot at becoming the Democratic and Republican nominees for president as Iggy Azalea does at being honored at next year’s Black Girls Rock.
Sanders does not owe it to Clinton to convince his voters to support her for president in a general election.
And yet both Sanders and Cruz continued to dance with delusion despite more and more evidence that this just isn’t their election cycle to become president. It’s sore-loser season for the candidates and their supporters. To quote Rihanna, “Poor dat.”
Earlier this week, Sanders told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on New Day about his chances of scoring the nomination, saying, "It's a narrow path, but we do have a path. And the idea that we should not contest in California—our largest state, let the people of California determine what the agenda of the Democratic Party is and who the candidate for president should be—is pretty crazy."
I agree with Sanders on certain matters. He should not leave the race. He should try to do well—if not win—in California. He should stay in the race to push the Democratic agenda to better resemble real progressive politics, instead of the Republican-lite “triangulation” that Hillary Clinton and her husband push. Moreover, Sanders does not owe it to Clinton to convince his voters to support her for president in a general election.
However, on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sanders spoke of winning the nomination by way of superdelegates—a stance that seems completely antithetical to the spirit of his campaign. At this point, Clinton is hundreds of regular delegates ahead of Sanders and is millions of votes ahead in the popular vote. In other words, the revolution Sanders spoke of has limits—winning by turning to “the establishment” would contradict his outsider ideology. It would make him no better than the people he purports to be better than.
Sanders’ wife, Jane, has said, "At the end, you know, we're not calling superdelegates and saying, Will you switch your vote?" And yet it’s been reported that Sanders has personally called some undecided superdelegates to win their support. Meanwhile, Clinton’s superdelegates have complained about being harassed by Sanders’ supporters.
Y’all. Y’all. Y’all. It’s one thing to keep on keep-keeping on, but it’s another to behave like a soft-baked bitch about it.
What frustrates me about Sanders at this juncture of the campaign is that there hasn’t been any real self-reflection, and, by extension, admission of failure on his part. As a southerner, I was vexed as hell by his repeated dismissal of his southern state losses. The typical southern Democrat isn’t white or conservative, but black and moderate-to-fairly-progressive depending on the region. Perhaps it’s due to him being a fairly new Democrat, but you don’t diss the most dedicate voting bloc of the Democratic Party—especially when you don’t mind championing your victories in lily-white states that are as much a Red State as Mississippi and Georgia are. Likewise, while it’s true that poorer Americans vote less, of those that did, they voted more so for Hillary Clinton. That means 1) Sanders’ populist message failed to connect with the poorer voters that do vote, 2) he failed to reach those that do not.
In sum: aww man, homie, your bad.
Then there’s Ted Cruz, who had the audacity to announce a running mate the week he officially became mathematically eliminated from winning the GOP nomination for president by way of capturing the majority of delegates. As some of us noted, this is a throwback to Ronald Reagan in the 1976 GOP primary. Yeah, his ass still lost to Gerald Ford. Cruz, and his running mate, Carly “I’m the Political Equivalent of Cruella de Vil” Fiorina, ought to get the hell on somewhere.
I believe former House speaker John Boehner about Cruz being a “miserable son-of-a-bitch” and this stunt queen move speaks to that. At this point in the campaign, it’s increasingly apparent that the nation will be forced to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for president. I’m more excited to vote for a hammer as the main tool to be used for my root canal, but this is democracy at work.
To those still pretending fetch will happen—Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, John Kasich—good luck with booking that stage you speak of. But it’s over and the Effie White approach to presidential politics won’t change that. To their supporters, I strongly advise y’all have a shot of chill and accept fate as it literally slaps you upside the head. Then there are media outlets like Salon, who published the following headline: “Please, FBI — you’re our last hope: The Democratic Party’s future rests upon your probe of Hillary Clinton’s emails.”
May all your keyboards commit suicide. Again, I get it. This is the most depressing election of my lifetime. Still, this is where we are. Try to flex your muscle and influence all you like, but within the realm of realism, preferably. Otherwise, you’re just a sucker-ass sore loser.
It’s not a cute look for anyone.
