Some thoughts on the primary race.
I think it is pretty clear now that Clinton will be nominated. So that begs that question why Sanders is staying in the race. I think it is good that he does so.
I think Sanders is politician enough to sell his endorsement when the time comes, and I fully expect him to do so, similar to what Clinton did in 2008.
A Sanders presidency was always a long shot, but I think his candidacy has revealed something important: The left can no longer be ignored.
I think there are two simple reasons for this: We are seeing the first generation of voters who grew up after the cold war, and don't consider "socialism" a bad word. The second is that the progress of automation will increasingly make some form of "socialism" inevitable. Manufacturing has already gone, transportation is about to go, but it won't stop there. Neural networks can do logistics and all sorts of other tasks that traditionally required highly trained individuals. I fully expect to see a guaranteed basic income in my lifetime. It will happen once computers start wiping out white collar jobs in masses.
So in other words, history favors a "socialist platform" at this point.
Sanders got a large chunk of the votes during a primary season that was supposed to be a cakewalk for the establishment candidate. I think the party establishment is aware that this is too large an issue to ignore. They will have to give in at least somewhat. Sanders will not get the nomination, but I think he is now in an excellent position to argue that the Democratic party must adopt parts of his platform going into the GE.
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