Bye-bye, Bernie

Four years ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled off an upset in Michigan that gave life to his insurgent challenge to front-runner Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, Sanders suffered a crushing defeat in the state, and whether he’s ready or not to acknowledge it, he is now without a realistic path to the Democratic nomination.

It’s incredible to think that just over two weeks ago, Sanders was the heavy favorite to be the Democratic nominee. With a massive win in Nevada coming off of a victory in New Hampshire and arguable win in Iowa, he was heading into Super Tuesday with a full head of steam. Money, organization, and enthusiasm typically wins elections, and he had all of those going for him.

But what Sanders did not have was the support of a broad coalition of the party, particularly black voters, who are central to the nomination process and tend to be more traditionally liberal and pragmatic rather than wild-eyed and revolutionary. As Democrats stared at the prospect of going into the general election with a socialist at the top of the ticket, they panicked. Prominent party members, including most of his formal rivals for the 2020 nomination, rallied around Joe Biden.

In an incredibly swift example of party consolidation, Biden now has amassed an insurmountable lead in delegates, with most of Sanders's best states already behind him. Next week, the race moves to four states that Sanders lost in 2016 — Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and Arizona.

The 2020 nomination essentially came down to a basic choice. Did Democrats want to build on the liberal legacy of Barack Obama, or did they want to smash the system?

Sanders has been the most forthright representative of the “smash the system” wing of the party. Instead of merely figuring out ways to muscle incremental policy gains through the Senate, Sanders has promised sweeping change. This has been typified by his plan to replace all private insurance with a single government plan that offers free medical, dental, vision, and long-term care coverage without premiums, co-payments, or deductibles. At the cost of a whopping $34 trillion, the Sanders plan is more generous than most socialist systems.