https://t.co/nmu8uJMHr0

According to a poll just released, Clinton is leading Trump in Georgia by a single point.

Obviously, one poll only means so much, but it puts the doom and gloom in perspective.

The poll numbers that have been coming out this week are causing some angst that isn't needed. First, we can't read too much into any one poll. Second, the Q and Rasmussen polls can easily be explained by their over-reliance on white voters that isn't going to be reflected by reality. Adjust their numbers to match the actual demographics, and Hillary is back ahead in the important states. Plus, other polls are showing her leads holding steady, but aren't getting any traction in the media.

The more important thing is that when you look at all of these polls, in total, one thing is clear: Trump is not gaining any support. The entirety of the 'tightening' is voters pulling away from Hillary after her worst week of news in the campaign. When that dies down, and the convention excitement hits, many of those voters will come back, as will a segment of Bernie's voters who have yet to come on board.

What is clear is that Trump right now has a ceiling of 40-42%, and can't do anything to attract more voters. He has a baked-in reputation as a crazy racist, and the number of people who will never consider him is too large for him to ever actually win. Keep in mind, he can win OH, FL, and more and still not win.

Trump's numbers are impotent, and aren't likely to change.

Trump is hitting her on her claim of Native American heritage, so she should return fire.

Donald Trump's family changed their name when they came to America, to hide their ethnicity, because of fears of the same brand of racism as xenophobia Trump himself is now peddling.

We can argue all we want about the symbolic meaning of Bernie dropping out of the race and endorsing Hillary now, versus when he has no other choice, but there's an aspect of the story that I had forgotten, until I was just reminded of it.

Bernie Sanders is still receiving Secret Service protection. That's right. Bernie, the person who has all but admitted he is refusing to the say the magic words because of a discussion about the platform (which happens regardless) is costing taxpayers money by refusing to concede. Is this just another example of Bernie's ego getting the better of him?

I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that it's disgraceful that someone who knows he has lost is taking time and money away from the Secret Service that could be better spent dealing with actual threats.

Now that we've had a bit of time for the hard feelings of the primary to settle down, and we've seen a glimpse into the future, I was wondering what the position of the "or bust" crowd is now.

We've just seen Donald Trump pull back the curtain, going full-on racist, fascist, and whatever other adjectives you thought could only exist in bad political movies. Trump is showing himself to be not just completely incompetent for the job, but a real threat to America's standing as the moral leader of the world. The way he talks, Trump will open up the floodgates of hatred in this country, taking us back to a time when anyone who wasn't a straight white man was the target of prejudice and exclusion.

Seeing what Trump is, how many of those "busters" are still holding out, saying it doesn't matter if Trump wins in the fall?

After Elizabeth Warren's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, we have seen an ugly strain of thought rising up among the 'progressive' left. Despite Bernie Sanders' position being that superdelegates should wait until the end of a primary to announce their support, and Warren doing exactly that, she is being viciously attacked for her endorsement of the Democratic nominee.

Her Facebook page and Twitter feed are being flooded with nasty comments branding her a traitor to the cause, which exposes an air of entitlement among some people, who feel that Warren owed it to them to do what they wanted.

More importantly, it exposes a startling degree of sexism among people who are supposed to be the most 'progressive' of us. Senator Merkely, Bernie's lone endorser in the Senate, has just flipped his allegiance and declared that he is supporting Hillary Clinton for President.

Where is the outrage? Where are the dozens of posts here calling him a sellout? Where are the hundreds of messages being sent to him that he has abandoned all of his principles?

This is the ugly truth we don't like to believe exists even among those of us on the left. One good Senator endorses the winner after the race is over, while another changes his vote to go with the winner, and it's the former who is facing pitchforks and torches.

It's sad, it's pathetic, and it reveals that 'progressives' aren't as righteous as they like to think.

As of this morning, one thing is clear; Bernie Sanders is now an afterthought.

He has lost the Democratic nomination by every metric, by every measure. He will not be the nominee, no matter how many phone calls he makes to superdelegates. The ship has sailed, and all that's left is for Bernie to decide how to disembark. He has two choices.

1) Shortly after the DC primary next week, he comes out and concedes he has lost, forcefully endorsing Clinton. If he does this, we can move on to the convention with respect for one another, and a serious and peaceful discussion can take place as to the platform. That is what Bernie says he wants, so this choice should require no thought.

2) He can continue to insist he's going to 'contest' the nomination in Philadelphia, looking with each passing day more and more like a sore loser who is more intent on proving he is right than actually enacting any of his goals. He will receive little to no attention from the media, other than the occasional scoff that he is still perpetrating the charade. If he takes this tact, the party will not be kind to him when the convention arrives, and the likelihood of getting concessions will be slim.

I will give Bernie a week or so to come to terms with this, but we will soon see whether or not Bernie thinks he is more important than the Democratic party, or the Presidency as a whole.

https://twitter.com/benchmarkpol/status/739482415077302272

There were conflicting reports of a 7-0 or 6-1 split, but it looks now like Bernie gets absolutely nothing from yesterday.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sanders-on-bernie-or-bust-supporters-i-cant-tell-them-what-to-do/



It's true that Bernie can't MAKE anyone vote for Hillary, but he can damn sure tell them it's the right thing to do, and it's what he wants them to do. That's what a decent person would do in his position.

By now, we've all seen and heard enough of the animosity that apparently exists between the two camps, with Bernie going so far as to file papers trying to get Frank thrown off the rules committee at the convention. It was a petty move, but it's one that also speaks to the larger lack of political skill in Bernie's campaign.

One of the three core tenets of Bernie's campaign that he's been running on for a year is breaking up the big banks.

By his own admission, that can only be done through the Dodd/FRANK legislation. Barney Frank is the member of Congress who actually got a bill passed that would allow Bernie to live out his dream of crushing Wall Street banking, and his reaction is to attack him for supporting the other candidate. Without Barney Frank, Bernie's plans would be even more far-fetched, because there is no reason to believe a new Congress would ever pass a law even that tough, knowing what Bernie would plan to do with it.

Biting the hand that feeds, apparently, is Bernie's style.