Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
Debra Saunders’ column “Bernie needs to do the math” accurately describes the situation regarding the Democratic nomination, but she doesn’t quite use the correct phrase for it which is “Hey Bernie, read the writing on the wall, the “Fix” is in.” 
I remember as a child listening to the radio with my mother who strongly wanted Estes Kefaufer, a Dixiecrat, to win the nomination.  The basic procedure for picking a nominee in those days involved a lot of decisions made in smoke filled rooms by those whose interests would be best served by the candidate selected.  It was not about who would best serve the citizens of the country. 
The Democratic Party has done away with the “smoke filled rooms” by instituting the “super delegate” system that lets big donors and cronies make the choice of who will be the party’s standard bearer.  This is done in an effort to prevent those poor, ignorant regular people of the Democratic Party from selecting someone that the cronies think has no chance to win and who will somehow irreparably damage the party. This is just an example of being patted on the head and being told, “hey, we know what’s good for you”, instead of saying “hey, we know what’s best for us --- the good old status quo.” 
What Democrat would have ever thought that it would be the Republican Party who would have the type of primary system that truly allowed the voice of its members decide who would be their candidate and not that of the party cronies?  Those same “status quo” cronies now shout loudly that Trump will be the death of their party.  The voters say that it has resuscitated the party and given the power to their voters as evidenced by the high turnouts in the primaries. The Republican electorate appears to be ready for major change. Who’da thunk it?

Mike Killingsworth
Manteca