Sen. Bernie Sanders’ swing through California and Hillary Clinton’s book tour underscore the Democrats’ problem in the aftermath of the 2016 election.

The problem: The party’s two main factions are clinging to the leaders of yesterday rather than looking forward.

Berners have to come to grips with the fact that for all the energy the Vermont senator brought to the election, his voters did not turn out when it counted.

Had the Berners voted in the final showdown, Donald Trump would not be president. And, to this day, Sanders remains an independent. Like Trump, he’s a one-man party.

The Sanders Party’s biggest issue is single-payer health care, which would put the government in charge of your insurance. Aiders and abetters, who included Sen. Kamala Harris of California, decided to make their big push before the GOP’s repeal-and-replace effort was officially dead — a miscalculation that gave the Republicans a major talking point at exactly the time they needed it.

The non-Bernie Democrats are more nuanced and practical, focusing on saving Obamacare rather than pushing a plan that would mess with millions of Americans’ coverage. The problem is that they have no one at the top with the popular heft of Sanders — unless you count Clinton, who hit the comeback trail at just the wrong time.

Not that there was a right time. Clinton would have made a fine president, but that’s never going to happen, and the party’s job is to figure out which Democrats have a legitimate shot in 2020.

That list doesn’t include Clinton. Or Sanders — I said Democrats.

What happened: I picked up the audio version of Clinton’s book. I’m three hours in, and I still can’t figure out what point she is trying to make. But I do love the sound of her voice.

Pelosi shout-down: There was no reason for activists’ shout-down of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi at her pro-“Dreamer” news conference last week. But then, that’s the way it is in politics these says — the relentless anger eventually visits friends and enemies alike.

Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues who were prevented from speaking, Reps. Barbara Lee and Jared Huffman, are fully capable of absorbing varying points of view en route to arriving at better public policy. Some people may be disappointed that practicality is part of the equation, but without it, nothing gets done.

One-liners: Rec and Park boss Phil Ginsburg finally witnessed a family-appropriate comedy day in the park last Sunday. The best line came from from Will Durst: “The trouble with Trump stories is that the Republicans believe that they are lies and the Democrats believe that they are true. Neither thinks they are funny.”

It all happened in Sharon Meadow, which, thanks to a two-year effort by Durst and his wife, Debbie, is now Robin Williams Meadow.

Movie time: “American Assassin.” This action movie, starring Dylan O’Brien and Michael Keaton, appears to have been made with the Trump audience in mind. It may be a little disquieting for the Trumpsters, however, because all the bad guys turn out to be American-born, American militarily-trained, and American-assassinated.

Fly away: I climbed aboard a twin-engine helicopter at Buchanan Field in Concord the other day for a trip to Oakhurst in Madera County, near the entrance to Yosemite National Park. The flight lasted an hour, or less time than it took to drive from San Francisco to Concord.

Once we landed, I headed to the Chateau du Sureau, a little-known but highly prized restaurant, for a fundraiser for Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno. The four-course meal started with corn soup and ended with apple strudel, which figures, because founder Erna Kubin-Clanin hails from Vienna.

Then it was back to Concord on the chopper. Now, helicopters are not my favorite mode of transportation, and I have to admit I was a bit nervous.

But then the the pilot said, “Don’t worry, Mayor Brown. I fly the most important person in the world in my helicopter.”

“Who’s that?” I asked, looking around.

“Me. The pilot.”

Now that’s my kind of flight guy.

Want to sound off? Email wbrown@sfchronicle.com