July 12, 2016 09:59 AM UTC

Bernie Endorses Hillary

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

NBC News reporting, ranks in the Democratic Party have now officially closed with a strong endorsment from Bernie Sanders for presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton:

Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, capping off a contentious presidential primary and solidifying the former secretary of state’s hold on the Democratic party.

“I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said while standing next to Clinton at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“This campaign is not really about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. This campaign is about the needs of the American people and addressing the very serious crises that we face,” Sander said. “And there is no doubt in my mind that as we head into November, Hillary Clinton is far and away the best candidate to do that.”

So ends the most bitter Democratic campaign rivalry since Barack Obama beat Clinton for the 2008 presidential nomination. Republicans have sought refuge from the unfolding catastrophe at the top of their ticket by playing up disunity between Sanders’ grassroots supporters and the “mainstream” Democratic party personified by Clinton. Now that Sanders has delivered this unequivocal endorsement, all but the most ardent Bernie supporters–in many cases “low propensity” voters anyway–should come back into the fold after an appropriate period of grieving and coping.

And yes, that’s bad news for Republicans. It’s true they don’t need more bad news. Sorry about that.