Political Odds–What Did Hillary Clinton Offer Bernie Sanders?
The best news that comes out of every Presidential election: fewer and fewer people are voting. Younger people are voting in lower numbers than any other demographic group. While this is a hopeful sign the sad reality is that many Americans still buy into the scam of statism. Until a few days ago, Bernie Sanders was what approximates a ‘maverick’ in the Presidential field. How a career politician that has never held a job not bankrolled by US taxpayers came to represent ‘change’ in the eyes of his supporters is a mystery. Yet despite looking like Doc Brown in ‘Back To The Future’ and espousing a mix of warmed over socialism and completely out of touch insanity (‘revitalizing the Postal Service’) he gained a sizable and enthusiastic following. Even after the delegate count made the nomination of Hillary Clinton a fait accomplit he vowed to ‘fight on’ to the convention and that his presence would be felt.
It wasn’t long after this declaration that his supporters got a lesson in the duplicity of politicians. The ‘outsider’ was endorsing Hillary Clinton, supposedly after being promised a revision of a few lines in the Democratic Party platform. No one is buying this explanation and it sure looks like Hillary offered Bernie the proverbial ‘offer he couldn’t refuse’. But what did she offer him? We’ve got the betting odds on just that topic:
ODDS ON WHAT HILLARY CLINTON OFFERED BERNIE SANDERS FOR HIS ENDORSEMENT?
Any official statement from either party or public confirmation in the NY Times, Washington Post or CNN
RUNNING MATE 500/1: This isn’t going to happen. Hillary will select a running mate that is deferential to her and won’t ‘outshine’ her in the eyes of the public. Bernie Sanders is too popular among his rabid supporter base and would be a ‘distraction in her eyes.
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEFENSE OR HOMELAND SECURITY 500/1: At one point these positions were filled by highly qualified adult, even in the most partisan administrations. With Obama’s appointment of political hacks like John Kerry and Mrs. Clinton to these vital positions the game has changed. Still, Hillary will make the smart move and pick someone qualified with considerable foreign policy experience. Bernie doesn’t fit that description.
SECRETARY OF TREASURY 1000/1: If there’s any place that Bernie Sanders shouldn’t be anywhere near it’s any position with significant influence over the economy. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign was heavily financed by Wall Street and the banking industry. One of their own will get this gig.
SECRETARY OF LABOR 25/1: This one kind of makes sense. Sanders’ campaign was almost completely financed by ‘big labor’ and he focused on the subject during the campaign. Never mind the fact that only 10% of Americans are union members and that number is sinking like a stone. This is a completely useless cabinet post so President Clinton could put Bernie here content that he couldn’t cause trouble.
OTHER MINOR CABINET POST 50/1: Similar deal to above, but the other cabinet posts are less of an obvious fit for Bernie. The reality of the situation is that Mrs. Clinton just wants Bernie to go away and leave her alone. Making him a cabinet member won’t accomplish this.
OTHER APPOINTED POSITION 10/1: It would be easy to create a made up appointed position for Bernie similar to ‘Drug Czar’. It would be a (very) sub cabinet position but he’d get an office and a small staff. This is unlikely to happen because Bernie is going to use his Presidential run to ‘get paid’.
AMBASSADORSHIP TO WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY: 250/1
AMBASSADORSHIP TO EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY: 250/1
AMBASSADORSHIP TO VENEZUELA: 100/1
OTHER AMBASSADORSHIP: 150/1
When researching this article I was surprised at how few ambassadorships are filled by political appointees. Most are career diplomats though many of the plum ambassadorships are political appointees. Historically, ambassadorships are reserved as a perk for big dollar donors and/or supporters of considerable political influence. Sanders does love Venezuelan style socialism but it’s doubtful if he would fall for the ruse of sending him there as an ambassador. These will most likely go to Clinton’s deep pocketed friends.
POSTMASTER GENERAL 5/1: Sanders never sounded more out of touch as when he spent an entire speech railing about the deplorable state of the US Postal Service. He was completely oblivious to the market forces that have rendered the USPS increasingly irrelevant: email, FedEx, UPS, etc. Of course the National Association of Letter Carriers and American Postal Workers Union were major contributors to the Sanders campaign. The USPS is such a dumpster fire now does it really matter *who* is in charge? Sanders could give speeches lamenting the state of the USPS, lobby Congress for a bigger budget and it would keep his union cronies happy. He could tinker with the Postal Service all he wants and it really wouldn’t matter. Probably doesn’t pay enough for Bernie’s political ‘cash out’.
CUSHY GIG AT THE CLINTON FOUNDATION 50/1: This would make sense except the quid pro quo between Bernie’s endorsement and his cushy gig would be too apparent. A scandal waiting to happen.
TV SHOW ON CNN 1/1: This is a very likely scenario. The Clintons are very tight with the top honchos at CNN, they’d love to try and leverage Bernie’s popularity to get more viewers and he could get a hefty paycheck. Sanders could still wield political influence and stay in the public eye.
‘SPEAKING TOUR’ ASSISTANCE 1/3: The hefty speaking fees that both Bill and Hillary receive from corporate benefactors are well documented. Getting Sanders onto the same gravy train would be a perfect post politics gig for him–he could go around and give speeches and cash checks. Alternately, he could create a ‘foundation’ that gets the money if he wants to make it look like less of a cash grab.
NOTHING 1/5: Maybe Hillary didn’t offer him anything? This one covers a lot of ground–Hillary could have had ‘dirt’ on Sanders and the supplicants at CNN and MSNBC to make it into a big deal. Hillary could have delivered some other veiled (or overt) threat. Hillary could have emphasized that he could be responsible for ‘President Trump’ if he didn’t endorse her. Or Bernie could have just been tired of the entire ordeal and needed a good ‘out’.