Democrats may soon find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  With Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Steyer on their way home to Indiana, Minnesota, and Mountains of Cash, respectively; Bloomberg rendered even more diminutive than his actual stature; Warren's campaign being held together with prevarication and button-up sweaters; and Biden back from the dead and lurching about like a zombie with a bong, Bernie Sanders is the candidate to beat for the Democratic nomination — much to the palpable alarm of the party establishment.

Even as the Fourth Estate momentarily shifts its crosshairs away from Trump toward him, Sanders is gaining momentum.  He may not have advanced his cause notably in the last debate, but neither did anyone else, and at least he didn't suffer anything more than a flesh wound as the frontrunner.  The dawning reality that the candidate The Queen of Pantsuits cheated in the 2016 election cycle is now poised to win his party's nomination, fair and square, is the essence of the chickens coming home to roost.  It is also the worst-case scenario for everyone in the Democratic Party — except for the Bernie Bros and the Squad.

Given this, we should be clear-eyed about the dyspeptic octogenarian with the balloon-rubbed hair. 

Sanders is an un-reconstituted socialist.  Hell, he may even be a communist.  It's true he never voted for one, like professional scowler John "I Lie under Oath" Brennan, but he didn't have to.  His effusive appreciations of Castro and his fascist regime, his love letters to Chávez-era Venezuela, and his honeymoon in Red Russia speak volumes about his allegiances — as do his policies.  To his great credit, Sanders hasn't changed his views to suit the moment, but rather has waited until the dovetail of desperate times.  A generation beset by sky-high debt and few prospects helped anoint him their Superman.  His moment has come round at last, and it is irresistible to radicals, young and old alike.  What's not to love?  Bernie is going to pay for everything, including college, health care, and all yoga classes.

If Biden's campaign slogan is "C'mon, Man!," then Bernie's should be "Free Stuff!"

This has a heart-gladdening appeal to Millennials — and to Generation Z, which is following hard on their heels.  Gen Xers were poorer than their parents and suffered greatly from the recession of 2008.  But Millennials and Gen Zers rent more, make less, and have less in savings than both their parents and Gen X.  Prospects have diminished.  These same post-X generations are also staring down soul-obliterating debt from college tuitions that have risen astronomically — even as the value of a college indoctrination/education in "woke" America is beginning to be called into question.  Is it any wonder populists like Trump and Sanders are ascendant at a time when the middle class has been sucker-punched into submission by rampant globalism and the indifference of the ruling elites?

For those populists whose blood boils at the mere mention of Orange Hitler, Sanders is the only choice to carry the flag for everyday Americans.  Never mind that his platform and proposals are the stuff of Marxist fever dreams, utterly untenable, and would put a "Going out of Business" sign on America.  At this point, Millennials — who were sheltered from reality by their helicopter parents and their college professors and administrators — are only too happy to sign up, and set out for another cultural mirage.

This may presage the perfect political storm for Democrats: Trump versus Sanders in a street fight for the keys to the Oval Office.  The reason this is such a stark and terrible choice for Democrats is that they don't want a socialist in the White House any more than the Republicans and the rest of America do.  But they are roughly as willing to vote for Trump as they are to order a vanilla soy latte while wearing a MAGA hat.  So what's a desperate Dem to do?  Do they hold their nose, vote for Bernie Sanders, and take ownership of the wholesale destruction of America?  Or do they secretly vote Trump, while continuing to condemn him floridly to anyone within earshot, and save America from becoming a giant yard sale for the rest of the world?

Democrats are most interested in power at any cost, so my guess is that the great majority of them will vote for Bernie, just to have the keys to the kingdom back in their clutches.  But there will be some with an aperture widened beyond routine progressive myopia, who will see the dire consequences of such a choice and carry an airplane sick bag into the voting booth as they undertake the unthinkable and vote for Trump.

There may not be many who swing vote — but then who would have counted on Obama voters jumping ship to elect a loud-mouthed TV show host with an itchy middle finger in 2016?  Those swing voters were crucial to Trump's win.  In times of tumult and discontent, sometimes the unthinkable happens.

Should it come to pass, it is a terrible choice Democrats must make.  Either way, let the self-loathing commence!  (Hair shirt optional.)