Clinton, Sanders, and the Baby

There is a story in the Bible about two women staying in a house, each giving birth to babies. Shortly after, one of the women accidentally laid on her baby, and the infant died. This mother switched her baby with the other woman, who woke up to find a dead child beside her, which she recognized as the other woman’s, who refused to return her child.

Both women went to the king to resolve the matter. Before the king, each woman kept insisting she was the living child’s mother. The king’s resolution was to divide the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other. The true mother’s response to the king was that he should hand over the child to the other woman instead of killing him. However the other woman agreed to cut the baby in two. As a result the king was able to determine the real mother and give her baby to her.

This brings me to the state of the Democratic presidential primary contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Mrs. Clinton has served in multiple roles within the Democratic Party, including Democratic First Lady of Arkansas, Democratic First Lady of the United States, Democratic Senator representing New York, and Secretary of State in the Democratic Obama Administration. Her rival in the Democratic Primaries, Bernie Sanders, is running on the Democratic Ticket, even though he has been a lifelong Independent, having served as Vermont’s Independent United States Congressman and Independent United States Senator, and is still a registered Independent in his home state of Vermont.

The entry of Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primaries was unexpected. Even more shocking, has been his almost rock star popularity, especially among young voters, as well as his higher-than-expected success in the caucuses and primaries. Sanders’ firebrand appeal among the young kept growing like wild fire, with unpredicted support from some expected Hillary supporters who, like the youthful fans started to “Feel the Bern.” The Sanders’ phenomenon caught many off guard, including the media, the Democratic Party, Clinton’s campaign, and even Clinton herself. Sanders was on a roll, with Clinton barely edging him out in the Iowa Caucus, and him drawing blood with a decisive win in New Hampshire.

Clinton, the slugger, however, is no amateur, and with her genius, experience, and tenacity, started systematically winning, and winning big, in southern states, and large northern and Midwestern states. These states carry large delegate counts, and “the Secretary,” as Sanders likes to refer to her as, has been piling on pledged delegates to her candidacy. Wile Sanders has been winning quite a few states, he is way behind Clinton in pledged delegates, in addition to superdelegates who have mostly put their support behind Clinton.

As of now the delegate counts are Clinton — 2,205, with a breakdown of 1,683 pledged delegates and 522 superdelegates, with Sanders — 1,405, with a breakdown of 1,362 pledged delegates and 39 superdelegates. Mathematically, it is next to impossible for Sanders to accumulate enough pledged delegates in the remaining primaries. However he insists that he will be able to go to the convention in Philadelphia and wrest the superdelegates from Clinton.

Donald Trump is now the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, and although some Democrats and even some Republicans believe that he cannot win the Presidential Election, Trump has proven to be a formidable and shrewd political operative. What was once thought to be a big joke now has political experts, the media, and almost everyone but his supporters in shock. A brash, seemingly emotionally unstable billionaire businessman and entertainer, is now a hair’s breadth from the most powerful and responsible position in the world. The only person who is in a position to prevent this from happening is the Democratic Party’s candidate.

What is happening in the Democratic is akin to the Biblical story of the two mothers and the baby. In 2008, after a bruising primary period, Hillary Clinton turned over the Democratic Party graciously to Barack Obama, and the baby’s life was never endangered. In 2016 Bernie Sanders is plodding along with a seemingly losing campaign, with a pledge to have a contested convention. Mr. Sanders, who is still a registered Independent, seems intent on dividing the baby in half to satisfy his ambition. Sanders is unrepentant in his unwillingness to suspend his campaign and his presence prevents Clinton, a dedicated Democrat, and the most qualified candidate of this election season, to focus her attention on defeating Trump.

The baby, whose life needs to be protected, is not only the Democratic Party, it is the United States as a whole. If Bernie withdraws from the primaries, not only will he save this baby’s life, he would also be in a position where he can negotiate a role in its growth and development. Unfortunately, his continued primary campaign is a demonstration of his willingness to split the baby in half.