Sanders' last stand

Though the outcomes are virtually assured, there remains a final breath in the presidential primary season. Small rumbles still can be heard concerning a potential push-back to Donald Trump on the GOP side and the ever-popular Sen. Bernie Sanders remains optimistic that his voice will be heard on the convention floor.

But for all practical purposes, this historic match-up will pit the Donald against Ms. Clinton unless there are some FBI announcements that would change the landscape.

Since the combatants are a forgone conclusion, it seems only appropriate to say farewell to the 74-year-old Vermont Socialist who promised more freebies than a late-night infomercial.

Sanders fired what may be his final shot this week by calling for statehood for Washington, D.C., on the eve of that district's primary.

Yet Sanders' wish list for his vision of this country will remain a footnote in this campaign's history.

Free college tuition, free health care, higher minimum wage, borderless immigration all found favor in the Sanders' camp regardless of our national inability to finance his utopian schemes.

By one estimate, Sanders' big government proposals would cost a cool $21 trillion. But the Berne promised to pay for this massive government overreach by taxing the rich.

Despite his frightening, fuzzy math on how to pay for this federal explosion, the Bern's followers are undeterred.

It remains open for debate why Sanders was able to corral such a large group of disenfranchised voters to swallow his misguided policies.

Either Bernie's base was strongly opposed to the lies that Hillary is prone to spout or those followers just wanted Bernie's free stuff with little regard of the economic disaster it would usher into American society.

Sanders knows by now that he will fall short as the party's nominee but he also knows that his showing in the primary season will give him a strong voice when it comes to writing the party platform.

And the Vermont Socialist will push strong for his freebies to be part of the marching orders for the Democratic Party.

Ms. Clinton is desperate for the embrace of the Bernie Brigade and, thus, may be willing to symbolically adopt many of the policies that Sanders seeks.

Yet she must be cautious or the price tag of these free programs will rear its ugly head.

Bernie's legacy remains in limbo. His dreams of soaking the rich to pay for his programs will come to an abrupt end when it becomes apparent that higher taxes will fall woefully short of financing his government expansion.

In the end, Sanders will be the guy who gave Hillary a run for her money. He will fall short of his goal, his policies will never be enacted and he will slowly fade into the fabric of Vermont.

Yet in a sobering sense, it's truly amazing that a Socialist who favors massive government spending and a major reduction in our military could come within striking distance of the most powerful job in the world.

Michael Jensen is the editor of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.