The media likes to claim Bernie Sanders will never beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, but polls say he’d perform better against Donald Trump. In every state he visits, Sanders manages to attract thousands of people to his rallies. Even in less populated states, people line up to see him. Sanders has so far won 19 races, several of which were by wide margins. And yet, Sanders is considered a “zombie” candidate and is doing little more than hurting Hillary Clinton’s campaign by continuing to run. Really.

Politico threw out this little tidbit despite the fact that if Clinton were a strong candidate, Bernie “Zombie” Sanders wouldn’t be able to hurt her campaign. Sanders can credit his surging support in large part to the Internet, without which he might still be a relative unknown with poor name recognition and support. Unfortunately for his rival, though, he continues to climb in the polls. A new Reuters poll puts Sanders a solid 5.1 percent ahead of Hillary in a sweeping nationwide survey of more than 7,100 likely voters.

The poll was conducted online, so it likely skews toward younger voters. However, Reuters has proven to be more accurate in predicting candidate performance than other pollsters. This, in itself, is important because younger voters are becoming more engaged and invested in this year’s election. Several states have seen a drastic upswing in voter registrations, primarily California. A large number of those newly minted voters fall into the under 45 category, which heavily favors Bernie Sanders. That’s not too shabby for a zombie.

Bernie Sanders rally, Fargo, ND. [AP Photo/Bruce Crummy]

Even more, Sanders’ “zombie” candidacy would attract a vast majority of independent, unaffiliated voters, giving him a bigger edge than it often appears, especially with the New York primary results, which was a closed primary that excluded independents and other parties. New York also had a major issue with voters who had their party affiliations changed, or being taken off the rolls entirely.

As reported previous in Inquisitr, Sanders handily beats Donald Trump in every poll taken in recent days, pointing to a stronger candidate than Clinton. In fact, this so-called “zombie” candidate does so well, he beats The Donald by double digits.

“Zombie” Sanders has so much favor among younger voters due, in part, to the Internet itself. Net neutrality is a major issue, with those who grew up using the ‘net worried about government and business controlling who has access and to what. This is illustrated no better than the case of Jeanette Jing, an Internet activist who has compiled a vast amount of information against Hillary Clinton that points to major corruption and illegal activities. Jing’s Twitter account was suspended for unknown reasons, but was reactivated after more than 24 hours offline. Her YouTube channel, though, remains up and running.

Her suspension has fueled more accusations of suppression, and of proof that it isn’t Sanders who is the zombie, but rather, Clinton, who is by far the weaker candidate.

With such a large approval rating and wide-spread support, it begs the question as to why the Democratic establishment can’t get past the idea that Sanders is a zombie candidate. It’s obvious he isn’t, and his policies reflect the majority of progressive voters and Americans in general. So, why do the DNC, Democratic Party leaders and some Clinton supporters implore Sanders to drop out and his supporters to fall in line behind Hillary?

It all boils down to money.

Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank served in the House of Representatives from 1981 until 2013 when he retired from the House. He now serves as a board member of Signature Bank. Frank was selected by DNC officials to serve on the standing committee which will help write the Democratic Party’s platform at the convention in July. Frank has been outspoken in his criticism of Sanders.

Even worse, according to The Ring of Fire’s Thom Hartmann, Signature Bank is currently fending off a lawsuit over allegations of a Ponzi-type scheme. Literally, big banks will be in control of the Democratic Party platform come July, which means the party isn’t just inching toward the right, it’s catapulting toward Republican right-wing ideals of fleecing and thumbing its nose at the voting public.

It stands to reason, then, that mainstream media hammers away with its “zombie” rhetoric concerning Bernie Sanders. Because if he wins, big business loses, and it is in corporate media’s best interest, along with big banks, to paint Sanders as someone who simply can’t win.

Paste magazine puts it even more succinctly. Hillary Clinton Democrats are what it calls “New Republicans,” a revealing sobriquet for a party that has made a hard-right turn since Bill Clinton became president. Sanders is the candidate trying to steer the speeding vehicle back to the left before it flies over the proverbial cliff.

Sanders rally, Stockton, CA. [AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli]

But, he may be too late to fix a party so deeply corrupt and embedded with greed. The Democratic Party is practically willing to risk a violent uprising at the convention in order to stubbornly stick to its “ideals.” Even Comcast, called by some as the nation’s most-hated company, is a part of the farce that is the Democratic Convention. According to USUncut,the DNC is getting a little too cozy with the cable giant.

“…the Democratic Party is offering prime access to convention activities and leading elected officials to Comcast executives who donate $100,000 or more.”

As stated above, all it takes is to follow the money, and the money is working overtime to tell the voting public that Sanders simply can’t win against Clinton. But, the truth is, he can, and he will. Perhaps it is Hillary Clinton, not Bernie Sanders, who is the zombie candidate. That’s a reality the Democratic Party must face one way or another.

[Photo by Kristina Barker/AP Images]