Bernie Sanders is all but out, which makes him more relevant than ever before

Sanders or his supporters could form a third party.

It's super unlikely that the Sanders campaign can win the Democratic nomination, short of any deus ex machina event, but that doesn't mean he plans to quit. In fact, Sanders is just getting started.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Last night, Hillary Clinton edged out Sanders in Kentucky, while the socialist senator took Oregon. Despite a clear win and a narrow loss, Sanders is not winning by big enough margins to close the gap with Clinton. Time is almost out.

The tragic fact for Sanders, and it's one even he now acknowledges, is that unless Hillary Clinton is indicted, which is a slim possibility, he is all but shut out of the race for the nomination.

Sanders and Clinton will both attend the Democratic National Convention in late July with neither candidate having enough votes to win outright. However, Clinton will win the contested convention. Sanders will help shape the party's agenda, but that will be the best he gets to do.

For now.

The primary process has been especially contentious for Democrats. Many liberals see Hillary Clinton as a moderate who has more in common with Republicans than the Democratic base. They also see her as corrupt, and as using her power to unethically pave her path to the White House.

As a result, many Sanders supporters are reluctant to support Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, many may support Donald Trump.

Critics argue that Trump is a known, racist homophobe, but many of our past presidents have been racists. Civil rights laws protect people from unfair discrimination, so a president's personal views matter less than many assume. Also, Donald Trump has not been tainted with accusations of corruption in pursuit of the White House. Finally, Trump has pivoted to the left of Hillary Clinton on some issues, which may be enough to earn the White House.

Regardless of who wins the election, Sanders supporters are unlikely to be very satisfied.

It's important to understand one thing about the Sanders campaign. It isn't a personality cult. Sanders is the unlikely, charismatic face of the movement, but the movement is one that calls for New Deal-like policies to be introduced to protect the political process and the American citizen from corporate greed.

The campaign's slogan is, "not me, us."

Jill Sanders, Bernie's wife, has already made clear that if they lose the primary, the movement will continue. It is possible it will become a third political party, running to the left of Democrats on most issues.

There is no number of how many Sanders supporters there are, but it easily ranges into the tens of millions. It's enough people that it can prevent Democrats from ever reaching the White House by splitting votes.

Sanders has declared he will not run as a third party candidate, but that doesn't mean he can't start a new political party after the general election. In fact, if he doesn't his supporters just might do so themselves.

Over 80 percent of millennials think socialism is okay. The millennial generation is also the largest generation in American history. If they were to form a party, they could take over the American political process for the next 25 years or more.

Now that would make Bernie Sanders proud. As for the rest of us, may God forbid it.

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