A friend of mine was parroting the “Bernie Sanders is just like Ralph Nader” line of thinking that recently began permeating in social and traditional media. Two days later (“Sanders is losing fair and square,” May 22), Cynthia Dill offered up a state-level equivalent, that “Bernie Sanders is just like Eliot Cutler.” Both these bits of aspiring “conventional wisdom” are fundamentally flawed.
Unlike Nader and Cutler, Sanders decided not to run a third-party campaign, and has pledged to support the Democratic nominee. As a result, Sanders will not split votes in November.
Accordingly, there is simply no rational comparison between the Sanders and Nader/Cutler campaigns, at least in that regard. It confounds me why someone in Dill’s position would even put forth such a premise.
Dill is correct that Sanders is losing fair and square. So why can’t he just run to the well-established finish line of the race? To her credit, Hillary Clinton said May 22 on “Meet the Press” that he has the right to stay in the campaign.
And, in my view, Clinton should be even more gracious in her defense of Sanders. Because if the national polls are any indication, Clinton needs to cozy up to Sanders as fast and as long as she can, in the hope that his popularity rubs off on her.
David Sullins
Peaks Island
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