Bernie would have won.

To answer Con, I did not support Clinton over Trump, I remained neutral. Let's get into it, I strongly believe Bernie Sanders would have convincingly defeated Donald Trump, a historically unpopular (refer to unfavorability ratings throughout the election) candidate, in what was supposed to be a democratic slam dunk election. But she, and her extremely heavy baggage, as well as poor voting record, establishment and centrist/corporatist ties, was undoubtedly the worst candidate the democrats could've fielded, as her weaknesses lined up to Trump's strengths. A1 : Demographics The first hints of a Bernie win in the general were in the demographic breakdown of the votes. Indeed, in areas where Hillary underperformed Obama (thus leading to defeat), Bernie was consistently doing better than her. Nowhere is that more evident than for the millennial vote, a tremendously important consistuency for a Blue victory. Hillary's campaign registered a significant 6 points drop from 2012 [1] However, Bernie Sanders enjoys unprecented support among millenials. As TIME put it so eloquently :'Bernie Sanders has trounced Hillary, poll after poll', Notably, one survey even showing that he is the most respected political figure among that age group. [2] Ahead of the popular democratic President and any Republican and Democratic lawmaker in the country. Hillary even underperformed with the female vote, a voting bloc she was expected to sweep. The reason? Discontent among white working class voters, Male and Female alike. [3] The same voting bloc Hillary's campaign used as evidence to smear Bernie Sanders as a non-diverse candidate. 'For every blue-collar democrat we lose, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs of Philadelphia and you can repeat that in Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin'This ridiculously flawed mentality outlined by close Clinton ally, Chuck Schumer, is exactly what turned an easily-winnable election into an unpredicted Trump victory. Throwing working class white democrats under the bus, as well as snubbing millenials and progressives, to appeal to moderate Republicans is a losing strategy. Go figure. Bernie appealed to white working class voters in the critical states of the Rust Belt, the states that were supposedly 'democratic firewalls' that Hillary managed to hand over to the Republicans for the first time since the mid-1980s [4] and he appealed to independants and progressives, who went third party in record numbers not seen since the 2000 Presidential Election. A2 : Strengths and WeaknessesThe most important factor leading to Hillary's humiliating defeat, is that her, many, flaws, all lined up to Trump's strengths. His populist message was able to resonate because Hillary's decades of public service have outlined her multiple contradictions and have only strenghtened her image as a corporatist, corrupt establishment politician. Most famously, his constant badgering of her support for disastrous trade deals, as well her support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal (she lobbied for it despite her claiming she's opposed to it) [5] at a time when manufacturing jobs where in mass exodus thanks to those very same deals, helped land a fatal blow to the Democrats. While Trump was traveling around the country advocating for an end to the disastrous trade deals that led to a loss of manufacturing jobs, guess who had voted for the very same deals? Hillary. Guess who had spoken out against them? Bernie Sanders. While Trump was rallying up masses and speaking outagainst the War in Iraq, the very same, costly and deadly war that Hillary voted for, [6] while Trump was speaking out against the countless interventions of regime change that Hillary supported around the world [7], Americans were listening. And he was able to successfully ride a wave of anti-establishment populism, the very same establishment-corporatism that defined Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders, however, offered the same populist, anti-establishment, anti-TPP, and anti-interventionnist message that Trump offered, and that the American people were longing for, minus the bigotry, xenophobia and racism that caracterized Trump's campaign. Conclusion This election was the Democrats' to lose. The Republicans had nominated the most unpopular candidate in, probably, American History, ridden with controversy. A Presidential candidate, caught bragging on tape of commiting sexual assaults, publically bragging of tax evasion, amongst others. She, in spite of receiving the backing of a popular President, a (really) popular First Lady, countless celebrities and public figures, Hillary Clinton managed to lose the election. Her neglect for the working class of America, only playing in Trump's favour. Had the Democrats nominated Bernie to lead the fight in the General Election, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that he would've won in an electoral landslide. Not only for the consistent polling data that showed him ahead of Trump by double digits [8] not only because his message resonated with all the voting blocs that Hillary Clinton lost, but also simply because he was the polar opposite of Hillary Clinton. She was the out-of-touch, establishment candidate that embodied the 'swamp' Trump spoke out against. And such was the disdain towards the establishement that the American people were ready to hand the helms of the nation to Donald Trump. [1] . http://www.cnn.com... [2] . http://www.businessinsider.com... [3] . http://www.cnn.com..., . http://www.telegraph.co.uk... [4] . https://en.wikipedia.org... [5] . http://www.dailymail.co.uk... [6] . https://en.wikipedia.org... [7] . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [8] . http://www.realclearpolitics.com...