Reality check

There are limits to what the Sanders campaign can actually accomplish at least as far as winning primaries is concerned. And we're going to see those limits on March 5.

New Public Policy Polling surveys of the 12 states that will hold Democratic primaries for President between March 1st and 8th, conducted on behalf of American Family Voices, find Hillary Clinton leading the way in 10 of 12, with double digit leads in 9 of them.

This doesn't mean the Bernie campaign hasn't been a success, however. It has articulated concerns about the fundamental corruption in our politics and the growing inequality in our economic system. This is a rot that can't be ignored by candidates for office anymore if our democracy is going to survive. The Democrats very much wanted to ignore these issues in 2016.  Maybe the brief upheaval Bernie brought to the table will serve as some sort of wake up call for them. I'm rather pessimistic on that point, though.

If anything the condescending and dismissive tone exhibited by mainstream Democrats toward anyone rude enough to advocate for Bernie's agenda demonstrates just how cynical and elitist the core of that party's establishment has become.  The one shining achievement of the Sanders campaign can be seen in the way it has thrown the sick hypocricies of the apparatchicks into sharp relief.
Before any progress can happen, the party will either have to undergo a comprehensive reorientation or die away altogether.  Neither of those things will happen in 2016 but either can and must be made to happen through continued organization. Hopefully the imminent demise of the Bernie campaign will prove to be a beginning of something more impactful.