ANALYSIS/OPINION:

George Santayana was right. Because nobody has learned anything in the past three years, we are doomed to repeat the 2016 election over and over again.

Today’s edition of this never-ending saga involves Hillary Clinton attacking Sen. Bernie Sanders, her old primary rival and one of the leading candidates to take on Donald Trump later this year. The shots appeared in the pages of the Hollywood Reporter. You see, the geniuses in the entertainment industry have determined that what the general public is clamoring for is a new four hour (!) documentary about Mrs. Clinton, and she gave an interview to the venerable entertainment publication to promote it. (We can tell it’s a hard-hitting documentary by the fact that the subject it focuses on is out promoting it.)

In the interview, the Reporter notes that in the forthcoming documentary, Mrs. Clinton says of Mr. Sanders, “He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.” (Yes, Hillary Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders for being a “career politician.”)

The magazine asked if she still believes this to be true.

“Yes,” she says, before adding, “I will say, however, that it’s not only him, it’s the culture around him. It’s his leadership team. It’s his prominent supporters. It’s his online Bernie Bros and their relentless attacks on lots of his competitors, particularly the women. And I really hope people are paying attention to that because it should be worrisome that he has permitted this culture — not only permitted, [he] seems to really be very much supporting it.”

Mrs. Clinton’s missive against Mr. Sanders and his supporters can only hurt the Democrats’ chances against Mr. Trump later this year. For one, she has added an element of conflict to the Democratic primary that will only inflame internal strife. And even worse for the Democrats, Mr. Sanders has a real shot at winning the party’s nomination, and Mrs. Clinton’s anti-endorsement can only hurt his prospects down the road. They may even show up in a Republican ad at some point.

So why would Mrs. Clinton do this? There can be no doubting she hates President Trump and thinks him unfit for the presidency. But, perhaps on a subconscious level, I suspect she wants Mr. Trump to be re-elected. If the Democrats lose to Mr. Trump again, after all, her 2016 performance will be less of an indictment of her.

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