Bernie Sanders voters helped Trump become President

[NanceGreggs]

229. No, we wouldn't.

What Bernie supporters refuse to recognize is that had he run third party, he never would have gotten the attention he got as a potential nominee of a major party. Many voters would never even have heard of him.

Ergo, he wouldn't have raised the money he did, nor would he have had the huge rallies he held.

Bernie complained bitterly that he didn't get the media coverage he deserved (a debatable point). How much coverage do you think he would have gotten as "that crazy old guy from Vermont" who thinks he can beat both the Democratic and GOP nominees - and you know that's exactly how he would have been portrayed by the media, the odd time they mentioned him at all.

If you think Bernie would have gotten any traction without being on the (D) ticket, think again. He would have been "the wacky also-ran right" out of the gate. There would have been close-to-zero publicity, which would have resulted in close-to-zero donations and small rallies attracting a tiny fraction of the crowds he garnered as a (D) candidate.

That's nothing against Bernie - it's just the reality of a third party run by anyone.