Not sure where I read it in the last couple of days...an editorial about the possibility of Bernie being chosen as Hillary's running mate. Some Bernie supporting commenters were saying (paraphrased) "It'll never happen. He'll be a sell out, a hypocrite." Others were saying "He's a politician afterall, don't be too surprised." And "Hillary knows how much support he has and the she needs him because although she's winning, her margins are not so huge as someone well known and established with lots of lobby money - whereas Bernie came in from out of nowhere, raised funds from private citizens and became a serious enough contender to be paid attention to." Maybe that could happen. It's certainly an interesting and surprising election.The problem I'm contemplating now is what happens when Bernie loses. Will all those young people supporting him actually switch to Hilary or just sit on their hands come election day and complain that the establishment "took their voice away"?
Ditto Trump, really. If the GOP maneuvers someone else into the nomination, will his angry Republicans actually vote GOP or just not show up (or vote Trump if he decides to go third party)?
I'm thinking that the establishment in both parties need to be really, really careful about how they handle this. Any perception in either party that the establishment is fighting to cling to power is just going to make things worse in the long haul. Maybe not "riots in the streets" worse, but definitely some internal power struggles that could affect not only this fall's election, but 2020 and beyond as well.
And, really, we all know the outcome. A new establishment replaces the old one and we go through the whole thing again sometime around 2050 when the angry kids of today have become the fossilized establishment that the angry kids of the future hate. "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss," as Pete put it.
