Bernie Ends Tonight

debating when Sen. Bernie Sanders should drop out, or arguing that he should have already. But Sanders didn’t just have a right to stay in the Democratic primary race until the end of the schedule. He had an obligation to. He owed it those millions of voters and the millions of donors who contributed more than $200 million to his bid to compete until he was mathematically eliminated.

Though the Associated Press’s tally showed Clinton hitting the overall number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination Monday night following a mini-burst of superdelegates, Sanders still had an argument for continuing, so long as she hadn’t reached a majority of pledged delegates. After Tuesday night’s primaries, however, that excuse will run out, and his arguments for holding out will be depleted.

He doesn’t have to drop out right away. He can wait until after Washington D.C. votes on June 14. He can rest for a couple of days back home in Vermont. But then it will be time to face the reality set Tuesday. At some point this evening, Sanders will be mathematically eliminated according to the metric that all small-d democrats believe should determine a nominee: among pledged delegates, of which Hillary Clinton will clinch a majority regardless of whether she narrowly wins or narrowly loses California and everywhere else (Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota to be exact).

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/06/bernie_s_time_to_concede_has_finally_arrived.html