The most startling news in the latest ABC/Washington Post election poll is not that Hillary Clinton still leads Donald Trump by 5 points among likely voters or that she’s not up by a lot more, it’s the revelation that disgruntled Bernie Sanders voters may have the clout to tip a close election to Trump. In a four-way contest, Clinton has 46 percent support, with 41 percent for Trump, 9 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 2 percent for Jill Stein.

Take Johnson and Stein out of the race and Clinton leads Trump by 51% to 43%. That’s because 94% of Bernie supporters say they would support Hillary in a two-person race but only 77% of his supporters would support her with Johnson and Stein as options. If the contest is very close that could make the difference.

I’m all for people voting their conscience but in this particular election it might just set back the movement toward a more progressive future 20 years or more. For those who claim to support the goals advocated by Sanders, that’s not just shooting yourself in the foot; it’s shooting yourself in the head.