Jon Ralston

This is the way a revolution ends: not with a bang, but with a Bern-out.

As Bernie Sanders risibly declared last week that he would vote for but not endorse Hillary Clinton, a parsing proposition that seems soooo Establishment, the state that in February changed the race for the Vermont senator has produced some emblematic high comedy.

Months after Nevada killed Sanders’ Iowa-New Hampshire momentum and turned the contest inexorably toward Hillary Clinton, and weeks after the Berners failed to fill slots at the state convention and then wailed about a fix after some of their delegates lost their composure, his Nevada team had an idea last week: Let’s put Bernie on the ballot here as an independent.

One View: No fights or thrown chairs at Nevada State Democratic Convention

This is so redolent of the Sanders campaign in so many ways: Unintentionally comical, willfully ignorant and pointlessly directed.

It also shows the disconnect that has existed inside the Sanders movement between those who sincerely believe in what the candidate stands for – excessive money in politics, Wall Street influence, economic inequality – and those who grasp onto any conspiracy theory to assert the system is hopelessly corrupt and rigged. It’s one thing to accuse Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of being a not-so-secret Clintonite and having purposely limited debates or scheduled them at obscure times. It’s quite another to lash out at anyone who doesn’t meet your non-Establishment litmus test or to accuse the Nevada Democratic Party of malfeasance when your campaign could not fill nearly 500 delegate slots, then forced the venue to shut down the convention because of your raucousness.

Object example: The Sandersistas continue to assert that no chairs were thrown at the state convention (despite multiple eyewitnesses including Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Roberta Lange, state executive director Zach Zaragoza, Harry Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman and freelance journalist Andrew Davey) and focus on that relatively unimportant detail instead of their own ineptitude and loss of control at that event and afterwards (when threats were made against Lange). Denial is a powerful thing.

Sanders lost by nearly 4 million votes and trails decisively in both pledged and superdelegates. He lost.

But now a Nevada Sanders delegate to the national convention, Angie Morelli, who was a key player in the convention foolishness, has issued a call to arms to the Berners that is nothing short of embarrassing. This comes after she and her friends tried to get Sanders on the Green Party ticket here but had half the signatures disqualified, according to Morelli. Those darn rules.

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Morelli began her pitch with a picture of Sanders as Uncle Sam – wait, isn’t Uncle Sam the ULTIMATE Establishment icon? What a sellout!

Morelli then explained why getting Sanders on the ballot as an independent in Nevada is a worthy goal, listing five reasons. Permit me to annotate:

1) It gives the DNC and local Democratic parties the extra push to behave themselves leading up to the national convention.

Behave themselves? Really? Do they need to refer to Bernie as Lord Sanders, too?

2) It gives Bernie a backup plan in the case that they do not.

Oh? Like what?

3) It gives Bernie, and the petition holders in each area, leverage against the DNC and local parties.

Again, news flash: You lost. You have no leverage.

4) When it's successful, it will be a much-needed boost for the Bernie community in this area.

No, if it were successful, it would ensure Donald Trump wins Nevada. Genius.

5) It's a wake-up call to BOTH major parties that we are unwilling to continue supporting the "least-hated candidate."

Oh, yes. They are going to wake up, all right and … laugh out loud.

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Then Morelli explains further: “While Bernie did state he would not run as an independent last year, the DNC and local party leaders also said they would run a fair election. I think everyone can agree this did not happen at this point. Since then, Bernie has changed his language on this topic suggesting he has no ‘current plans’, etc. We would like to ensure this is and (sic) option.”

Everyone can agree? No, only those who are delusional would concur and not, for Hillary Clinton’s sake, the majority of Sanders supporters. Sanders lost fair and square – and by a lot – and the Sore Loser Caucus seems determined not to accept it and believe any conspiracy theory inhabiting the internet.

Before listing various levels of participation – including one laughably labeled “I kinda want him on the ballot” – Morelli explains the process: “We need to collect at least 5,400 viable signatures before July 6, so we are actually going after over 10,000. We will also be independently verifying the signatures before sending them off. So we need your help."

This would all be adorable except for one teeny point: State law, and the secretary of state’s office confirms this, requires Sanders to file a declaration of candidacy as an independent candidate. Gathering signatures is not enough, although the level of competence here does not suggest even that will occur. Feel that Bern.

It is highly unlikely Sanders, who says he will vote for Clinton, would sign off on this quixotic endeavor by leaders of his Nevada campaign. But just as he enabled Morelli & Co. after their shameful convention antics, the candidate has yet to disavow this move to put him on the ballot as an independent.

I’m sure he will eventually. But until then, it appears a ragtag group of his supporters, led by a delegate to the national convention, will collect signatures for an effort that, if carried to its logical conclusion, could help elect Donald Trump.

Vive la revolution!

Jon Ralston has been covering Nevada politics for more than a quarter-century and also blogs at ralstonreports.com.