if you look at how the "democratic party establishment" is reacting to sanders right now, it's all hands-off. the media is reporting this as though it's some sort of enlightened epiphany of libertarian agency or something.
"I'm not pushing him to do anything." - harry reid.
the implication is they'll give him space to work it out on his own.
but, i think you need to take these people more literally. what they're literally stating is that what they really want is for him to just shut up and disappear. to not do anything.
they don't want him at rallies. they don't want him getting out the vote. he's just not on the same page, ideologically. so, all he can do is corrupt the narrative - as they see it.
i've been pointing out for a while that this is a lot harder than even the most cynical want to accept. sanders has successfully articulated a third-party vision in a way that has already broken the spectrum open. he just doesn't seem to realize it yet.
maybe, it's actually better if he gets behind clinton in a way that destroys his own credibility. maybe, he should be purposefully martyring himself; maybe those jesus comparisons were less crazy than initially apparent. watching his supporters abandon him for that third party might be the best way to get what he's been advocating for.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/09/politics/bernie-sanders-washington/