Trump Benefitting from Democrats for Sanders Rejecting Clinton

by Stephen Lendman

Most polls show her favored to succeed Obama. Election-rigging may assure it. Don't count it out. Sordid US history is notoriously corrupt, electoral fraud rife, democracy pure fantasy.

Wall Street, war-profiteers and other powerful interests likely chose her to become America's 45th president, perhaps before campaigning began - given deplorable Republican choices. 

Trump emerging as her challenger surprised most observers - a demagogic, racist billionaire con man, coming across to many as anti-establishment because of his unorthodox style, still the underdog.

What powerful interests want they usually get, yet the race for the White House isn't over till it's over. Surprises may lie ahead.

Keep a close eye on if future polls close to November's election match the results of a June 14 Bloomberg one - indicating only little more than half of Sanders' supporters (55%) intend voting for Clinton.

Another 22% said they'll shift to Trump, 18% to Libertarian party candidate Gary Johnson. If registered Democrat Laura Armes reflects how many other party members feel, Clinton has cause for concern, saying:

"I'm a registered Democrat, but I cannot bring myself to vote for another establishment politician like Hillary. I don't agree with a lot of what Trump says. But he won't owe anybody. What you see is what you get."

According to Bloomberg, "only 5 percent of Sanders supporters who don't currently back Clinton would consider doing so in the future." In other words, Democrats against her aren't likely to become backers.

Sanders' support stems from rhetorically claiming to oppose what she stands for, interests harming their own. Whether his near-certain endorsement changes things remains to be seen.

Post-convention polls will give a better indication of overall voter sentiment. Clinton's lead could narrow, Trump perhaps drawing even or pulling ahead.

Green party presumptive nominee Jill Stein could help him by winning over enough disaffected Democrats - unwilling to back Clinton.

"We're picking up where Bernie left off," she said. "In fact, you could say we were here back in 2012 doing the same thing, long before Bernie's campaign."

"For many people, we've been Plan B for when Bernie got shut down…And from my perspective, that's pretty much what was going to happen. It's hard to have a revolution in a counter-revolutionary party."

The most recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released days earlier showed her winning 6% of the national vote, more than enough to be a spoiler.

Her current support is double the best ever showing for Green party presidential aspirants - sharply rising since April, perhaps going higher given widespread revulsion for Clinton and Trump.

In a 4-way Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian race, the Journal/NBC poll showed Clinton leading Trump by 1%, a statistical dead heat.

If this close in November, it could go either way - unless election-rigging anoints her, a likely possibility.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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