Not trying to shit on Bernie, I like him a lot.
But it's not some sort of conspiracy, it's the way the system works, and Bernie is well aware of how it works.
He could have spent years kissing Clyburn's butt (and a whole lot of other butts), but he chose not to (or didn't do it well enough).
It's not a conspiracy that a lot of democratic power brokers, elected officials, and donors supported Biden. Biden did the work required to gain that support.
Nor is it a conspiracy when certain voters voted for Biden instead of Bernie, or Andrew Yang, or whoever.
Voters are clearly capable of making choices we don't agree with or that make no sense at all, they do it all the time.
You are absolutely correct, it's politics.
barfo