B

ernie Sanders has virtually no chance to win the 2020 Democratic nomination, but he has an excellent chance to re-elect Donald Trump by his own efforts should he not drop out of the presidential race.

Sanders is flying on empty and his plane must come down. The only remaining question is will he land at Biden National Airport or crash at Trump Corrupt Air.

Sanders has pledged, repeatedly, that his number one goal is the defeat of Donald Trump. But, as of today, with his failure to end his campaign, Sanders is violating that pledge for no reason other than his own ego.

Sanders says his recent primary muggings at the hands of Biden make his path to the nomination more “difficult.”

That is simply not true. The truth is his drubbings have demonstrated that Democratic voters simply do not favor him over Biden for the 2020 nomination to run against Trump. Sanders is not losing 49/51 percent, he is being pounded in primary after primary, and no one can, with a straight face, argue that Sanders will suddenly win over 60 percent of the votes in every remaining primary, the kind of performance needed for him to win the nomination.

Wisconsin is holding its primary next Tuesday, a state Trump captured in 2016 and the Democratic nominee must win in 2020 in order to win the election. By every indication, Biden will beat Sanders by a very wide margin Tuesday in Wisconsin. If Sanders cannot even win there what is the possible point of his candidacy?

Sanders, in order to preserve his promise to make every effort to defeat Trump, and in order to face honestly his inability to win enough Democratic primary votes to be nominated, must drop out after Wisconsin. Character matters, and that means a kamikaze attack from his campaign plane on the Biden campaign will only guarantee Trump another term in an election that will be difficult for the Democrat at best.

Some of those close to Sanders argue that he just wants some concessions on policy and personnel from Biden and, given those concessions, Sanders would end his campaign.

That can never happen. It cannot happen because Biden’s margins of victory do not require him to make concessions. Should Sanders refuse to quit, Biden will outright win enough delegates to gain the nomination…Sanders has no leverage to demand policy changes.

Other Sanders supporters argue that the coronavirus crisis demonstrates why his Medicare for All program is needed now more than ever.

Really? During the greatest health and economic crisis, we should confront the upcoming recession, and stave off a depression, by abruptly ending 20 percent of the economy, and the jobs that go with private sector healthcare? And, on top of that, spend $20 trillion more after the financial impact of the current crisis?

Sanders and his followers need to grasp that if you cannot even win a majority of Democratic voters, you certainly cannot win over enough Republican and independent voters to defeat a sitting president. You may well dream of forgiven student loans fondly, and someday that may and should happen, but only under a Democratic president. As Sanders supporters, absolutely nothing you seek from government will come from Trump, the Republican Party or any Republican president. Nothing.

So, you want to be petulant and angry because your candidate was cheated? Sanders has not been cheated, he has simply not won over enough Democratic voters. You want to sit on your hands-on election day because Biden is just “more of the same”? Then kiss the things you hope for goodbye as four more years under a Trump presidency will alter America in ways you will have to live with for decades. From the environment to the courts to ethics in politics, your values will matter not in the least.

Land the plane Bernie, and land it next Tuesday, not at Trump Air, but at Biden National.

Jim Crawford is a retired educator, political enthusiast and award-winning columnist living here in the Tri-State.